Seven up at last for Peterborough Panthers as Russian rider signs on at the East of England Arena

The 29-year-old, who races for Grudziadz in the Polish Ekstraliga, is set to join the Crendon Panthers subject to BSP approval and the completion of final paperwork.

Panthers have been operating as a six-man unit, using guests and rider replacement, since the decision of Nicki Pedersen to leave the club after crashing out of his first appearance against Ipswich in March.

Tarasenko is expected to make his debut in a Premiership fixture at Belle Vue on Monday, June 19, with next Monday’s match (June 12) at Wolverhampton coming too soon for matters to be completed. His home debut will be against the Aces on June 26.

He has produced a string of solid scores since coming into the Grudziadz team from Round 4 of the Ekstraliga, and the East of England Arena circuit should be very much to his liking.

Paanthers co-promoter Carl Johnson said: “We’ve been searching for a rider to fill the void left by Nicki, and subject to BSP approval we’re delighted to welcome Vadim into the team.“Unfortunately he won’t be available for the trip to Wolves on Monday due to final paperwork issues and us getting everything in place for bringing him here, and that will mean him making his debut at Belle Vue, which would be a good one for him to start in.“Vadim comes highly recommended, Obviously this will be a new league and new tracks for him which is always difficult, but there are certainly tracks in our league which we’d expect him to enjoy, including our own.”Tarasenko will slot into the main body of the Panthers’ line-up, with Niels-Kristian Iversen taking over at No.1.The club would like to thank supporters for their patience during what has been a lengthy rider search, and we will continue to update you with official information as soon as we are able to do so.