Rising reserve Tom is the Panthers golden boy

The club asset is enjoying an impressive 2018 campaign which continued with victory in the prestigious Golden Hammer individual event at National League club Cradley on Monday night.

Bacon reeled off a five-ride maximum to beat a field featuring many of the leading riders in the third tier of the sport, where he rides for Birmingham.

Bacon has also made major strides forward on Panthers duty this term with impressive home and away displays, and he earned a couple of outings in the top flight for Wolverhampton recently.

Johnson said: “We were confident this would be a season of progress for Tom and that has proved to be the case.

“He is gaining experience and growing in confidence all the time.

“Those things are clear from the scores he is producing and the way he is picking his points up.

“He’s one of the leading lights in the National League as his win in the Golden Hammer proves and he is really establishing himself in the Championship as well.

“His performances clearly haven’t gone unnoticed either as Wolverhampton have given him meetings in the Premiership and that will only help his development further.”

Bacon currently partners Danish rider Emil Grondal at reserve for Panthers.