Ford's praise for trailblazer Liebmann as Comets come to town

Poole Pirates promoter Danny Ford is preparing to make history at Wimborne Road on Wednesday when his team compete in a league match against a female rider for the very first time.

Poole are poised to host Workington Comets in the SGB Championship (7.30pm), who include German racer Celina Liebmann in their line-up at reserve.

And ford believes Liebmann, the sport’s number one female rider, is paving the way for more women to compete.

He told the club website: "It was great news for British Speedway when Workington re-opened their doors last season and even better news when they decided to make the step up to the Championship this year.

“It is always nice to create moments of history and Wednesday will have a double helping of it as we will also see a Poole team compete in a league match against a female rider for the first time.

“We extend a very warm welcome to Celina, who is most certainly trying to clear the way for more women to break into the sport at league level.

“They also have a couple of other riders who we have yet to see ride here with Finn Antii Vuolas really making good strides in British speedway and Tate Zischke settling in well."

?? PREVIEW | THE COMETS COMETH

??? It was great news when Workington re-opened their doors last season and even better when they decided to step up to the Championship.. read more ?? https://t.co/5eVHWsgqi1

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— Poole Pirates Speedway (@poolespeedway) May 13, 2024

He added: "Workington have qualified for the final stages of the BSN Series having won their group which contained Scunthorpe and Redcar and that in itself tells a story, so there is no question of this being an easy fixture for us.

“But we have seen the spirit in the Poole side come to the fore in our matches this season, not least in our three away meetings where we have found ourselves very much on the back foot in the early half of the meeting but gone on to force last-heat deciders. I really think we could be in for a very entertaining contest."