Familiar face commits to Craven field

MATEJ ZAGAR . . . Belle Vue favourite

MATEJ Zagar will make a one-off special appearance for Belle Vue in the 2017 Peter Craven Memorial at the National Speedway Stadium.

The former Aces No.1 and current World No.9 has confirmed his services on April 1 alongside Justin Sedgmen, Kenneth Bjerre, Rohan Tungate and ex-team mates Max Fricke and Joe Jacobs.

Belle Vue also confirmed the addition of Somerset's Charles Wright and Poole's Aussie Champion Brady Kurtz to the line-up, with double Finnish under-21 champion Tero Aarnio taking up the first reserve berth.

Zagar has been a permanent fixture in the club's Premiership side since 2013 and proved a central figure in their recent league title bids, in which they achieved the silver medal in 2015 and 2016.

Aside from his regular TV appearances in the Grand Prix series, Belle Vue's highly-anticipated season opener will be a rare opportunity for fans to see the flying Slovenian in Britain this year.

Aces director of speedway Mark Lemon is thrilled to see one of the stars of his 'Class of 2016' return to Manchester and is looking forward to seeing him back in action on his former home circuit.

Lemon said: "It didn't take much persuading Matej to join this year's Peter Craven field and that's down to his commitment to the club, which has been 100-per-cent since he first came to Belle Vue.

"He loves the new stadium, and I suppose in a way it's him paying his respects to the fans for all their support over the years too. We're delighted to have attracted Matej's class to the event.

"He's very eager to take part and I think he'll be one of the top contenders on the night, and with him not being with the Aces this year it'll be a rare opportunity for fans to see him ride in Britain."

For tickets visit www.bellevueaces.co.uk.