Summers to hang up his kevlars at end of season

About to say his farewell to British speedway, Berwick’s Aaron Summers, who has announced his retirement at the end of the season.

‘Spud,’ who is based in north Northumberland, has been a loyal servant to British speedway over the years and has represented a number of clubs, including Glasgow, Redcar and Berwick, with whom he has been since 2018.

He has also raced for Edinburgh, Somerset, Coventry and Peterborough.

News of the Australian’s decision to hang up his kevlars was made on Saturday when Berwick raced their penultimate home league meeting of the season at Shielfield against Kent.

His final appearance in a Berwick race jacket will come this weekend when the Bandits take on Glasgow at Shielfield in their last home meeting of the year.

Against Kent, Summers scored nine points, including one race win, in Bandits’ 47-43 victory.

Not for the first time this season, it was local teenager Leon Flint who top scored for the team, bagging four race wins on his way to a 13 points haul

For the visitors, it was their top two of Troy Bachelor and Scott Nicholls who led their charge. Bachelor netted 15+1 from six rides, and had four paid wins. His only dropped points came in heat five when he finished behind Flint and Dany Gappmaier. Nicholls, meanwhile, scored 12+2, going unbeaten in his last four rides after finished second to Summers in his first outing.

Berwick were without Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen and operated rider replacement.

The Bandits, courtesy of their heat five success, opened up an eight point gap at 19-11 (then 22-14), but the Kings hit back and by heat nine, courtesy of a 5-1 from Bachelor and Nicholls, they had reduced the deficit to 28-26.

The teams traded 5-1’s I. Beats 10 and 13 as the score moved on to 41-37.

But it was another 5-1 from Gappmaier and Kasper Andersen in heat 14 which took the home side over the winning line, a 5-1 from Bachelor and Nicholls in 15 meaning the visitors left with a losing bonus point.

In the National Development League, the Bullets raced to a 52-38 win over the Kent Royals in the second part of the ‘double-header.’ Kyle Bickley was the star of the show for Berwick, reeling off a 14+1 paid maximum.