Poole Pirates edged a step nearer to completing their line up for 2004 by announcing a third Swede to add to already signed Tony Rickardsson and Magnus Zetterstrom.
Young Daniel Davidsson who had limited British League cup appearances for trophy winners Poole has secured a recall for 2004, coming into the Elite league side as a grade F rider which now leaves the Pirates two places to fill and five points to play with. Promoter Matt Ford believes that Davidsson could be a major coup for the Dorset side and Davidsson's credentials are underwritten by five times world champion Tony Rickardsson.
Speculation as to the final make-up of the Pirate septet remains with a number of riders having been linked one of whom would be a fourth Swede Antonio Lindback. Ford has indicated that the final pieces of the Poole 2004 jigsaw will be in place by the end of the month and in the meantime is still seeking potential sponsors for the forthcoming season.

Davey Watt began 2004 with a none too inspiring score at Newport on Sunday 4th January in the New Year Classic. Watt failed to score from in the four rides he took, the meeting being won by Coventry's new recruit Chris Harris who, in the Grand Final beat Leigh Lanham, Brent Werner and the highest scoring rider of the heats, David Howe.

Poole's British league cup hero Magnus Zetterstrom will be back in the Pirate fold for 2004 as he becomes the fourth rider to be a confirmed starter for the reigning Elite league champions.
Zetterstrom was unable to secure an Elite league berth in 2003 and the majority of Poole fans missed his heroic 19 point haul in the BLC competition at Wolverhampton, for on the same night the senior side were in action at Wimborne Road in KO Cup action against Oxford.
Zetterstrom began his British career with the Pirates back in 1996, the season he suffered a serious crash at Exeter. Having missed the 1997 campaign he was back at Poole for the last two seasons of the 20th century before being loaned to Peterborough in 2000. He was back at Poole briefly in 2001 before splitting the 2002 campaign between the Panthers and the Pirates. Last season he rode in 10 British League cup matches averaging a remarkable 10.35 points. He was also runner-up to Krzysztof Kasprzak in the European Championship, thus narrowly missing out on back to back titles in that competition.
Zorro, as he is affectionately known, has become something a Poole cult hero, noticeably for the zany celebratory antics he displays. He comes in to the Poole side for 2004 as a grade D rider which leaves the Pirates 6 points to play with to fill the remaining 3 places as Zetterstrom joins Tony Rickardsson, Bjarne Pedersen and Davey Watt as assured starters for the forthcoming season which the Pirates will launch on March 8th with their annual Press and Practice Day

Jason Lyons who has been in exploratory talks with the Poole management missed out on a chance of lifting the Victorian State title at the Olympic Park, Mildura on Saturday night, after fitting a new tyre for the final race.
Lyons had completed his heats as joint top scorer along with Travis McGowan, both having dropped a single point in their five qualifying rides and they were joined by Mark Lemon and Kevin Doolan both netting 13 a-piece, for the final.
Just before the riders took to track Lyons fitted a new rear tyre but that proved costly as he then found himself struggling to turn the bike whilst under strong pressure from McGowan, who had previously beaten him when they met in the opening ride of the night. With the chequered flag almost ready to be dropped, Lyons took a fall and gifted the title to McGowan, who made it four State titles in a row.
Elsewhere in Australia Poole asset Craig Watson won the New South Wales Title with an unbeaten performance.

Contrary to reports in some areas of the speedway press, the Poole management have not added Jason Lyons to their side for 2004. Whilst admitting that they have been in preliminary talks with the Australian the official word from the Pirate duo is that no decision has yet been reached as to whether the surplus Belle Vue rider will be in Pirate colours next season. "We have a couple of options potentially open to us", said promoter Matt Ford, "and we have yet to make our minds up on which direction we will be going down for next season, although, I can stress that we believe the 2004 Pirates will be a competitive outfit built with a view to try and defend the league crown we won this season.
Jason is a hugely talented rider and despite having been a true stalwart for Belle Vue over the past 13 years, the team building rules being what they are for next year has left him unable to claim a team berth with the Aces, so naturally, any rider of that calibre is sure to court interest from us. At this point in time I cannot say either way as to whether Jason will be a Poole rider next season, although I do believe that if it were to happen then he would certainly do a good job for us. Whether we will be in a position to make any further announcements on our team plans prior to Christmas remains to be seen, at present, but I would urge the Poole fans not to become too despondent at this point in time.

Poole promoters Michael Golding and Matt Ford have secured the services of Danish International Bjarne Pedersen on a full contract from Premier league club Newcastle. Pedersen, who for the past two seasons has scooped the Poole Speedway Team Man of the Year accolade becomes a full club asset after the Dorset club negotiated a substantial, but undisclosed, transfer fee with the Brough Park set-up.
25 year old Pedersen becomes the third rider to add his name to the Pirates 2004 team sheet, joining former World Champion Tony Rickardsson and Australian Davey Watt as confirmed starters. Pedersen who finished 14th in the GP series last season whilst also making sure of his involvement in the 2004 series by successfully negotiating the qualifying rounds, which culminated with him securing a rostrum place in the Grand Final which was staged at Wimborne Road is eagerly looking forward to his third campaign with Pirates. In 2003 he played a major role in the all-conquering success of the Pirates, scoring over 300 points in all competitions.
Pedersen is classed as a Grade D rider and therefore consumes 3 of the maximum 19 points teams can be built to, so with Rickardsson (6) and Watt (1) the Pirates have 9 points available for their remaining four berths

Poole skipper and fans favourite Tony Rickardsson will today (Thursday 11th December) officially put pen to paper on a contract that will see him re-sign for the Poole club. The official signing will be captured by Meridian Television who will be on hand at Salterns Marina and coverage of the event is expected to be shown on Meridian Television's news slots throughout the day and especially in their early evening news programme.
Rickardsson will be setting out on his fourth season with the Pirates and the official signing will come as a huge relief to his multitude of Poole fans who last winter had an agonising wait before the complexities of his signing, due to contractual issues with his parent club Ipswich, were resolved between the two clubs.

BBC's local broadcasting stations, BBC TV South and BBC RADIO SOLENT acknowledged Poole's tremendous treble-winning achievements by presenting the Pirates with a special award at their BBC South Sports Personality of the Year presentation evening on Sunday December 7th.
It proved to be a double coup for speedway as the equivalent awards for Devon and Cornwall (BBC West) saw young Chris Harris crowned as South West Sports Personality of the Year.

With the country still in the grip of World Cup fever, following England's sensational win in the rugby union competition nine days ago, Poole Speedway will stage the most prestigious meeting in their 55 year history when they host the 2004 Speedway World Cup Final next summer. Poole Speedway has confirmed its acceptance of the invitation to stage the final events of the competition. The prestigious event will be held during the first week of August and the Dorset club will hold the play-off round on Thursday August 5th and the Grand Final two days later on Saturday August 7th.
For Team GB Manager Neil Middleditch it could be a dream come true following on from his club success with the Pirates in recent season. 'Middlo', who led the Pirates to a distinctive treble in 2003, has been plagued by bad luck on the International stage. Neil, who doubles up as the Poole team manager has not had his preferred pick of the crop due to an unpredented run of injuries in the previous three stagings for the world cup event, but if he could see the fortunes swing more in his favour he well fancies his chances of being in the shake-up to lift the SWC in his own 'back-yard'.
That said, a number of the other top nations will all fancy their chances as Sweden, in Tony Rickardsson and Mikael Max and Australia, in Leigh Adams and Jason Crump, have some real Wimborne Road track specialists to call on.
The oportunity to host the biggest team event in the world speedway calendar is testimony to the efforts and commitment that both Poole promoters, Matt Ford and Michael Golding, have invested in the club since taking control in 1999. Ford, who openly admitted that he had cried following England's rugby triumph in Australia, said that he was overwhelmed with the Club being chosen to stage such a prestigious event.
" I thought it would take a long time for Poole to enjoy better days than the treble success we achieved this year, but hosting the World Cup Final in the town is quite something."
" After watching the way in which rugby's profile has become a media frenzy following the success Down Under, it would be wonderful if speedway's home nation could follow suit next year."
Benfield Sports International, the high - profile promotional company who already run the highly successful World Individual Championship Grand Prix series, are principally involved in marketing speedway's World Cup competition.
" BSI Chief Executive, John Postlewaite, has taken speedway to a new dimension with the Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup during the past five years, and it will be a pleasure to work alongside him and British Speedway Promoters Association president Terry Russell, in setting up next year's competition."
The World Cup is likely to attract some of the biggest crowds in half a century to Poole, with the world's leading satellite broadcasters, B Sky B, having already confirmed their involvement with the sport's premier team competition. The injection of the meeting to a world wide television audience will prove a major boost to for the Club and the town of Poole.
" There are so many reasons why having the World Cup in England is so exciting " added Ford " The rugby boys have given the country such a lift, and shown every sport that with the right attitude, and a bit of luck, nothing is impossible. The thought of England winning speedway's World Cup at Poole is already sending shivers down my spine "

Rider of the Year Leigh Adams was disappointed at having to miss out on the Mick Poole Testimnonial meeting staged at Gosford on Saturday night, but still paid a tribute to the former Pirate by donating a set of leathers for auction.
Leigh was unable to take his place in the line-up that was being held as a tribute to Mick Poole who was seriously injured while competing in the Wagga Long Track in March
The meeting was won by world number 2 Jason Crump who fired in a majestic 5 ride maximum. Having been the only unbeaten rider in the heats (4 rides each), Crump surprised many by choosing gate 5 for the final, but it proved an inspired choice as the starting area out that wide was nowhere near as rutted as the inside gates and there was also plenty of loose dirt near the fence. Crump made a reasonably level start with Wiltshire and Sullivan, but then rode "Gollob style" round the boards on the first corner and hit the front near the end of the back straight on lap 1. He was then never seriously troubled by fellow finalists Todd Wiltshire, Ryan Sullivan, Craig Watson and Ashley Jones

Although the start of the new Sky Sports Elite League speedway season is still some four months away, Poole promoters Matt Ford and Mike Golding have lost little time in confirming that Australian international rider Davey Watt will be back in the Pirates colours for the 2004 campaign.
The 23 year old played a large part in helping the Pirates to capture the ' triple crown ' during 2003 and was one of only two contracted Poole riders to turn out for the club in each of the Elite League, BSPA Knockout Cup and British League Cup competitions.
As one of the two Premier League riders the club is allowed to call on for 2004, Watt is almost certain to start the new season at reserve, although the Poole management are convinced that he has a lot more to offer them.
" We are more than pleased to have Davey back on board with us " said Matt Ford " as we believe him to be one of the most promising young riders in the sport at this time. He showed a lot of commitment during 2003 and has the ambition and ability to do even better for us in 2004. We believe in his talent so much that I can also reveal that we plan to offer Davey a full time place at Poole for 2005"
" Although he will also be riding for a Premier League club in 2004, he will be available to ride in every Poole home fixture, barring one, throughout the whole of next year. We put a lot of faith in him three years ago when we brought him over from Australia and he's now repaying this by showing us what he capable of whenever he rides."
For his part Watt is already cracking on with his preparations for the new term, and can't wait for opportunity to appear in the Pirates colours once again.
" This is the perfect opportunity for me " he said " and it's exactly what I have been hoping would happen since the end of the season. The timing is just absolutely perfect and I can now start to make my preparations for 2004. It's great to have been signed up so quickly and this will allow me some extra time to get everything together for the new season."
" I've recently bought a house on the outskirts of Poole, and this will give me a good base to work from. I've just about finished decorating it from top to bottom, and I can now start to concentrate on building up the bikes for next year. The new season may be a long way off, but there is still a lot of work to be done before I can sit back and relax."
With such a busy time ahead of him, Davey will be spending his first Christmas and New Year in Britain. " I 'm not planning on going back to Australia this winter " he said " there's too much to do here. I'll be celebrating Christmas with my girlfriend, and we plan to have a great time."