Ipswich Witches' Scott Nicholls has questioned the quality of the facilities in place for young riders.

The 32-year-old broke into speedway with Ipswich in 1995 and has gone on to win five British Championships and has captained the Great Britain team.

He told BBC Look East: "It's quite sad that England hasn't got a big push of upcoming talent.

"It's something we should look into. We really should be looking at getting some funding to get children involved."

Nicholls has become a reliable performer down the years, winning the Elite League and Knock Out Cup double with the Witches in 1998 and has made strides in Europe, currently racing for Miskolc in Poland and Vargarna in Sweden.

Australia are really producing a lot of riders at the moment, they're the ones to watch right now Ipswich rider Scott Nicholls

Now the former Coventry and Poole rider is keen to make sure youngsters have the chance to follow in his footsteps.

He said: "Sadly there's just not the arenas for children-sized tracks, it's pointless for a six or seven-year-old to be racing around the tracks we're on.

"If you had a proper academy you could have the mechanical side, the nutrition, the psychology - there's a big package involved.

"Australia are really producing a lot of riders at the moment, they're the ones to watch right now."

The 2010 season has been a positive one for Nicholls, with an average of 8.89 in the Elite League, but it has been a struggle for his hometown club, who sit bottom of the standings.

"We're just lacking that extra back-up towards the top," added Nicholls.

"Finances do come into it, we're not the wealthiest club in the world.

"Hopefully we can make some changes and strengthen up and push towards some success at the end of the season."

The Witches face Wolverhampton on Thursday, followed by a trip to Belle Vue on Wednesday.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version