Speedway: Sam Masters relishing favourite’s tag for Riders’ Championship

The Aussie ace is being tipped by many as one of the favourites for this year’s Riders’ Championship – a tournament he previously won back in 2011.

And Masters’ stunning 18-point maximum with Edinburgh against the Tigers earlier this month appears to have made him one of the frontrunners again.

But he’s staying level headed with such a strong line-up assembled.

“I’ve won this competition once before when it was the PLRC and it does take some doing because of how tough the line-up always is,” Masters said.

“It’s a totally different ball game though because even though you’ve got the Semi and then the Final, you can’t really afford to have a bad ride.

“So you’ve got to be at the top of your game from start to finish to stand any chance usually.

“At the end of the day it’s all the No.1s from each team and the best of the rest with the other guys – who have all probably been a No.1 in this league at some point.

“It could easily be the individual meeting for the Premiership it’s that strong – all it’s missing is the top, top boys if you like.

“So it’s going to be very tough but I’m feeling good right now and I’ve got the belief that I can do good and I’m definitely going for the win that’s for sure.

“I had a really good one at Sheffield a few weeks ago so I hopefully I can continue on from that sort of form and performance.

“Some people would say getting a score like I did in that one means there’s pressure and maybe expectation on me as well but I’m just going to treat it like I do any other meeting.”

Danny King will be battling to try and earn the silverware for the home faithful with defending Champion Craig Cook and last year’s Tiger of the Season Charles Wright also among the favourites.

Meanwhile Tigers head to Eastbourne on Saturday (7.30) for a tricky away fixture as they continue their push for the play-offs.