Speedway: Sheffield confirm 2025 rising star, but announce departure of 2023 hero Jason Edwards

But the Tru7Group Tigers have also revealed that Jason Edwards, one of the heroes of the 2023 Premiership Grand Final victory, is leaving.

In an announcement this morning, the club announced that they have signed Great Britain’s SGP2 racer Leon Flint as their new Rising Star.

The former British Under-21 and Under-19 Champion makes the switch from Birmingham - whilst the Brummies have signed Edwards as their new number seven

Flint top scored for Great Britain in the Speedway of Nations 2 Final this summer with 22+3 out of a possible 28.

Tigers’ promoter Damien Bates said of 21-year-old Flint: “Because he’s been racing for teams since he was 15, people forget how young and how relatively early in his career Leon still is.

“Having said that, he’ll see next season as a pretty big one for him and you can tell he’s already focussed on stepping things up another level.

“He’s got three-and-a-half years experience in the top division from his time with Wolverhampton and Birmingham and for a Rising Star that’s a lot.

“So hopefully he can bring everything he’s picked up already from that and I think once he’s settled in at Sheffield, he’ll grow and grow as the season goes on.

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He also paid tribute to Jason Edwards for performances at Sheffield.

He said: “Birmingham had first pick of Rising Stars once they’d confirmed they were able to run next year and I wasn’t surprised to see him picked up at all.

“He’s done a pretty good job for us at Sheffield since we brought him into the team at the back end of 2023 and we wish him all the best.”

Nigel Tolley, Birmingham’s chief executive said he had been impressed by Edwards’ development.

He said: “First of all, we’d like to thank Leon for his efforts back in Brummies’ colours

“2024 was an up and down year for Leon with a number of both highs and lows but we mutually agreed that he would not be retained and kept by Birmingham next year.

“As soon as we saw Jason’s name confirmed on the Rising Star list, we knew who we wanted and we think he’ll be a great fit for the Brummies.

“I really like the way he rides the Perry Barr track and he demonstrated that on his visit with Sheffield in July when he scored 7+2.

“Despite riding the season at No.6, he impressed me whenever I saw him race for them, he’s been coming on nicely year-on-year and I think he’ll blossom even more as Birmingham’s Rising Star.

“On top of that, Jason will be great to have as part of the team; he’s a really friendly lad, he’s always got a smile on his face and the Brummies’ supporters will take him to their hearts.”