Speedway: Sheffield promoter Damien Bates says team changes on the cards for 2027
‘ I do think we need to freshen the team up a little bit for next year’
Sheffield are set to make changes to ‘refresh’ their Rowe Motor Oil Premiership speedway line up for 2027 says promoter Damien Bates.
The co-owner expects to be able to announce the full team by Christmas, and the first rider is expected to be announced on Friday, when all the teams’ Rising Stars are revealed.
But Sheffield speedway boss Mr Bates said while some changes will be forced, some will be the club’s own choice, with new faces planned after a 2026 season which saw the Tigers finish runners-up in the grand final to Belle Vue.
He said: “It was nice to have a lot of continuity in 2026, but I do think we need to freshen the team up a little bit for next year and bring some new faces into the club.
“Some changes we’ll be forced into, some will be our own choice, but we’re already deep into the process of talking to riders and on top of the Rising Star selection, hopefully we’ll be in a position to announce our full 1-7 this side of Christmas.
“We’re already on the lookout for sponsors and people who want to get involved - anyone interested are urged to e-mail [email protected]."
Last season, it was not confirmed that the club was racing until early January, but it has already been confirmed that they will be racing in 2027.
Mr Bates added: “To say we had a very unsettled winter break last year with plenty going on, as well as the fact we didn’t officially confirm our entry into the league until January, I think we can deem 2026 a success in many ways.
“We want to say a big thank you to the sponsors who came on board quite late on to back us and also to the supporters who had to be very patient along the way.
“On track, I’d say it was alright; we made the Grand Final without doing anything too spectacular - but now we want to do even better in 2027.”