DAN Gilkes has revealed that he will not be fit in time for the start of the new season.
The Leicester and Poole rider has not fully overcome the knee injury which wrecked his 2025 campaign and will miss his clubs' opening fixtures. The Premiership Lions have called up Joe Thompson to deputise for 28 days with team manager Stewart Dickson commenting: “We’re all absolutely gutted for Dan, especially after the hard work he’s put in to get back to racing. But at the same time we appreciate his honesty in being clear with ourselves and also Poole that he isn’t ready at the moment. “We’ve brought in Joe for an initial 28 days and we’ll reassess the position before our league matches when we should know more about Dan’s situation. “We’d like to welcome Joe back. He will now be one of the more experienced Rising Stars in the league and I’m sure it will also help him to have his brother in the same team.” Pirates promoter Dan Ford said: “Dan has been working really hard to be ready but after a couple of practice sessions last week, he feels he’s just not quite where he needs to be yet. There’s been a lack of track time for everyone with the weather, so it’s been difficult to get fully up to speed. “We appreciate his honesty, it’s better to make this decision now rather than risk coming in underprepared at the start of the season. “We’ll look to bring Dan into the side once he’s fully fit and in the meantime we are working on a temporary replacement."
