Flying Dutchman ruled out

THEO PIJPER, the skipper of the FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, has been ruled out of the Scorpions’ final three fixtures this week with a shoulder injury.

The Scorpions face the Plymouth Devils twice – in far-flung South Devon on Thursday (7.15pm), and for the return at the Scunthorpe’s Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday (7.30pm) – before travelling to Peterborough on Sunday (3pm).

Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey explains: “Theo damaged his shoulder in the Lincolnshire Poacher grasstrack meeting a few weeks ago, but was adamant that it wouldn’t stop him riding for the Scorpions, because we still had unfinished business in hauling ourselves off the bottom of the league.

“But, following a guest appearance at Berwick last Saturday, Theo’s shoulder popped out simply by shaking someone’s hand after the meeting.

“He’s realised he’s fighting a losing battle, and he is ruled out for our remaining fixtures this weekend.

“Theo has been a real stalwart for us this year, and was determined that we wouldn’t finish bottom. He helped us achieve that last weekend, with the victory that condemned Redcar to the wooden spoon.”

With Zdenek Holub still not back after suffering a heavy crash in his native Czech Republic last Thursday, the Scorpions will utilise rider replacement for the 19-year-old, while using guests for Pijper.

Godfrey adds: “We’ve booked David Bellego as the guest for Theo at Scunthorpe and Peterborough, while his Sheffield team-mate Andre Compton comes in as an additional guest at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday, as Andreas Lyager has an under-21 commitment.

“Finding a guest to travel down to Plymouth is proving far more of a headache. Every rider I’ve spoken to so far can’t or won’t do it.”

Scorpions’ team for Plymouth on Thursday: 1. Rider replacement for Zdenek Holub, 2. TBC (guest for Theo Pijper), 3. Andreas Lyager, 4. Carl Wilkinson, 5. Leigh Lanham, 6. Alex Davies, 7. Nike Lunna.