Turkish Grand Prix is cancelled
more than three or four games in a row without picking up a knock.
“I’m excited to see what happens at Wakefield because there are a good bunch of lads there.”
Ashall-Bott made his debut for hometown club Widnes in February 2018 in a close-fought Super League defeat at Castleford Tigers. He remembered: “It was kind of surreal because I had players like Rhys Hanbury in front of me.
“I had to wait and I finally got my chance at Cas in the winter, which was a nightmare!
“It was snowing, absolutely freezing, but a dream come true to finally play for Widnes, my hometown club. I represented
England at Academy level as a teenager and I definitely want to get back to those heights.
“I played against France three times. I’ve always felt within myself that I’m good enough to play Super League and that’s where I think I should be.
“Whether anyone else thinks that I don’t really care. I feel I’m good enough and I believe in myself. Now I have a chance to prove it.”
He does not need to look far for inspiration as his partner is Manchester City Women a n d England star Georgia Stanway.
Stanway, 22, recently made her 150th appearance for City and has scored 55 goals for the club.
They live together in Widnes and began dating after Ashall-Bott messaged her via Instagram three years ago.
He said: “I look up to Georgia because what she has achieved already has had a massive impact on me.
“She’s made 150 appearances and she’s only 22.
“I said to her ‘do you think I’ll ever play 150 games in my career, let alone in the time you’ve done it in?’
“I obviously want to do as well in rugby league as she has in football. I see how professional Georgia is in how she prepares for matches.
“I never used to eat before the games but she’s inspired me to be more like her.”
FORMULA One has announced the cancellation of next month’s Turkish Grand Prix.
The race was set for June 13 but it has been pulled from the schedule after the country was placed on the UK government’s red list.
On Thursday, it was confirmed that the Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester City on May 29 has been moved from Turkey to Portugal.
The Istanbul race will be replaced by a second grand prix in Austria, with F1 officials still hopeful of completing a record-breaking 23-round season.
The French Grand Prix has been brought forward by a week to take place on June 20 ahead of a double-header at Austria’s
Red Bull Ring on June 27 and July 4.
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone remains in its original slot of July 18.
Bosses of the Northamptonshire circuit are working towards hosting a full house of 140,000 fans with government restrictions due to end on June 21.
Turkey was only added to the calendar 16 days ago after the Canadian Grand Prix was scrapped following the country’s demand that the F1 circus quarantine for a fortnight.
But seven of the grid’s teams are based in the UK, and all travellers returning from red-list countries face 10 days of quarantine at a Governmentapproved hotel.
Turkish GP officials have asked F1 to assess whether it is possible to stage the race later in the year.
There remain serious doubts over a number of rounds in the second half of the calendar, with Mexico, Brazil and Australia among those vulnerable because of the complexities surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali said: “We were all looking forward to racing in Turkey but the travel restrictions in place have meant we are not able to be there in June.
“Formula One has shown again that it is able to react quickly to developments and find solutions and we are delighted that we will have a double header in Austria meaning our season remains at 23 races.”