Complin back nine years after retiring
NEWCASTLE Diamonds have agreed to sign former Berwick Bandit Lee Complin – nine years after he retired due to injury.
The popular racer quit the sport in 2012 due to a collarbone injury and work commitments but has made a dramatic return to the saddle and completes the Diamonds’ line-up.
His neck is now fully healed and now selfemployed, the 37-year-old is back and has unfinished business in the sport.
Complin was on the books of nine different clubs during his career and left the sport while still achieving 7.34 heat leader average.
Asked about his return to the shale he said: “If I didn’t think I could get back to the level I was at before I retired, I wouldn’t be bothering making a comeback.
“I believe the Newcastle supporters will see the same entertaining and successful rider that I was back in my glory days. “I am 100% ready for this, my fitness is in top form, and I can promise I will be giving my all every meeting to help Newcastle win some silverware.”
He has openly admitted his enthusiasm and determination to get back to his former heat-leading ways and is following a strict fitness regime to get race-fit, as well as making sure the all-important equipment is up to the job for his comeback. Since quitting speedway, he has participated in grasstrack, some road racing and motocross, and has adapted to all these sports with ease. Speedway, though, has always been a massive part of his life and that need for speed is once again calling him back.
He is a born racer who has ridden for many clubs including Sheffield, Stoke and Berwick, and by accepting to become a Diamond in 2022, as a club asset is a massive boost for Newcastle. Club owner Rob Grant added: “I have known Lee from our early days of racing, and I am excited to see know he is capable of producing on the track once more.
“I am certain he will be yet another great surprise signing for the Diamonds, and I believe him when he said he wouldn’t be making a return if he didn’t think he could get back to the standard he once was.
“He will push hard, and anyone that remembers Lee on a bike, will know that he was a very gifted rider with a natural talent and a lack of any fear, scraping many a fence just to make that vital pass in order to score those points, this combination making him a true fans favourite.”
Grant continued: “Quite a few people were shocked when I announced James Wright after he had been out for a while, but I think we can all agree he finished last season as one of our most dependable riders and that speaks for itself as he now starts 2022 as our skipper.
“I’m confident the signing of Lee will also follow suit and he may very well turn out to be the signing of the season.”
Anyone interested in sponsoring Complin is advised to contact the Diamonds via email – info@ newcastle-speedway.co.uk – or Facebook.
If I didn’t think I could get back to the level I was at before I retired, I wouldn’t be bothering making a comeback Lee Complin