The Scunthorpe Scorpions have commenced their team building for 2025 by confirming that 17-year-old local lad Luke Harrison will return for a second season with the club.
The teenager did terrifically well in his first full season at Cab Direct Championship level in 2024. He started the season on a 2.00 assessed Green Sheet average and completed the season on more than double that on 4.43.
Furthermore, his form in the closing weeks of the season was very impressive, giving the likes of Scott Nicholls, Josh Pickering, Richard Lawson and Tom Brennan a hard time around the Eddie Wright Raceway. He scored paid 13 (against Edinburgh) and 12 (against Poole) in the final two home meetings of the season. He also finished second in the British Under-19 Final at Oxford in early October.
It was no surprise when the management and his fellow riders voted Harrison their Rider Of The Year for the 2024 season, and even less surprise that he will return to Scorpions.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “Luke’s form was a real highlight of the 2024 season and it was a complete no-brainer for us to have him back with the Scorpions in 2025.
“He progressed so much from the start of the season to the end. He was doing okay at the beginning of the year but was in sensation form towards the end of the season. We put him out in Heat 13 three times in succession at the Eddie Wright Raceway and he didn’t look out of place in that race against some of the best riders in the league.
“There will still be no pressure on Luke from the management. We just want him to develop as a rider. He’s a great prospect, but there’s always going to be ups and downs, so all we can do as a club is continue to support him in the early stages of what we hope will be a very successful career in speedway.
“Our supporters love Luke. He’s a local lad, and many of them have known him for years since he was a kid. He’s a fantastic talent and a nice lad from a nice family and it’s a fabulous way for us to start our team building for next season.”
Words by Scunthorpe Speedway – Image by Ian Rispin