Workington Comets have announced that former British Champion Craig Cook has been released by the club with immediate effect.
The club confirmed the news on Monday, citing the challenges of operating with the Rider Replacement facility and the difficulties of securing suitable guest riders as key factors behind the decision.
In a statement published on the Workington Speedway website, the club said:
“Workington Speedway can confirm that Craig Cook has been released from the club with immediate effect.
Out of respect for Craig and the circumstances, the club will not be commenting further on the matter.
However, after careful consideration, the promotion has concluded that it can no longer continue operating with the Rider Replacement facility on a regular basis. The ongoing shortage of suitable guest options has also presented significant challenges in recent weeks and has made it increasingly difficult to field the strongest possible side.
The promotion firmly believes that supporters, who spend their hard-earned money following the Comets, deserve to see a complete one-to-seven line-up every week. Unfortunately, due to injuries and other circumstances, we have been unable to provide that consistency since our opening meeting at Redcar.
With a substantial portion of the season still remaining, the promotion has taken the difficult decision to make a change in order to give the team the best possible opportunity to achieve its objectives. While there have been encouraging signs, recent close results have highlighted that the team has not yet been able to fulfil its potential.
This was a tough decision to make by the promotion. Craig’s performances during his time have been excellent and that’s evident in his scores, but we need a consistent team – so we would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Craig for all of his efforts in Comets colours and we wish him well for the future.
The promotion would also like to thank supporters for their continued backing and patience. A further announcement will be made very soon.”
The Comets have indicated that a further announcement regarding the team’s future plans will follow shortly.
Statement and Image courtesy of Workington Speedway.
