MICHAEL PALM TOFT and Connor Mountain have both been retained by the Scunthorpe Scorpions for the 2024 season.
They join Kyle Howarth, Jake Allen, Simon Lambert, Nathan Ablitt and Luke Harrison in a now completed septet for the Cab Direct Championship for the forthcoming year.
33-year-old Danish star Palm Toft re-joined Scorpions last season in his third spell with the club. He started his UK career with Scunthorpe in 2011 and won the league title with Scorpions in 2012.
Mountain, aged 26, started at Mildenhall in the National League in 2014, and won the Championship with Leicester a year later. He had previously been a target for Scunthorpe and finally joined the North Lincolnshire club in 2023. He is son of former rider Andy Mountain.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “It’s great to have both Michael and Connor back for Scorpions in 2024.
“Michael is on a gift average of 7.01, despite the fact he can beat anybody around our Eddie Wright Raceway and can also score well at any track in the Cab Direct Championship.
“He’s not a rider I would consider particularly accident prone – he’s just been a bit unlucky with injuries over the last couple of years. It can happen in speedway.
“It’s not that long ago that Michael was riding at No 1 in the top-flight at Peterborough during a season where they won the league. He’s a quality rider. With an injury-free run, we know what’s he capable of.
“As for Connor, he had been a target for Scunthorpe for several years because of his form around the EWR and we were delighted when he agreed to ride for us last season.
“He put in some very good performances for us, while his 7+1 from the tough No 3 spot in the second leg of the Cup Final at Poole was a terrific performance.
“He’s still a young rider on an upward curve and it’s great to have him back riding for Scorpions for a second season.”
The return of Palm Toft and Mountain means there are five returning Scorpions from the side that completed the 2023 season with victory in the Cup Final over Poole.
Godfrey said: “Our 2023 side had an exceptional team spirit, so it’s good to retain most of that team, with Jake, Michael, Simon, Connor and Nathan all returning.
“Only Ryan (Douglas) and Drew (Kemp) are not back. Ryan has moved into the top-flight in Poland, which is a tremendous opportunity for him. With Drew, it was with a heavy heart that we didn’t bring him back, because he was pivotal in us winning the Cup, scoring paid 23 across the two legs of the final.
“Drew had been down in the dumps at the end of the previous season, but we were able to bring him in and he totally turned himself around, which was great to see. He’s been quickly snapped up by Berwick and I hope he has a good year with them.
“It’s always a jigsaw puzzle, and we’ve constructed a side that comes in bang on the 38.00 limit. I believe we have a strong top five, accompanied by two very talented young British riders at reserve.”
Scunthorpe Scorpions 2024 confirmed starters:
Kyle Howarth 7.76
Jake Allen 7.16
Michael Palm Toft 7.01
Simon Lambert 5.87
Connor Mountain 5.28
Nathan Ablitt 2.92
Luke Harrison 2.00
Words and Images by Scunthorpe Speedway
