Bomber Harris set for Shield showdown with Eastbourne Eagles at Arlington

One of Britain’s top speedway riders will be in action (Saturday, April 13) at Arlington Stadium.

Chris ‘Bomber’ Harris, a three times British champion and veteran of more than 100 GPs, will be leading the Somerset Rebels in Championship Shield action.

They will face the Eastbourne Fineprint Eagles, buoyed by a successful return to professional speedway last weekend in front of one of the biggest speedway crowds at Arlington for a long time.

Harris is renowned for a style of riding which thrills fans as he gathers momentum during races on a wide, outside line before launching an overtaking manoeuvre with man and machine scraping along the safety fence.

The Rebels – like the Eagles -– are new to this league having dropped down from the Premiership during the winter, while Eastbourne stepped up from the National League.

Eastbourne Director of Speedway, Jon Cook, said: Somerset arrive back in the Championship as one of the teams to beat.

“I would have preferred us, especially our youngsters, to have had more race time before facing them.

“It will prove a very tough challenge.

“It is our second meeting and one of the sport’s top draws, Chris Bomber Harris lands at Arlington.

“It is going to be a great pleasure watching him take on our three heatleaders – Edward Kennett, Richard Lawson and Lewi Kerr.

“Harris is so exciting but then so are Edward, Richard and Lewi, as our fans saw last Saturday night in our opening meeting.”

The meeting in the Championship Shield is the first time Eastbourne and Somerset have ever met.

The Eagles return to their usual start time with tapes up on the first race at 7.30pm.

Eastbourne are unchanged while another top rider, Rory Schlein is the main support for Harris along with Todd Kurtz and Nico Covatti.