Hammers fail with Holta bid

Lakeside can't land GP star

Last updated: 8th September 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Hammers fail with Holta bid

Holta: No deal

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Lakeside have failed with an audacious attempt to lure Grand Prix star Rune Holta to British speedway.

The injury hit Hammers are desperate to bolster their squad having seen the likes of Adam Shields, Joonas Kylmakorpi and Jonas Davidsson all sidelined by serious injuries.

The Norwegian-born Polish international is one of the few world-class riders never to have ridden in the Sky Sports Elite League and he was tempted by the prospect of riding at Purfleet.

However, a shoulder injury has meant that Holta has had to reduce his current schedule and is unable to take on any British commitments.

"I spoke at length with Rune on Friday and he was genuinely disappointed not to be able to join us," said Lakeside promoter Jon Cook told the club's website.

"He very much fancied joining up for our title challenge and I think it's a sign of the progression of the club that we were this close to getting the rider to the UK."

Two more no's

Lakeside have also failed with bids to land former EL stars Matej Zagar and Pepe Protasiewicz because of clashes with league meetings in Poland.

"We still have a few options open to us and will look to move for another target once the Polish play-off picture is clearer but in the meantime we need to focus on the job of guaranteeing ourselves second spot in the League, which we can do with two wins this week," he added.

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