Glasgow Tigers have been dealt a hammer blow on the eve of the new speedway season after reserve Jack Parkinson-Blackburn decided to quit the sport.
The 17-year-old was due to make his Tigers debut in the Scottish Cup against Edinburgh at Ashfield on Friday.
However, he informed the club that he was taking time out of racing leaving them with a last-minute rush to sign up a new rider.
Tigers have just two points to play with and will have to dip into speedway’s third-tier National League to find a replacement.
Peter Facenna, a club director, said: “This is hugely disappointing news. We had high hopes for Jack and had given him a lot of assistance during the winter in order to ensure he was ready to hit the ground running for the new season.
“With nearly every team now complete, finding someone that isn’t already racing in the Championship won’t be easy.”
Glasgow are hosting a practice session at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium on Thursday from 6pm with free entry for fans.
The Scottish sides then go head-to-head at 7.30pm on Friday with the second-leg held a week later.
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