Jack Smith enjoyed a fairly successful season with Glasgow Tigers but the 27-year-old was without a club in either the Championship or National Development League in 2025.
The son of Andy Smith, a three-time British Champion, was on the verge of quitting the sport but, fortunately, he was on the radar of Berwick bosses Jamie Courtney and Stewart Dickson who were looking for a replacement for injured Danish racer Bastian Borke.
Courtney offered a 28-day injury replacement contract and the Stoke-based racer (pictured by Keith Hamblin) said: “That one call kept me on a speedway bike.”
Berwick converted the short-term contract to cover the rest of the season and Smith did enough to convince the Berwick management that he should be part of their 2026 team-building plans.
Smith said: “I can’t remember the last time that I was named in a starting line-up early and able to get a full winter training and in the workshop under my belt.
“2024 was fairly typical for me, getting called into the Glasgow team, doing OK – I actually forced my way into the main team – but not getting asked back.
“Last year started similarly but I took the call and eventually got to grips with Berwick – a track I hadn’t done much on in the past – and ended the season strongly with paid-13 against Workington.”
Now, the racer wants to repay the faith Berwick have shown in him and prove that he is more than just the National League rider.
Smith lines up for the Bandits in their opening fixtures this weekend – BSN Series clashes with Edinburgh at Armadale on Friday (tapes-up 7.30pm) and Shielfield Park (7pm) the following night.
His reserve partner is Australian rider Reid Battye who makes his British team debut.
Berwick hope to lean heavily on the track knowledge of winter signings Lasse Fredriksen and Victor Palovaara as they head up the A1 to Armadale.
Palovaara finished the 2025 season as Monarchs’ No 1 having begun it at reserve while Fredriksen spent three years at Armadale before switching to Plymouth.
They join Peter Kildemand, Nick Morris and Jye Etheridge in a Berwick side keen to land a play-off place, but the first aim is to make it out of the qualifying stages of a very strong BSN group which also includes Glasgow Tigers.
