Speedway: Dyer won’t be holding anything in reserve once he pulls on a Monarchs vest

Micky DYER has not ridden competitive speedway in the UK since 2010 – but Edinburgh Monarchs’ new reserve signing is making sure he will be fully fit when he pulls on his race jacket for the first time in two months.

Instead of surfing and ‘barbies’, Dyer is currently contesting the Australian Championship having scored 11 points in the qualifier in Brisbane last Friday. He then scored three points in the competition proper in the same city and will contest the concluding two rounds over the following two weekends.

Dyer rode for National League outfit Dudley Heathens two years ago and is already looking forward to his debut Premier League campaign. “I didn’t really know a lot about Edinburgh up until now, when I rode for Dudley I lived in Swindon and I did okay for them. I found Wolverhampton tricky to ride at first but, once I found the knack of getting round, it was a pretty nice circuit to ride. I have heard that Armadale is similar so hopefully I’ll be able to get round there too.”

Dyer, who will partner ex-Workington Comets star Charles Wright at the tail-end, had planned to ride for Premier League newcomers Plymouth Devils last season, but revealed his dream was dashed at the last minute. “Plymouth boss Mike Bowden had promised me a team spot but when it came down to the crunch he told me it was no longer available, by then every other team had finalised their line-ups so I missed out, and it was a bit disappointing.”

While the Aussie Championship is keeping Dyer busy, he says he is lining up some good equipment to give himself the best chance of finding success with Monarchs.

“I’ve just built a brand new bike. It’s a Jawa chassis with all the good bits, and I’ve also bought two brand-new engines. These two engines will be sent to Edinburgh and I’ve got an engine here in Australia which I’m using.”

Dyer is also hoping he can compete in the upcoming Australian Under-21 Championship at the end of the month where he hopes to improve on his fourth position 12 months ago, finishing ahead of a host of riders who have done well in the UK.

“I had a good meeting that night in Brisbane, but I’m not sure how the rules work. I turned 21 last week, if I can ride in it, I definitely will. So far this winter I have done a few longtrack meetings but other than that not too much.

“But now I’m back in training, running every night and I’m going to start visiting the gym to get real fit.”

Dyer and Wright are expected to bring a degree of scoring respectability back to Monarchs’ troublesome reserve berths, but the Aussie is not without ambitions. “I would like it if I can attain my five-point starting average and hopefully move into the main body of the Monarchs team. That would be ideal, I plan to fly out from Australia at the end of February to give myself a couple of weeks to get organised and find out where everything is.

“I’ve got a lot of Edinburgh fans on Facebook wishing me luck, so that’s good, and Monarchs promoter John Campbell has told me he has lined up somewhere good for me to stay. I know a couple of my Monarchs team-mates, I sort of know (Australian) Matty Wethers and I know Craig Cook, I can’t wait to get started.”