Last updated 19:42, Thursday, 08 May 2008

WORKINGTON Comets have, literally, been given a helping hand as they head into a potentially five-point weekend.

RACING: Daniel Nermark

Iron man Daniel Nermark who badly hurt his hand in a terrible crash at Rye House on Monday has declared himself fit to race.

Nermark, in fact, shrugged off this injury to ride in Sweden the night after he smashed from the safety fencing at Rye House.

He had to withdraw from the meeting after doing only three of this schedule riders and his absence proved costly for Comets - see match report on page 48.

Track paramedics suspected a broken scaphoid but a hospital check later in the day was inconclusive and it was Nermark’s decision whether he flew out to Sweden to fulfil a league commitment there.

Comets owner Keith Denham said: “He’s a tough lad and although he was in some discomfort from the swollen thumb he decided to go out there and see how he felt at start time.

“He was obviously okay to race and he must have been feeling fine because he scored 12 points. I really was fearing the worst on Monday but we appear to have got away with it. For once Lady Luck is smiling on us.”

Nermark stayed in Sweden to ride last night before flying back for the Comets’ match at struggling new boys Scunthorpe tonight.

He will be at Workington tomorrow for the match with Reading Racers - and the eagerly-awaited track confrontation with Ulrich Ostergaard - before flying out for commitments in Poland on Sunday.

Reading, the next visitors to Derwent Park on Saturday, were well-beaten 58-34 on the Isle of Wight on Tuesday when Comets’ reserve Joe Haines was their guest number seven.

The Bolton teenager scored three points from his five rides but was forced to retire in two of them.

He was second to James Holder in the reserves race and his only other scoring ride was third, when he was Reading’s point scorer in an Islanders’ 5-1 for Cory Gathercole and Holder.

In the penultimate race of the night Haines determinedly held the lead for two laps before Andrew Bargh forged a route through. Latterly, Haines’ machinery unfortunately gave up the ghost, allowing Fry to link with his colleague for the home side’s sixth maximum advantage of the night.

It’s been a busy weekend for the teenager as this was his fourth consecutive meeting - two for the Comets and one each for Rye House and Reading as guests.

Meanwhile Berwick Bandits have signed the former Workington Comets rider Scott Smith who was released last week.

Smith will attempt to re-activate his career with his former club and makes his debut tomorrow at Shielfield against the Isle of Wight.

The 34-year-old Yorkshireman will go into the Bandits team as a replacement for the injured Guglielmo Franchetti, and this will be his third spell with the Berwick club.