VICTOR PLEASED WITH BANDITS CALL

BERWICK newcomer Victor Palovaara says he’s looking forward to his new opportunity after illness wrecked the closing stages of his 2025 season.

Palovaara racked up big points for Edinburgh in the Cab Direct Championship in the first half of the campaign especially, and is now making the move to Berwick – who kick off their campaign at his old home track on Good Friday.

He said: “I thought I was not going to get a team at all, the phone just didn’t ring. Perhaps people were a bit worried about how I finished the season, and looking back it was probably a mistake to return when I wasn’t anywhere near recovered from the pneumonia.

“That definitely affected me badly, but I just wanted to get back on a bike and race.

“After the way I started the season I found people saying, ‘oh he’s not had a good night’ but when I checked my programme I’d scored 11 points!

“Berwick’s not a track I’ve ridden a lot – or been successful around for that matter – before, but that’s part of the challenge and one I am really excited about. It is a very different track to Edinburgh but similar in that there is a big home advantage once you get dialled into it.”