PROMOTER Matt Ford revealed Poole Pirates had grasped their first-choice pairing at reserve for 2015 having snapped up Kyle Newman and Paul Starke.

Hometown hero and club asset Newman, recently crowned the Elite League champions' rider of the year, was Poole's pick of the tier one riders, giving Ford second choice of when it came to the tier two selection.

That meant Pirates bagged their number-one target Starke, a Somerset Rebels asset who rode for his parent club in the second tier while captaining Cradley Heathens to the National League crown.

The 24-year-old son of former speedway rider Tony Starke amassed a whopping average of 9.75 for Cradley while adding more than a point to his Premier League rating by the end of 2014, jumping from 3.52 to 4.79.

And having received a glowing reference from Rebels manager and co-promoter Garry May, Ford could not hide his delight over the new double act.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “I have to say I am much happier this time. It was all rushed without a lot of time to think about things last year.

“Everybody had a much clearer idea of how things would work this time with a fairer system put in place.

“Our first priority was protecting our own asset in Kyle Newman and once we had done that we were lucky enough to pick up Paul Starke so I am incredibly pleased.

“He was certainly my choice from the second batch of riders. He had a very good season with Somerset and I spoke at length with Garry May a couple of weeks ago who felt he was ready for the step up.

“While he was part of the Birmingham team last year, he showed his capabilities and we have a much more balanced-looking reserve partnership this time.”

Full draft (tier one riders named first)

Poole: Kyle Newman and Paul Starke.

Coventry: Jason Garrity and James Sarjeant.

King's Lynn: Lewis Kerr and Joe Jacobs.

Swindon: Charles Wright and Lewis Rose.

Lakeside: Ashley Birks and Adam Ellis.

Wolverhampton: Lewis Blackbird and Josh Bates.

Belle Vue: Steve Worrall and Stefan Nielsen.

Leicester: Josh Auty and Simon Lambert.