New Zealander Bradley Wilson-Dean hopes to benefit from riding alongside Swindon Robins' captain Jason Doyle

Abbey Stadium boss Alun Rossiter has given Wilson-Dean his first crack in the top flight of British speedway in 2017, with the 22-year-old having spent last season in the second tier at now-promoted Somerset Rebels.

Wilson-Dean is set to slot in at number two on the Robins’ roster, meaning half of his races will be alongside Australian Grand Prix star Doyle.

As well as securing crucial first-hand experience from one of the best riders in the world, Wilson-Dean hopes that being in Doyle’s slipstream will also pay dividends with his points tally.

“I think I am going to be starting at number two, which will be a bit of a challenge but I am feeling pretty confident,” said Wilson-Dean, who will contribute an exclusive weekly column for the Adver this season.

“I am sure Jason is going to be leading from the front and there are quite a few of us younger guys who will be looking to him for guidance and trying to take what we can from him.

“I think I will be doing two out of my four rides in a meeting with Jason, so that’ll be pretty cool. Hopefully, I can get some paid points behind him and try not to get in his way too much.

“It’ll be good. He knows what he is doing on a bike and he knows how to team ride his partner home, so I think he is going to be a really good partner for me.”

Wilson-Dean has only competed in a top-flight meeting in Britain once before and although that proved a baptism of fire, he is not daunted by the challenge ahead.

“I am really looking forward to making that step up,” he added.

“I had one meeting last season guesting for Poole at Lakeside but I struggled with the track, so that was a bit of an eye-opener about what to expect.

“I also had a challenge match at Swindon and I scored about 10 points against pretty much the full Swindon team – they were only missing Jason Doyle.

“I feel pretty confident that I can chip in and score some points for the team.”