A pair of national champions are the next two riders to join up with the new-look Mildenhall DJS Fen Tigers – proudly sponsored by Manchetts Rescue and Recovery.
Coming into the main body of the side on a tantalisingly attractive 4.50 points average is 23-year-old George Congreve.
As is ‘The Way Of The World’, Congreve brings an antipodean flavour to the Fen Tigers’ line up, hailing as he does from Canterbury in New Zealand’s South Island: an area of the world famous for producing some of Speedway’s greatest riders including Ivan Mauger, Barry Briggs and Ronnie Moore – in fact, George honed his Speedway skills after a schoolboy Motocross career on the Moore Park track named after NZ’s most iconic Speedway export.
That transition to the shale proved dramatically successful for Congreve who quickly went on to claim a hattrick of national Under 21 championships between 2019 & ’21. Last year saw George take the well-trodden path to the motherland (his grandparents are both English, allowing him racing patrilality) to ride league Speedway – but his debut season ended prematurely due to his then chosen-club Newcastle’s closure.
So, it’ll be curtain’s up for Congreve for a second season, becoming the Fen Tigers’ third Kiwi rider in their history – following in the tyre prints of Mildenhall ‘original’ from 1975, Roger Austin and a fellow NZ U21 champion from the earlier part of this century, Andrew Bargh.
The other national champion joining the DJS Fen Tigers in 2023 is a home-grown teenager who is clearly shooting to the top, former British 500cc Youth Champion, Ben Trigger.
Devonian Ben was the cream of the crop of his youth generation when he took the national title in 2021, which was also his National Development League [NDL] debut campaign, riding that year for Leicester Lion Cubs.
Pre-Lockdown the ambitious youngster famously showed an incredible dedication to progressing in the sport by travelling up from his Plymouth schoolboy home to ride in the Northern Junior League for Glasgow!
Last year he was able to impress far more locally, riding for his home city club in the NDL and some impressive performances for the Centurions caught the eye of the Mildenhall management who have come in like a speeding bullet to secure the signature of the 16-year-old.
Of the two additions to the squad the club’s promotional team have commented,
“George [Congreve] joins on an average which we are very confident he will considerably improve on and we are sure he will prove an exciting addition to the team and will receive a warm welcome from supporters. George is due to arrive back in the UK early in March.
“Ben [Trigger] meanwhile has already shown he is one of the outstanding talents of his generation, making significant strides last year putting 2.43 onto his average to record a 6 point figure for the season and big things expected from this stylish youngster. We are very pleased to have Ben join the Mildenhall DJS Fen Tigers, proudly sponsored by Manchetts Rescue and Recovery and look forward to seeing him develop further at West Row this season.”
