Graham Drury fuming as Kenneth Hansen pulls out of fixture

Sep 3 2008 By Nigel Pearson

KENNETH Hansen’s move to Birmingham has dramatically collapsed – just hours before his Perry Barr debut with Somerset.

Hansen agreed terms with BRC Roofing Brummies boss Graham Drury a week ago but late last night the deal was off because of a clash of dates with his Danish League club Slangerup.

A fuming Drury was left with no option but to take Hansen out of the declared line-up for Birmingham, who will continue to operate the rider replacement facility for Kyle Legault.

Said Drury: “We agreed everything at a meeting last week and that’s why we announced the signing of Hansen. It was subject to him being available for all Birmingham meetings – if not, then we wouldn’t be signing him and he was told that.

“Then late last night I spoke with his brother and major sponsor who said there was a problem regarding tonight’s meeting because the Slangerup v Esbjerg match in Denmark is so important to their league title. I have no idea why it was left so late to tell us.

“As I have stated before, there is no way I would sign a rider who couldn’t ride on a Wednesday night, why would I? I’m not happy at all and once this problem arose I took the decision there and then to take Hansen out of the line-up and pull the plug on the deal.

“It’s a major disappointment for the club because we were looking forward to having him in the team – but the rider himself knew the signing was subject to him being available for all our meetings. Clearly that’s not the case so once again I have done what I believe is in the best interests of Birmingham Speedway.”

James Birkinshaw will get a massive welcome back after a month out of the saddle tonight. His release from the Brummies team was controversial to say the least and his all-out effort makes him a massive hit on the terraces.

Tomasz Piszcz will be looking to keep up his impressive run of form, which has seen him hit double figures on a regular basis since joining the club.

Somerset include former Premier League title winner Emil Kramer, who won it with Hull in 2004, and former Birmingham man Brent Werner is at reserve. The Californian was the first skipper of the Brummies in their relaunch season last year, but later retired having lost his appetite for racing.

Tonight’s meeting will be followed immediately by an Academy meeting featuring the Mercom Bulls against Somerset Giants.

BIRMINGHAM: Tomasz Piszcz, James Birkinshaw, Jason Lyons, Craig Watson, Kyle Legault R/R, James Cockle, Jay Herne.

SOMERSET: Jason Doyle, Simon Walker R/R, Emil Kramer, Stephan Katt, Jordan Frampton, Brent Werner, Matthias Kroger.