STEVE WORRALL was honoured to be asked back to Blunsdon for today’s Bob Kilby Memorial Meeting.

The Swindon Advertiser Rider of the Year got the call from event organiser and Bob’s son Lee to take part in the rearranged meeting and the former Robin had no hesitation in saying yes.

As a reserve last year, Worrall was a storming success for Swindon, but as a Belle Vue asset, they had the say on whether he would return to the Abbey this season. Ultimately, they kept hold of the 23-year-old, forcing Robins boss Alun Rossiter to source new talent.

The rider enjoyed his experience at the Abbey and is looking forward to returning to the track where he excelled last season.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Worrall expressed his gratitude at being asked to attend and his excitement of taking on such a strong field.

“It’s nice to give something back,” he said. “Especially with this kind of meeting, it’s nice to be involved, to be thought of and asked to come and ride.

“There’s been a lot of meetings like this over the start of the season, especially the Ricky Ashworth benefit. I think everyone who rode in that felt quite special to be asked to do it.

“I kind of feel like that now, it’s a bit of honour to be asked in this kind of meeting.”

“It was nice of Lee to invite me to come. I was riding for Swindon last year and I enjoyed it so much, it’s good to have one last go kind of as a Swindon rider, even if now I’m up at Belle Vue.

“It’s nice of them to think ‘we’ll ask Steve’ because it is a really strong line-up. I keep looking at it and going ‘blimey’. It's a hard task for my first meeting. I guess I’ll just gauge myself and see where I am.”

The chance to link up with former boss Rossiter, skipper Troy Batchelor and the Abbey track itself were other factors in why Worrall was feeling so enthused about his cameo return.

“It will be nice to see familiar faces, especially Rosco - I got on with him really well,” he added.

“Troy helped me out a lot last year with advice and things. I felt like I could go and ask him anything.

“Some people feel like they can’t go up and talk to the more experienced riders but he helped me out a lot. He was there all the time and you could go and ask him anything and if he’d got time, he’d tell you and let you know.

“I have wanted to ride (the Blunsdon) track all winter really, because I really enjoyed it last year. I keep seeing people are practicing on it and thinking ‘I wouldn’t mind having a go myself’.

“It’s good to get back there and get some laps done. I don’t think Rosco would let me practice on it otherwise.”

Swindon Robins skipper Troy Batchelor will also ride in the meeting, along with 2015 teammates Lewis Rose and Charles Wright, while top names such as Scott Nicholls, Freddie Lindgren and Hans Andersen are also in the field.

Draw: 1 Lewis Rose, 2 Josh Grajczonek, 3 Scott Nicholls, 4 Freddie Lindgren, 5 Hans Andersen, 6 Charles Wright, 7 Max Fricke, 8 Nick Morris, 9 Chris Harris, 10 Brady Kurtz, 11 Bjarne Pedersen, 12 Justin Sedgmen, 13 Steve Worrall, 14 Sam Simota, 15 Sam Masters, 16 Troy Batchelor.