SPEEDWAY pundit Kelvin Tatum MBE has tipped Swindon Robins to benefit from the return of 2017 world champion Jason Doyle, who will lead Alun Rossiter’s charge when tapes rise on the new SGB Premiership season in April.

Tatum, a two-times British Champion and three-times World Longtrack Champion, was in Swindon last week with fellow commentator Nigel Pearson as part of their ‘Tatum & Pearson Live 2019’ tour.

With a fresh season of domestic and Grand Prix commentary commitments on the horizon, 54-year-old Tatum believes the re-signing of Jason Doyle could be key if Alun Rossiter’s side are to regain their SGB Premiership crown from Poole Pirates.

He said: “To bring the 2017 world champion back to the club can only be a positive, and I sense from Jason Doyle’s perspective that he will be extremely keen to do well this season.

“As a result of that, I would expect the Swindon Robins to benefit from his presence.

“We’re looking forward to the Grand Prix too. There is no doubt that Warsaw (the opening round) rivals Cardiff – it’s a terrific venue and attracts a huge crowd.

“It will be an exciting start to the season, and a highly competitive year.”

Hosted at the Southbrook Inn, the talk show started with discussions regarding the latest developments at Blunsdon from team manager Alun Rossiter and chairman Terry Russell before both Pearson and Tatum revealed stories from years past.

This included Tatum’s rather unfortunate passport mishap prior to the 2017 Swedish Speedway Grand Prix in Malilla.

Tatum’s excited arrival at London Heathrow airport soon took a turn for the worse when he realised he had in fact picked up his wife’s passport – forcing a whole day stuck in terminal five while he waited for the next flight out to Gothenburg.

Among other stories, the evening revealed the pair’s strong friendship - and Tatum thanking the Swindon public for their support of the event.

He added: “We hadn’t visited Swindon for one of our shows previously, and I’m not quite sure why.

“It was a terrific night, we had a great turnout and I’m pleased everybody managed to make their way to the venue. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Quite clearly people tune into the television and listen to what we have to say. But, like anything, to hear about the ins and outs of what goes on behind the scenes is interesting to people.

“We’ve come across that a lot in our evening shows, we recognise people enjoy hearing our stories. And we do try to base the evenings on fun and enjoyment.

“We don’t want to get into rules and regulations too much, that tends to be a bit of a mood mover.

“Alun (Rossiter) did a superb job hosting the event, he created an atmosphere on the night that made it very enjoyable. A big thank you to him.”