FRENCHMAN David Bellego snubbed more than one of Swindon Robins’ SGB Premiership rivals in order to re-sign for the Blunsdon outfit, following Tobiasz Musielak’s unfortunate injury in Poland.

Bellego, who lives in Swindon, failed to fit into Alun Rossiter’s team for the start of the 2019 Premiership season – falling victim to the sport’s ‘numbers game’ which sees teams restricted to signing seven riders with a maximum combined average of 42.50 points.

The 26-year-old was consequently snapped up by top tier newbies Ipswich Witches. But below-par performances saw Bellego axed from Ritchie Hawkins’ side, leaving him without a club in the UK.

Bellego’s removal from the Witches’ squad coincided with Tobiasz Musielak’s unfortunate injury sustained in Poland, which has ruled him out of racing for the foreseeable future.

Robins boss Rossiter acted quickly to draft the 2017 SGB Premiership winner back into his team, and Bellego needed no second invitation to re-sign for his home town club.

He said: “I had offers elsewhere on paper, but, when Rosco (Alun Rossiter) called it was an easy decision. I’m busy this season, racing in Sweden, Denmark and Poland.

“For me to come back from Sweden on Wednesday or Thursday morning and then have to drive up the road to the Abbey is much easier for me.

“I’d have to drive three-and-a-half hours to get to Ipswich after waking up early to wash my bikes down following a flight after racing five or six days in a row. It was a lot of work.”

Familiarity with his surroundings will come as an additional boost to Bellego when he makes his second appearance for the Robins on Thursday against King’s Lynn Stars in the Supporters’ Cup.

Victory for Rossiter’s septet will see them advance to the Supporters’ Cup final. And Bellego knows adapting to the Abbey Stadium’s improved circuit will be key with regards to the home side’s chances of success.

He added: “I love the club and the new track excites me. I had some trouble the night I raced for Ipswich, but the shape of it is great.

“The surface is getting better now – starting work on a track a couple of weeks before the season starts is never ideal.

“I’m really busy at the moment, I’ve qualified for SEC (Speedway European Championship) which I’m very happy about – that was one of my goals for this season.

“Things are going well in Europe. England has been a different story, but I’d like to think things are fixed and starting to point in the right direction.”