TV Nat backs national set-up

Images courtesy of Taylor Lanning Photography

The BT Sport presenter has fronted the incredible screen scenes as GB produced Silver medals in the World Cup and Speedway of Nations over the past four years. Quirk is adamant that a successful national side is the perfect platform for blossoming success of the sport in the UK. She said: “I don’t think I’ll forget that World Cup Final at Belle Vue in 2016 for a long time. It was one of the greatest meetings I’ve ever had the pleasure of presenting. The noise of the fans that day in Manchester as GB chased the Gold medal was absolutely electric. It just goes to show how much the fans want a successful national team. It was also so exciting to see Tai Woffinden, Robert Lambert and Craig Cook get so agonisingly close to Gold two years ago in the Speedway of Nations in Wroclaw. You can actually feel the groundswell of national team support. It’s something that the sport has needed for some time now. It’s really interesting to see how Great Britain have gone up a level over the past couple of seasons. The entire set-up looks polished and there’s such an impressive backroom team. I know that the riders feel they benefit from that a great deal. Perhaps the most vital aspect is the new GB Academy. We’ve got such a great bunch of young lads coming through, they definitely have the right platform to gain experience from for all parts of being a sportsman. I cannot remember so much enthusiasm and encouragement for Great Britain in Speedway during my lifetime. It will definitely take a few years for all the hard work that is going in now to really make a different on the track, but they are doing everything right to make it happen.”

Quirk, like most of the sporting fraternity, has been frustrated by the Coronavirus crisis lockdown which has stopped Speedway. But there are signs that action could start soon. She added: “First and foremost, this has been a necessary action to save lives and protect our fabulous NHS. Sadly so many people have lost their lives, sport is simply not important. However, football has just been given the Green light to start on June 17. I’m sure that is a positive sign for all sports including Speedway. At BT Sport we were naturally excited about the beginning of the Grand Prix series, it remains to be seen how that unfolds but whatever happens, we will probably get some racing now and it’s going to be a unique season.”