Scunthorpe Scorpions have confirmed that club captain David Howe has agreed terms to ride for the side for a fourth season.

Howe is just forty-five points away from becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer and, having gone through the last month of the 2011 season in outstanding form, he is determined to continue the trend in 2012.

“The form in October was no fluke. Although I was making sure I was getting more sleep on the night before a meeting the big change was the addition of Ted Midgley as my mechanic.

“Ted had been with Chris Harris for six years and during that time Chris certainly rose to a new level within the sport.

“Ted is a great with the bikes and frees up a lot of my time so I’m not working all the hours to keep the bikes in top condition.

“Obviously I’m also entering the World Long Track championship for the first time and that is going to be exciting but I am determined to score a lot more points for Scunthorpe.

“I’m very happy to have re-signed and never wanted to ride anywhere else. I’m excited about the direction the club is going and as captain and number one I want to lead from the front”.

Howe is the first name to be announced for the Scorpions and, with the league’s AGM set for next week, Team Manager Richard Hollingsworth is hoping the side can start to take shape soon.

“We are looking at lots of permutations but it’s probably a bit naïve to announce too many riders prior to the AGM.

“The team building limit and the method of calculating averages could change so there is no way we can finalise things until after the meeting.

“That said I am delighted that David Howe has agreed to return. He has an intense pride in his performances and it shows every time he gets on a bike.

“No one could ever accuse him of not caring and I was so pleased at the end of the season when he was rewarded with probably his best run in the Premier League”.

“He averaged 10.04 in October from nine meetings and only two of those were at Scunthorpe. Any rider in the league would be delighted with that kind of form and I really think he will finally become one of the very best riders in the league next year.

“He really enjoys the challenge of riding at number one in the team and it is important to have riders who want to do that.

“Whether he will start the season at number one has to be seen but if he doesn’t then I’m sure David will be desperate to claim the position back.

“We are blessed to have a rider like David at the club and long may he want to ride for us”.