PAUL STARKE admits he has found the “desire” again after a horror run of injuries.
‘Iron Man’ has rejoined Glasgow five years after a double broken wrist crash at the British Final ended his season prematurely at Ashfield.
Now Starke, 33, returns to the red and white determined to retain the title after the breaks that he believes cost them the league in 2019.
He said: “I feel like I’m hitting the reset button back five years before I crashed and broke both my wrists.
“Now I’ve found a desire to get back into it again. Glasgow is somewhere I want to be.
“They won the league last year and I want to help them retain the title.
“I felt like I cost them the league title in 2019 with my injury. If I’d stayed fit I think they would have won the Grand Final.
“It started at the British Final in 2019 when I broke both my wrists. That ruled me out of the season when I was last with Glasgow.
“Then at Ipswich two years ago I damaged my thumb and I got what is called ‘skier’s thumb’.
“I hyper-extended my thumb and I continued to try and ride and I couldn’t hold on.
“It caused me to crash again and again. I then did my shoulder blade and all sorts. I lost enthusiasm and I was in so much pain. It just went t**s up really.
“Now I am injury-free and I’m concentrating on getting fit and my equipment together.”
Starke has previously been renowned for having the Midas touch when it comes to silverware having won the top flight with Poole, two National League titles and three Fours wins.
But he is quick to admit he is a born-racer and needs the right track to perform on.
He added: “If I’m honest the last couple of years have been awful for me for many different reasons.
“I think it’s very important for me to be at a club that has a proper racetrack.
“If you look at the history of the tracks I’ve been at; Poole, Somerset, Peterborough and Glasgow. They have all been great tracks.
“I need to race on proper circuits, not on small tracks that if you make a start you won’t get passed.
“Things are looking good now to get back to Glasgow, a club I’ve always been fond of.”
Words by Holeshot Media.
Images by Taylor Lanning.