MICHAEL Palm Toft is confident that he can add even more silverware to his impressive CV.
The pocket rocket Dane has won the league title in both tiers of British speedway, the KO Cup and Fours over a dozen years of racing.
MPT, 33, has suffered a succession of injuries over the past five seasons but still managed to pick up more glory with Scunthorpe last October.
Now he wants that winning feeling again with the Scorpions and King’s Lynn in 2024.
He said: “I know that people say this team or that team are going to win the title because of the riders they have got. It doesn’t work like that.
“A team on paper might look good but it’s whether the riders will work together. I think Scunny look really good again, very solid and good guys.
“We really are due a good season at King’s Lynn. We had so much heartbreak at the end of 2018.
“We had two trophies we could have picked up that year. It just seems to have been a downward spiral ever since. For whatever reason it just hasn’t gone to plan.
“I think we have got a pretty good team on paper with a lot of nice riders. I also think the team spirit should be high.”
Palm Toft is raring to go for the season which kicks off in just over a fortnight. But he’s hoping for an injury-free run.
He added: “Last season I completely smashed my leg up. It was a really stupid incident. I made the start, the bike reared up in the middle of the bend and got it down.
“I thought I’d just get a skid on and get round the rest of the corner.
“But at King’s Lynn you don’t just get a skid on. I had time to think. I just felt I’d jump off the bike and let the bike take the impact and I’ll be fine.
“I then thought to myself to tuck my leg in. But I didn’t manage to do it in time. The right foot took the whole impact.
“I did my Tibia-Fibula and one of them was completely broken over and a slight fracture to it. My ankle was completely blown apart but nothing stuck out.
“I had it plated and two screws to hold it in. But they had to put them through one bone and into another to hold it all together. I did a pretty good job on that!
“In 2022 I had a right shoulder issue which we couldn’t find the problem.
“It’s so hard with injuries because it just takes the enjoyment out of it. This is a job and a business for me but I have to enjoy it again.
“When you’ve been out injured it’s so tough to come back at the end of the season. I came back into the Play-Offs and it’s so hard to get your rhythm going.
“After the injury last season, I had so much catching up to do. My fitness was so rubbish because I’d been sitting on the couch for two months.
“An injury like that can play mind games on you. It’s like ‘Am I really that good enough?’
“I’ve heard this term used with footballers that they are playing with fear. Then you don’t play freely. It’s really weird thinking playing with fear in football. What are they talking about? We are the ones riding bikes without brakes.
“But if you are not 100 per cent yourself, you are playing with fear. It’s like that with speedway if you are not 100 per cent fit.”
Words by Holeshot Media.
Images by Phil Lanning.