BIRMINGHAM Brummies have announced the signing of Finnish international Tero Aarnio – who will make his debut in Wednesday’s Championship game with Sheffield at Perry Barr.
Aarnio arrives as a free agent, and will replace the outgoing Ulrich Ostergaard, who has had a difficult start to the season.
The 35-year old hopes to lift the fortunes of the Brummies – who have won just once in the league this season – going into the final three months of the season.
He brings a wealth of second-tier experience to the Perry Barr side, and team boss Laurence Rogers believes the Finn can be a success with the Brummies.
“He’s got so much experience at this level and he really is a capable performer.
“He’s represented Finland on the world stage many times and he was itching to get back into British Speedway, and was a really reliable member of Newcastle’s team last season and has hit some good form on the continent as well.
“We’re delighted to welcome him to Birmingham and we thank Rob Godfrey at Scunthorpe for his co-operation over the past 24-hours.”
Rogers offered some departing words to Danish rider Ostergaard, who exits after three stints with the Brummies.
“The way we’d built our team over the winter meant he started at number one, but he was up for the challenge and we thought he’d turned a corner when he scored double figures against Eastbourne at the beginning of the month.
“But he’s struggled in his last four meetings for us and his scores from the heat-leader position he’s been in have been well below what we need as a team.
“He’s had a few things going on behind the scenes as well and we hope Ulrich does get signed up somewhere else very soon because he’s a smashing guy.
“Again, we hope this reiterates to Birmingham supporters that we’re not just happy to be a part of this league – we want to compete as best we can and we want to the best that we can be.”
