Aussie ace Jason Doyle says he feels “back to 100 percent” as he prepares to get back on track with British side Ipswich in 2025.
Doyle has competed for the Witches in the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership since 2022 but missed most of last season after suffering a torn rotator cuff in a crash at King’s Lynn last May.
This also ended his FIM Speedway Grand Prix season, with the Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw winner needing a wild card to retain his place in the series.
Doyle admits getting back to full fitness has been no easy ride, but he’s happy with his progress as he plots a February return to the saddle.
He said: “I had the operation in the middle of June, and it has been a rollercoaster to get back to full fitness. As many people know with shoulder injuries, one minute you are okay and the next you are back to square one. At the moment it is really good, and I feel back to 100 percent.
“I wasn’t ready a month ago, but I am now. It is good that I didn’t rush anything and did everything the right way, the way the doctors said. If it was a broken bone, I would have been back pretty much straight away, but when you know you are going to be unsafe on the bike, you need to do the right thing and make sure everything is 100 percent. I have got a few more years left to push for that top spot and a lot more racing to do with Ipswich.”
Spending a summer on the sidelines was an unusual experience for the ultra-busy Doyle, who competes in three leagues as well as Speedway GP. But he was determined to make the most if it.
He said: “It was nice to experience the family side with my baby girl Grace which I haven’t done in so many years.
“I got to do a lot of things outside of speedway, go on holidays to Spain a couple of times and relax a bit as I tried to get back to 100 percent. At the moment I am lucky to have the right people around me and feel like it is all getting better.”
Doyle admits he was concerned he may not get a permanent Speedway GP wild card after compatriot Jack Holder gained automatic qualification for 2025, while Brady Kurtz and Max Fricke qualified at the FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice on October 4.
“It was nerve wracking watching the GP qualifier and seeing there were already three Aussies going into the Grand Prix,” he said.
“I’m lucky I won the Warsaw GP and was up there in the top three in the world before I got injured. I showed a lot of pace and drive to be world No.1 again. There were a few things I needed to make sure were right before going back in the Grand Prix again, but I am ready to go.”
As for his British plans, Doyle is delighted to join the likes of former FIM Speedway of Nations winner Emil Sayfutdinov, Danny King, Adam Ellis, Dan Thompson and Jordan Jenkins in the Ipswich side.
He said: “It was a pretty simple decision; obviously other clubs speak to you, but I don’t want leave any stone unturned.
“After two and a half years, and I classify last year as a half term with the club, we need to push on. With the team that we have got for next year, I feel like we have got a chance to finally get that league trophy.”
Elsewhere, Birmingham has confirmed double FIM SON world champion Tom Brennan will not return to Perry Barr in 2025.