Hammers tempt Larsen back.

Arena-Essex Speedway Promoter, Ronnie Russell, has been in talks with Josh Larsen virtually since the moment he decided to take the Hammers back up into the top League of Speedway in this Country. These talks have eventually resulted in an agreement between the two parties to bring the popular American back to Purfleet for the 2004 season in which the Hammers will be competing in the Sky Sports Elite League.

A contract was recently dispatched to America and Larsen has now signed it and returned it to the Hammers Promoter. Initially Mr. Russell did not want to announce the signing until all the formalities had been completed but there has been a lot of rumour (mainly on the internet) of the likely return of Larsen to these shores for the Hammers.

In these circumstances the Club have now decided to make the announcement that Josh Larsen will be taking his place in the Hammers side this coming season subject to him getting the required Work Permit. The application for this permit has been submitted to the appropriate authorities and has been endorsed by the British Speedway Promoters Association. It is, therefore, hoped that this final hurdle in the Hammers attempt to bring over the American will be satisfactorily resolved in the next few days.

Larsen, who was born in Anaheim, California in 1972, first appeared in the Hammers colours in 1992 when the promotion at the time first elevated the side into the top flight of British Speedway. He had been widely touted as the latest sensation to come out of the United States - a reputation he more than lived up to come the end of the 1993 season when he was a vital member of America's World Team Cup winning squad.

Before the start of the 1994 season Larsen dropped a bombshell on the Hammers by announcing that he was staying at home to train as a fireman. It was a devastating blow for Arena-Essex. However, in 1995 Larsen was back at Purfleet and this time in his new capacity as a Grand Prix rider, having qualified thanks to a top six finish in the last ever one-off World Final in Vojens. Sadly for both him and Arena fans, a serious back injury sustained in Germany in May of that year sidelined him for two months and put paid to his World Championship aspirations.

Larsen moved with the promotion to the London Lions in 1996 and switched to Bradford in 1997 when the Hackney side shut. He stayed at home in 1998 before returning to Britain to ride for Eastbourne in the 1999 Elite League. He then had a brief spell at Belle Vue last year but his heart has always been with Arena-Essex.

From his American home Josh has stated that he is absolutely delighted to have been given the opportunity of returning to Arena-Essex and he is looking forward to renewing some old acquaintances with many of the Hammers Supporters. He still remembers with great pleasure the time when a coach load of Hammers supporters travelled all the way to the Czech Republic to support him in a World U-21 Final. He has recently gone on record as saying that the Hammers would be the only Club he would return to race for in this Country.

This signing, providing the Work Permit is issued, should be well accepted by the Hammers supporters as Larsen was always considered to be one of the most popular riders ever to have ever ridden for the Purfleet Club.