Rossiter still keen to make Troy a full-time Robin
6:00am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in Sport By Andy Warren
Troy Batchelor
ALUN Rossiter wants Troy Batchelor to spearhead the Swindon Robins for the foreseeable future after admitting he is still keen to bring the Australian back to Blunsdon full-time.
The 25-year-old’s drawn-out loan move from Peterborough was announced on Saturday following a war of words which lasted all winter, but the Robins are still waiting for the switch to be confirmed by the BSPA.
The club still expect the new Australian champion to be cleared to race in time for the start of the season, and when he is, the Robins will move quickly to complete a deal to bring Nick Morris to the Abbey Stadium as a full asset.
Rossiter has been a big supporter of Batchelor and stood by his rider during a tough start to last season, and remains keen to turn the proposed loan move permanent and backed him to lead the side in the coming years.
“Troy is a bit of a complicated character, but I would always want him in my team,” he said.
“I’m hoping by the end of the year Troy will be back on Swindon’s books, and I want him back on the books because he is a great rider.
“We can’t at the moment and we have to be realistic, but at the end of the year I want him here, and I want him to spearhead Swindon speedway for the next few years ahead.
“He can be a number one, no doubt, and a future captain too, and he has the chance now to kick on and I will do everything I can to help him do that.
“I want him to get into the Grand Prix, and I will do all I can to make him a better rider.”
Rossiter believes Batchelor returns to the Abbey Stadium a more mature rider than the one which started last season, and has backed him to kick on again in 2013.
“We worked hard on it, and we know he has his flakiness, and people thought he was a cannon waiting to explode at some point,” he said.
“I know what we are getting though, and I think this is the year Troy Batchelor will really kick on.
“He raises his game when he needs to, and if Hans (Andersen) isn’t there and I need a rider to step up and be captain then Troy’s my man every time.”
The Australian missed out on a wild card for the opening GP in New Zealand after series organisers BSI handed the number 16 race jacket to Jason Bunyan, and Rossiter believes Batchelor would have been a much better bet.
“I think he should have been in there, no disrespect to Jason Bunyan, but Troy would be a far better bet,” he said.
“He is the Australian champion and would have given a good account of himself, but it is all political and about what people bring to the table.
“At the end of the day though the meeting would have been a lot better if the Australian champion was in there because he could have made a real impact.”
