NEW Weymouth Doonan Wildcats acquisition Mark “Buzz” Burrows has admitted that it will take him at least “a couple of weeks” before he is firing on all cylinders again.

The former Stoke rider, who is deputising for the injured Jon Armstrong at number one, will get his first taste of National League action this weekend when the Wildcats host Rye House at the Wessex Bus Raceway on Friday before travelling to the Kings Lynn Barracudas the following day.

Despite not having raced for a few months Burrows enjoyed a solid debut for Weymouth in last Friday’s challenge meeting victory over the Somerset Giants but he has insisted there is a lot more to come.

He said: “I am not sure what the situation is with Jon. As I understand it, his leg is in pretty bad shape still and I wish him all the best with his recovery and hope he is back soon. Meanwhile, I will be taking his place and we will just have to see how it goes. At the end of the day how long I stay around is down to the chairman Phil Bartlett andof course how I go but I am certainly looking forward to getting back into the swing of things again.

“To be honest this has all been sprung upon me really so in terms of fitness and bike set up things are not ideal at the moment. It will probably take me a couple of weeks to get on top of that but once that is done there should not be a problem.

“In the meantime all I can do is get stuck into the fixtures coming up and hope things go okay. We have a competitive team and if my experience can help in anyway in terms of advice I will be sure to pass it on to anyone that wants it.”

Meanwhile, ex-Wildcat Jay Herne has admitted that he cannot wait to lock horns with his former club in the Knock-out Cup on Friday, May 15 when his Bournemouth Buccaneers make the short journey to the Wessex Bus Raceway.

The mouth-watering quarter-final will also see Luke Priest and Kyle Newman return to their old stomping ground and the Aussie ace is anticipating a very close tie.

Herne said: “The boys are really, really looking forward to racing Weymouth in the next round.

“I rode for the Wildcats last year and so did Luke Priest and Kyle Newman, so we should be able to take a bit of our track expertise down there with us.

“We know the set-ups and I think we are looking quite strong at the moment.

“Weymouth won their first two matches but they were beaten at the Isle of Wight, where we won.

“That shows we, maybe, are a bit stronger than they are away from home although I am not sure. What I am sure of though, is that both meetings should be very good.”

National League Knockout Cup Quarter-Final Draw: Buxton v Rye House, Plymouth v Isle of Wight, Bournemouth v Weymouth, King’s Lynn v Scunthorpe.