David Howe has a very special reason for wanting to shine on Saturday.

The Sileby star leads Leicester Lions in a 15-heat friendly at Rye House Rockets determined to erase the memory of his first and only appearance for the club.

That came in an end-of season match at Sheffield Tigers last October. It finished in a dramatic 45-45 tie but Howe was disappointed with his performance.

"I had a lot of bike problems at Sheffield and scored only five points all night," said the 28-year-old Grand Prix rider.

"When I heard Lions had arranged a friendly with Rye House I immediately got on the phone to promoter David Hemsley offering my services.

"I told him that, if he needed a rider, he could put me straight in. I really want to make up for that bad performance at Sheffield. It should be a challenge and I'm looking forward to it."

Howe was aged only one when the Lions last roared, in October 1983 at Blackbird Road. He has followed attempts to revive the sport in Leicester and is hoping the return is imminent.

"I've always had an interest," he said. "As a youngster, I would have loved to have raced in Leicester. Fair play to those supporters who have kept the campaign going, because a lot of people didn't think it would happen.

"If speedway returns to Leicester then it will be a good thing for both speedway and the city. We have a great football team and rugby team and it would be great to see speedway prosper as well.

"It has been a long wait but, if it does happen, the supporters have to do all they can to make sure they never lose it again."

Howe has a wealth of experience, having won the Elite League with his first club, Peterborough Panthers, and being crowned British Under-21 champion in 2000.

Since then, he has raced at Kings Lynn, enjoyed six great years at top club Wolverhampton Wolves, appeared for Oxford Cheetahs and, latterly, Scunthorpe Scorpions.

Howe will be competing for Scorpions in the Premier League again this season, and is more than happy to do so.

"It is a great club, very well run, has an amazing track and is very family orientated," he said.

"I was under a lot of pressure last season, having come down from the Elite League, and it took me time to adjust. But they never pushed me and my form was fantastic in the second half of the season."

Howe finished fifth in the rider averages and is looking forward to more big scores over the next few months.

"I'm extremely comfortable at Scunthorpe and I'm really enjoying my speedway," he said.

There is one question Howe is repeatedly asked – would he love to become a Lion?

"Certainly not in the foreseeable future because Scunthorpe have been very good to me and I'm very happy there. I'm only 28 and plan to ride well into my 40s," he said.

"Maybe I would consider it a few years down the line, but we'll see."