Jordan Jenkins opens up on 'easy decision' to extend Berwick Bandits stay

Berwick Bandits talent Jordan Jenkins has revealed that he was a phone call away from quitting speedway.

The 25-year-old ended the season as a Knockout Cup winner with the Borderers, and re-signed for the club at the weekend ahead of the 2027 campaign.

But he took some persuading to regularly make the 600-mile round trip from his Norwich home to Berwick, and was on the brink of selling up his equipment after a winter switch from Oxford to Redcar ended with the Bears replacing him with Simon Lambert.

“When Redcar replaced me in May I was done with speedway,” Jenkins explained. “I had a mortgage to pay and a baby on the way. My progress had stalled, the last couple of years had been ruined by injuries, my confidence was low, and working full-time looked like the future.”

But Berwick were in the market for a short-term replacement for Reid Battye, who had been sidelined by fractured vertebrae, and owner Jamie Courtney knew Jenkins well from a three-year spell with Oxford. He eventually got Jenkins to answer the phone, and offered him a 28-day contract to replace the Australian.

Jenkins continued: “Jamie persuaded me to give it a go, and after he promised he would let me go if it wasn’t working out, I thought ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ – even if it is a long way there and back on a Saturday.

“The first meeting was at home to Glasgow, and I’d got an engine off Kyle Howarth during the week but hadn’t paid for it. After I beat him in Heat Four Kyle said, ‘I suppose you want that engine then!’ I’ve never looked back, but if Jamie hadn’t made the call that would have been it for speedway.”

Jenkins scored paid 14 as Berwick beat Glasgow in his first outing, and signed full-time for the Bandits when Battye regained fitness, as Lasse Fredriksen made way for his arrival.

He continued: “It just went so well. The track was fantastic, the club was just geared to getting the best out of all the riders, and the support was something else.

“Winning the cup final at Plymouth in front of a huge travelling support was something very special – not least because it’s the first time in the last three years that I haven’t ended a season early through injury.

“The phone’s been pretty busy, and that is a bit of a confidence boost. But in the end it was a pretty easy decision to return to Berwick in 2027 – even if it is a bloody long way!”