BJARNE Pedersen believes the 2007 season is a "clean slate" for the revamped Poole Castle Cover Pirates.

Although Pirates carried off the Craven Shield last term, ultimately it was a season of underachievement as illness and injuries hampered the cause.

But the skipper has seen what co-promoter Matt Ford has labelled "the summer cull" and is relishing the chance to spearhead the new line-up.

Pedersen told the Daily Echo: "It is a clean slate for us - we cannot compare last season to this one because there were so many weeks where we didn't have our full team.

"It seemed like every week last season we had a new rider in the team and that put a lot of pressure on everybody.

"We knew that every rider had to have a very good night before we could win the meeting. Now, we have different riders who can step up if some of us are not having such a good night."

Only Pedersen and Aussie veteran Craig Boyce survived the axe from last year's team but Pedersen agreed with the promoters' decision that changes had to be made.

Pedersen said: "It is almost a whole different team now. There have been a lot of changes, but I think it was the right time to do it.

"But last season is in the past. This season we have everything in the team that you need to do well on the track.

"Of course the injuries had a big effect on the team and hopefully this time we can steer clear of those."

With the arrival of world champion Jason Crump, Pedersen played down the notion of any personal rivalry over who will rule the Wimborne Road roost.

The Dane said: "There's no personal rivalry between us. He is a great rider, but it is a business for myself and Jason and we're both working towards scoring as many points as possible for Poole.

"Of course, we both want to be at the top of the scoring list, but as long as Poole perform well, we will be happy."

He added: "I'm looking forward to getting to the weekend and getting things started again.

"It is three months since I was last racing properly and I'm ready to go."