CROWD favourite Adrian Miedzinski is confident he will be ready for Pirates’ Elite League opener as he aims to quickly settle at Wimborne Road.

The 26-year-old is relishing his time in Dorset after proving an instant hit with the Poole faithful during a productive warm-up campaign ahead of the league season.

Poole Coastal Aluminium’s new-look team claimed three consecutive victories to back up their billing as title favourites.

Miedzinski has been one of the stand-out performers, finding his feet in the Elite Shield triumph over Wolves before starring in the challenge success against Belle Vue.

After managing to register just a paid four-point return in the first leg at Wolves, the 26-year-old showed his quality on home shale in the second leg.

He looked a force at Wimborne Road as he twice defeated Grand Prix star Freddie Lindgren to collect two heat wins in an eight-point haul on his first appearance in front of the home fans.

Miedzinski, dubbed ‘Wild Thing’, continued that impressive form by delivering a 12-point four-ride maximum as Pirates comfortably defeated Belle Vue in their final test before the league double-header against Coventry on Friday.

Polish ace Miedzinski, who has joined the Dorset club on an initial deal until the end of May, had not competed in England since his brief stint with Oxford in 2007.

But his early performances have pleased Pirates supporters and Miedzinski is hopeful that he has found the right set-up to succeed at Wimborne Road.

Discussing his recent efforts against Belle Vue, he told the Daily Echo: “I enjoyed it. I tried my second engine and it was okay. It was not perfect but I enjoyed it.

“I think the engine I used against Wolves was better than the one I chose against Belle Vue, but I had the wrong set-up in two or three heats against Wolves.

“It is just important that I have two not bad engines and we will see what happens this week (against Coventry). I think we will be okay.”

In his centre green interview, Miedzinski said: “I like Poole, I like this track and I enjoy racing here.”

Snapped up by promoter Matt Ford on what is widely considered a bargain average of 5.57, Miedzinski helped Pirates cruise to victory against Belle Vue despite captain Chris Holder being away in New Zealand on Grand Prix duty.

Miedzinski issued a warning to Pirates’ rivals that the defending champions will prove a far better outfit once their skipper has returned.

He added: “We raced on Wednesday without Chris and won by 13 points. I thought that was okay.

“And when Chris is back from New Zealand, the team will be much stronger.”