NEWPORT Mavericks team boss Peter Towersey is stepping up his search to discover new talent for the Conference League team at reserve.

One vacancy has been filled with the signing of Tim Webster who made his debut in the two-heat Conference Challenge during the staging of the highly successful New Year Classic last Sunday.

The 16-year-old newcomer won the first race in 67.28sec with Billy Legg second after Karl Mason and Sam Hurst suffered first-lap failures.

However, he finished last in the next race, won by Mason in 66.87sec. Tim Stone, Newport promoter, said: "For a young lad he was not overawed by the occasion and made a good debut and Peter will be looking at the rest of our winter schools to add another rider at reserve."

Both Hurst and Legg, who made good progress last season, have moved up into the main body of the team, joining Karl Mason, and the trio, along with Webster, are all in their teens.

That now leaves three vacancies following the retirement of experienced 32-year-old Scott Pegler, who has called it a day after suffering an ankle injury early last season.

Exeter-born Pegler, a Newport asset, rode in the first New Year Classic in 1999 and won the Division Three Riders' Championship in 2000.

Towersey said: "We intend starting the season with as many riders - as the rules permit - from last season, giving them the chance to progress. The Conference League chairmen meet later this month and once they have set the rules, including rider gradings, we will be able to firm up our proposals.

"During the course of last season our riders came on by leaps and bounds and we will reap the rewards this year. The final league position didn't fully show the progress the boys had made.

"Hopefully we can win all our home matches this season and we should show an improvement in our final position."

The Newport training schools resume tomorrow - 11am to 3pm - and Towersey is hoping to pluck another youngster from obscurity and continue the Mavericks' policy of encouraging riders at the grass-roots level.

Newport will continue with their successful policy of staging double- header meetings wherever possible. Last season around half the crowd attending the Premier League matches remained to watch the Mavericks who, although not finishing too high in the table, were exceedingly entertaining.

l Newcomers Redcar are set to announce they will be riding in the Premier League this summer.