HANS Andersen admits he owes a debt of gratitude to former Robins number one Leigh Adams as he believes the Aussie helped improve his own racing.

The Dane, who is expected to vie with Troy Batchelor for the number one slot this campaign, relished his battles with Adams at the Abbey Stadium before the Mildura man retired from speedway at the end of the 2010 season.

Adams, currently battling to walk again following an off-road motorcycle accident, commands legendary status at Blunsdon and Andersen is also a huge admirer of the Aussie’s on-track abilities.

“It’s never been a secret that I’ve had a liking for Swindon in the past, mainly because it was always a very hard place to go to with Leigh Adams being number one here,” said Andersen.

“I’ve always had ambitions to go forward in the sport and you don’t go forward if you don’t ride against the best riders, and Leigh was definitely the best rider without a doubt, especially around this track and in the whole of the British league as well.

“He was such a big performer, whether you rode against him in Poland or wherever, he was always very tough to beat.

“I enjoyed my racing against him, it spurred me on and made me work harder to beat him.”

Both Andersen and Batchelor might both be fierce competitors, but Andersen insists he is not fixated on grabbing the Robins number one berth off the Queenslander.

And the 31-year-old believes that he and Batchelor will be a strong pairing on the track having formed a ‘good understanding’ during a brief spell together at Peterborough last season.

“My personal aim is to get back to the performance level I was in the past before I had a few problems with injuries,” said the Grand Prix ace.

“When I was at that level, I was number one, but if I get back to that level and am still not number one then it’s good for Swindon speedway, because it means Troy’s doing even better.

“Riding at Peterborough we did have a few races at number one and five, and that was very good because it’s not all about going out and winning the races, it’s about gaining heat advantages.

“The meetings we did, we had a good understanding with each other and were looking for each other which is important.

“At the end of the day, I’d rather not score a maximum and have the team win.”