The 34 year-old Czech World Cup star, who will be back in the Bandits' colours for a third time in 2010, is hoping that by racing in the Argentinian championships, he will have the competitive edge over his opponents when the tapes go up in March.

And he got off to a winning start when he won the first round of the championships before Christmas.

Rymel finished third from the heat stages, but took maximum points by winning the grand final.

Berwick manager Dave Peet is in no doubt that the long-serving Rymel has an important role to play over the coming season.

"For some time now Berwick fans have wanted a genuine number one rider to support," said Peet, "and now that he is coming back Adrian is that rider."

Rymel first arrived in Britain in 2001 along with fellow Czechs Michal Makovsky and Josef Franc.

A bust-up with former promoter Peter Waite led to him leaving the club midway through the 2006 season. He did not ride in Britain at all in 2007, but he returned to Bandits' colours in 2008 when he enjoyed his most successful season to date.

In 2009 he went out on loan to Workington, but almost as soon as the season ended Peet and the promotional team of John Anderson and Lynda Waite stepped in to offer him a two year contract and he became the first rider to put pen to paper on a new deal for the forthcoming campaign.

"We could just as easily have offered Adrian a one-year deal," said Peet. "But we wanted to show the rider and the fans how committed we were and so we offered him a two-year contract, which thankfully he accepted.

"We hope that sends out a message to everyone that Berwick as a club is looking to the future.

"Some people have said that we dangled a carrot in front of Adrian by offering him a testimonial in 2011 (which would be his tenth year of riding in Britain as a Berwick asset), but I can categorically confirm that was never the case.

"A testimonial was never mentioned during our negotiations, although that's not to say he won't get one when the time arises.

"Adrian is currently in the best form of his career. His average dipped slightly last season at Workington, but around Shielfield he is almost unbeatable (he has scored two 15-point maximums on each of his last two visits with the Comets) and I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to improve on it slightly now that he is coming back home again.

"Adrian has spent almost all of his British career with Berwick and as some people have said, it just didn't look right seeing him race for another side in the Premier League.

"We wanted him back, he wanted to come back, so it made sense for us to make that happen. He has a lot of friends and sponsors at Berwick and I know from speaking to him that he is delighted to have his future sorted.

"Adrian should benefit from racing during the winter in Argentina. I think it is his first time there, but it should keep him fit and hopefully he will come back eager to make a big impression.

"He should give the team a good spearhead, and with the likes of Michal (Makovsky), Clewsy (Paul Clews) and Lee (Complin) in the side I think we will be a very entertaining side to watch.

"We should be a very difficult side to race against at home, there is no question about that, that is why we assembled the side like we did.
"Everyone in the team is a racer and I honestly can't wait for the season to come around."