Martin Dugard is a hero in Sussex, the Master of Arlington and captain of the current Elite League champions, the Eastbourne Eagles.

Away from Sussex he is one of those riders the fans love to hate.

At King's Lynn he is probably public enemy No 1, thanks to the infamous punch he landed on Stefan Andersson in 1999.

At south coast rivals Poole he is hardly flavour of the moment and he is more likely to hear boos when he is introduced to the crowd than cheers.

But Dugard enjoyed something of a transformation in 2000 when riding in the British Grand Prix at Coventry.

Although English, he was not the fans' favourite when racing started but by the end of the night he was cheered to the echo.

Dugard had become the first Brit to win the British Grand Prix and now, nearly 12 months later, he is only a week away from defending the title he won so unexpectedly at Coventry.

Dugard, who this week announced he is to retire at the end of the season, is once again a wild-card entry to the British GP, this year held for the first time at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

It will be a completely new track in Wales - put down especially for the occasion - but the indications are that it might suit Dugard.

Brought up on the tight turns of Arlington, Dugard has never thrived on the longer tracks found on the Continent. As a result he signalled early to the Great Britain team manager, Neil Middleditch, that he did not want to be considered for this year's World Team Cup to be held in Poland.

On the 275m Cardiff track (Arlington is a similar length), Dugard could once again show that he rates among the top riders in the world, even though he holds down a full-time job in the family machine tool business.

Dugard says this will be his last season riding speedway and the Cardiff GP may be his last chance to shine on an international stage before the world's TV cameras.

He said: "I am very proud to be selected for the British Grand Prix at Cardiff and I will go there and try to win. I did it at Coventry last year and I'll be giving it everything I've got."

The meeting comes in the middle of a busy spell for the Hassocks-based rider.

On Thursday he is due to captain the Eagles at Ipswich in an Elite League match and then he will need to be an early arrival in Wales for the practice session on Friday, at which attendance is compulsory.

On Sunday, the Eagles are at home to Wolverhamp-ton and Dugard may be going to the West Midlands track on the Monday to ride for Great Britain in a test match against Denmark.

Last year at Coventry, Dugard did not practice because he knew the track so well. But it will be a different story in the Millennium Stadium.

No-one will have ridden the track and all the riders will want to test how the newly-laid circuit will ride and where the best lines might be. For the Coventry GP, Dugard returned home to sleep in his own bed the night before the big meeting but this year he will be staying over in Cardiff.

Dugard is making no predictions and will be looking to make his way through the qualifiers to join the top boys for the final series of races and the chance to cause one last speedway upset.