Rohan Tungate is heading a growing list of Australian riders who are ditching the traditional speedway tracks of northern England and Scotland for the more lucrative contracts available in Poland, Sweden and Denmark.
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His never-say-die racing style has made him a hugely popular rider with fans across Britain and now Europe.
However, going into 2020, the 2018 Australian solo champion is considering the previously unthinkable scenario of not having a UK contract.
Tungate is likely to be joined by good mate Max Fricke, the reigning Australian champion, in not having a UK contract. Fricke will be concentrating on Poland, Sweden and his World Grand Prix Series commitments.
Tungate has re-signed with his Polish club Orzel Lodz and Swedish team Masarna and penned a deal with Denmark Danish league side Slangerup
"At the moment I will probably just concentrate on those three, unless a good offer comes up from England," he said.
"England the money is really bad. The amount of money you have to spend to race there is ridiculous."
Tungate and Fricke live near each other in the city of Wroclaw in Poland and catch up regularly along with world champion Novocastrian Jason Doyle.
"I'm pretty close with Jason and Max. I see Max a lot in Wrocklaw. He is a good rider and a good guy to be around. He is pretty normal, some of the riders are pretty wired," he said.
"It's an ideal base, the airport is 10 minutes from my apartment, it is really convenient to be there.
"When you are based in Poland you have three different leagues in close vicinity in Europe. You've got one set-up, you pay that mechanic to do the three separate leagues, you've got the one bike. It's a lot better."
Tungate said he could never have imagined living in Poland when he first set out for Europe, but was loving living there.
"I can actually speak a little bit of Polish. Not loads but I can get by. Small talk and in relation to the bike. It's not easy. The Polish language is hard but I lived there this year," he said.
"I'm always listening to my crew on the phone and you're mixing all the time. I'm starting to pick up different things. It's pretty cool."
Tungate missed the NSW championship at Kurri Kurri but will be taking part in the Jason Crump Invitational at Kurri Kurri on Boxing Day and 2020 Australian Championship series.
The Aussie series starts in Kurri Kurri on January 4 and given his record at the venue, Tungate will be favourite despite the field featuring four other Australian champions including five-time champion and former world champion Chris Holder, Fricke, Sam Masters (2017) and Brady Kurtz (2016).
