VFM, organisers of The Isle of Wight International Scooter Rally, have announced that the annual August Bank Holiday event will be moving away from Ryde in 2020.
The event has been based out of Smallbrook Stadium in Ryde for the last 2 decades, but redevelopment of the site means it’s no longer suitable to host the rally.
From next year, the Scooter Rally will be based out of Sandown Airport.
Over 5,000 scooters descend on the Isle of Wight each year, bringing a huge boost to the local economy. Sandown and The Bay in general now looks set to benefit from the influx of visitors.
In a statement, organisers have said:
“With easy site access, a huge camping area and Sandown on the doorstep, plans are already being drawn up with regards to entertainment and the popular dealers village, as well as the international scooter custom show, all taking place on the site.
“As before, a shuttle bus will take day trippers to and from the nearby town of Sandown, offering Scooterists a change of scenery from previous years both on and off the site. As Scooterists ourselves we understand how important a change of venue is for the rally scene and we hope you are as excited about this as we are.
“Further details will be released throughout the year, but for now please mark Sandown on your calendar for the Bank Holiday weekend of 28-31 August 2020.”
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Dan Subhani from Sandown Airport has said:
”We are delighted to announce that the annual Scooter Rally will be moving to Sandown Airport as of 2020.
”This will secure the future of the rally, provide a huge boost to local businesses and maintain the tourism benefits for the whole island.
“I’m proud to be in a position to use our site to help retain an event like this for the benefit of the entire Island’s tourism industry”.
UPDATE @ 12:33 – The manager of Smallbrook Stadium, Sarah Green, says all is not lost. An unofficial event will still take place at the stadium on the outskirts of Ryde.
In a statement issued today, Sarah has said:
“Smallbrook has been the home of the Scooter Rally for 20 years and it will continue to act as venue for Scooter fans to meet and enjoy a great August Bank Holiday Weekend. There will be plenty of camping space, plenty of music, food, drink and most importantly, great fun and right next to the action area in Ryde.
“The feedback we received from last year’s weekend is our incentive to continue to make the Scooter Weekend at Smallbrook something everyone looks forward too. I cannot wait to welcome friends old and new to a new era of Scooter Weekends at Smallbrook.”
For more information about the event at Smallbrook email [email protected].
Much better in all aspects but you will still get the vast majority congregating around Ryde Sea Front!
The REAL reason is that area of Ryde is going to become one huge building site. All the roads will be grid locked.
The new white elephant ice rink (as Mary Jamerson said, likely another Supermarket when it invariably goes broke), the huge expansion of the ‘industrial estate’, which, imo, will become just more ‘social housing’ as there are NOT the businesses to fill the existing industrial park, let alone even more.
The 900 plus houses at Penny Feathers, the ruination of the farmland at Bullen, the ugly sprawl now being built at Ashey road, means that Ryde will be ruined, gridlocked and a place to avoid for years now.
Still the councillor’s and developer’s will be living far away from the carnage, and one if not both will do ‘very nicely’ from destroying the green smallbrook valley, not for a while, but for the rest of time.
As now the roads around Ryde, small brook lane, Great Preston road etc are solid with traffic even in the Winter imagine how bad it will become with all the hugely increased traffic.
This is not natural organic growth but as the UK becomes a soft target for mass immigration, the overspill from those on the mainland escaping such, directly impacts on this once ‘safe haven’, aided and abetted by greedy councils and ‘couldn’t care less’ developers.
The Mods will be ‘well out of it’, despite Sandown hardly being a happening place.
Thanks for your support but as you don’t understand us please do not label us as Mods there are several different groups so don’t tar us all with the same brush even though we might have one common interest.
more pubs in Sandown than Ashey rd. Glad its still going ahead.
Shanklin is just as easy to get to.
How many actually stay in Ryde each year , I got one go each year and have stayed most parts of the island and just go to the gigs I choose. Meet up on the green in Ryde which will still happen I don’t really see any problem with the change apart from not getting orange dust all over scooters bring it on
You sound like a right prick
BETTER THAN BEING ONE LOL
Outside promoters and moany mods strike again 🙁
Personally if it was down to me I’d pull the rally from IOW altogether.
It’s an overpriced shithole full of old dodgers and I dont see why us”total arseholes”should be a cash cow to local business there for a minute longer if that’s the way you see us.
I for one will NOT be attending Smallbrook, if they can’t provide the venue any more for the OFFICIAL rally then why try and compete with it.
Both Cleethorpes and Bridlington tried to put on rival unofficial rallies in competition with the National (official) Rallies, it ended up with the BSRA (British Scooter Riders Association- the committee that decides on the venues for the National Rallies) pulling out of those long established rally venues.
LETS HOPE IT RAINS HEAVY ALL WEEKEND GIVE THE POLICE A BREAK ,AND ALL THE HOTELL,S ARE FULL
Who needs to go to Sandown anyway. You’ve all got scooters. The perfect transport to go ANYWHERE on the island. I’m sure you’ll all make up your own mind. Don’t forget the best “do” is at the Ryde Castle anyway.
Its still on the island, and the island will benefit where ever it is.
Us arseholes generate so much money to hotels, pubs, cafes and shops. They are delighted with our money.
Shame don’t move it to Portsmouth they get away with everything and all the police do is pick on the guys with motorbikes . we’re not allowed an Isle of Wight TT because too many people kick off about it pathetic
Do you need a hug?
We should welcome the scooterists with open arm, they bring money, spend a lot and boost our economy. They get overcharged by the ferry companies and food/drink outlets.
Ive been a scooterist for nearly 40 years and very rarely have i come across anyone who’s middle class. The vast majority are working class.
If the islanders dislike the scooters coming over, then im sure they wont mind losing the revenue each of the 5,000 odd scooter riders bring to your island, if they pull the event for 2021 and stage it somewhere else im sure all the businesss and hoteliers and residents will be over the moon then , after all i am sure your new ice rink will be enough of a draw to fill all your hotels/b&b for a bh weekend and all those families will definitely spend lots of money in the pubs/restaurants yes your right you don’t need the scooters revenue do you
The rally will be sadly missed in Ryde
I didn’t realise VFM ran the rally, when did that happen? Must have been after 87-91, when there were no nationals involved in it. Happy days if I remember rightly! Most events will be staying in Ryde quite happily, so this is not really news at all, more an advertising piece for VFM.