The Wightlink Warriors defeated the Cradley Heathens 51-36 at Smallbrook Stadium on Tuesday (20th August) in the second leg of the Vince Mapley Memorial Trophy – but it wasn’t enough to overturn the first-leg deficit, with the aggregate score finishing 93-84 in favour of the visitors.
Skipper Arran Butcher rode through injury, and the Warriors fielded a near-full squad with only Henning Loof absent. The Heathens were without Charlie Wood due to a leg injury sustained the previous week, although he still travelled from Kent to support his teammates. Experienced rider Connor Coles was brought in to bolster their line-up.
Darryl Ritchings was in superb form, storming to a heat 1 win and finishing unbeaten with 14+1 points. The early exchanges were closely fought, with shared heats and tactical battles. Coles gave the Heathens an early lead with two strong wins, but the Warriors clawed it back through 5-1s in heats 5 and 15, with Morley and Ingram key contributors.
Mechanical issues and crashes impacted both teams, including a dramatic re-run in heat 13 following a collision involving Hargrave and Freeman. Butcher withdrew late on due to his hand injury, but the Warriors still closed out the night with a dominant 5-1 in the final heat.
Top scorers included Ritchings (14+1), Morley (11), and Ingram (8+2) for the Warriors, while Coles led the Heathens with 15 points.
In the Essex Driver Training Ltd GT 140 Island Masters powered by One Estates Agents, Edward Kennett and Ian Clark led the pack with 11 points each in qualifying. But it was Clark who claimed the shock win in the grand final, overtaking Kennett with a brilliant inside move on the penultimate lap. Wayne Broadhurst secured third.
Promoter Barry Bishop has said:
“It was always going to be an uphill task after the first leg score, but the Warriors restored some pride tonight and that was an excellent win against a very strong side.
Article continues below this advertisement “There was some super racing with the speedway and with the GT 140 Masters producing some great racing too – 25 action-packed races, so everyone has gone home happy. There is no doubt that this is the place to be on a Tuesday night.”
The Warriors return to Smallbrook next Tuesday (27th August) to take on the visiting Mildenhall Fan-Tigers. Tapes up at 19:00.
