The weather conditions may not have been totally favourable but spirits amongst the 2019 Wightlink Warriors and Wightlink Wizards were sky high on Thursday as the riders met at the Smallbrook Stadium in Ryde for their Press & Practice Day.
In front of an impressive gathering of local media, TV, Radio and sponsors, the Warriors and Wizards lined up for an array of photographs and videos before taking to the track to put in some laps on a sticky circuit that held up well given the rainy conditions.
Those hardy fans who took the opportunity to ‘run the rule’ over the riders on show will have admired Warriors new number one rider Georgie Wood who made light of the conditions to put in some impressive training laps – his time on track only surpassed by young Chad Wirtzfeld who, despite a slide off, rode confidently throughout.
Another rider to come to grief was Danno Verge who was quickly up on his muddy feet to tell everyone ‘just wanted to make sure the safety barrier was working well!’
Wightlink Warriors co-promoter Barry Bishop looked on with pride as he said:
“Whilst we weren’t blessed with ideal weather, we were able to stage a meaningful event enjoyed by all those involved. It was fantastic to welcome many of our media friends who are giving us great coverage and I was especially delighted to welcome representatives from Wightlink who have been so helpful working with us. It’s now full steam ahead as we prepare to start our season next Thursday”.
Clive Tilley, Business Development Director at Wightlink said:
“We are extremely proud to be supporting the Island Speedway teams; the Wightlink Warriors and Wightlink Wizards as they enter their new season. It’s an exciting sport that has continued to attract interest from young people across the Island and we are delighted to be able to play our part in enabling teams and individuals to compete on a local, regional and national stage”.
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The first meeting of the new season at Smallbrook is the Vince Mapley Memorial Trophy next Thursday (11th April) featuring 12 individual riders racing over 15 heats. There is plenty to see and do before tapes up at 19:00.
