Despite Storm Dennis doing its best to disrupt some carefully laid plans, a speedway training camp for 20 up-and-coming youth group riders went ahead.
The superb efforts from the Wightlink Warriors track team worked wonders, with the volunteers readying and maintaining the Smallbrook Stadium circuit near Ryde for the duration of the camp.
Neil Vatcher, the speedway manager of the GB Youth set-up was delighted with his groups’ time on the Island. He said:
“We’ve had three great days of intense training at the home of the Wightlink Warriors. The weekend weather was totally unhelpful but thanks to the magnificent efforts of the Warrior’s staff and volunteers we enjoyed a thoroughly beneficial camp.
“All the riders and their helpers gelled together brilliantly and we have seen lots of progress both on and off track. We’ve also been able to map out some key milestones for the riders to aim for over the new season and we’ll be monitoring their development closely.
“My thanks go to our coaches namely Steve Worrall, Matt Read, Chris Neville and Andy Hague. Their expert input and encouragement was terrific and I can’t wait to see all the good advice put into action when racing gets underway.”
Fans of the Warriors will be interested to know that the draw for the qualifying rounds of the British Under 21 Championship took place during the training camp and both Chad Wirtzfeld and Macauley Leek will ride in the Island round on Thursday 9th April. The top 3 riders from each qualifier go to the Final at Redcar on 15th May where they will be joined by 6 seeded riders and the winner of a pre-final race off that will be contested by the fourth-placed rider in the 3 rounds.
