Wightlink Warriors bosses Barry Bishop and Martin Widman have, after careful consideration and much anguish, decided not to run speedway in 2020 in the National League, even if the Government and local council guidelines permit it.
In a joint statement earlier in the week the promoters said,
“While we know this news will be devastating to some, expected by others and to all of us a massive disappointment, we cannot see a way in which we can put speedway racing on without increasing the risk to our fans, staff, riders, sponsors and of course the wider public on the Isle of Wight.
“The Island is a unique place and have been proud of their success in keeping Covid-19 under control, and we would not want to be responsible for introducing an outbreak of Covid-19 however it was caused, and nor do we want to increase the health risk to our fans, friends, staff, sponsors, riders and management by staging a public gathering/event.
“Health aside, there will be an increased financial risk to run speedway now and our sponsors, quite rightly, will expect a return on their investment which we could not achieve in 2020 and this risks a knock affect for 2021.
“Our sponsors have been brilliant, many coming forward to increase their sponsorship to help us become Covid ready and we value that so very much, nor will we forget that support. However, the risk is too great to health and finance, so we have therefore decided to not risk the club’s future by running speedway in 2020 and we look forward to 2021.
“Our stadium looks perfect, ready to go, and probably the best it’s ever been in our tenure and like you, we love our club, our fans, and our ethos. As sad as it is, this is the right decision in our view for the club and sport and we should celebrate the fantastic work currently continuing at the stadium to ensure that we would have been ready in 2020 while ensuring that the pride in the club shines through for the world to see.
“We will continue to keep the Warriors in the forefront of online activity and we look forward to see you in 2021, if not before.”
