This in from Bryn on behalf of Island Speedway. Ed
It continues to be very much a case of all systems go as the countdown to the return of speedway to the sunshine Isle of Wight on April 7th continues at pace and their staunchest supporters will be fervently checking their post each morning to see if their season ticket is amongst the first batch sent out earlier this week.
Wightlink Warriors Commercial director Barry Bishop commented,
“Season ticket uptake has been better than we expected, so this is a major boost for us all at Smallbrook and we know that there are still more tickets in the system and they will be sent out soon. 2016 season tickets will be available for purchase right up until 5th April so it’s not too late and at £185 for Adults and £140 for Seniors (65+), it’s great value especially as it includes a free matchday magazine for each meeting. Application forms can be obtained by emailing [email protected] and we will take care of you.”
A new trio join the growing number of local backers
Additionally in his role Barry is absolutely delighted to reveal that not one, nor two but three new businesses have joined the fast-expanding list of Isle of Wight based companies backing the return of speedway to the island this year.
The trio consists of Church Street Motorcycles, the Ventnor based Honda specialists and dealers, Wight Materials Handling, the forklift specialists who provide services to the Isle of Wight from their two depots in Newport and Shalfleet, and JR Philpott & Dad, who are Traditional Blacksmiths.
Speaking of these latest huge trio of fantastic boosts to our club he said firstly of Church Street motorcycles,
“They were established in 1981 and have been very interested in becoming involved with our new look club from the off and ways of having a Warrior stand in their showroom displaying a speedway bike and literature are being explored.” And Church Street’s Adrian Wheeler added, “As a small local business with a love of all things two wheeled and we therefore thought that backing the speedway seemed to be an obvious idea and are more than happy to get involved.”
Wight Materials Handling Director Mac Herbert talking of his company’s backing of our club said,
“Wight Materials Handling are happy to provide support to the backroom team at Wight Warriors speedway and very pleased to see speedway back on the island calendar,”
With Bishop adding,
“The use of a forklift from Wight Materials Handling made a huge difference when our air fence was delivered, speeding up the entire process and allowing us to just about get the air fence up and fully operational in pretty awful conditions. Now, we are growing our relationship and look forward to working with Mac and his team this season and in the future.”
And as regards to JR Philpott and Dad, Traditional Blacksmiths involvement in 2016 John Philpott himself said,
“We have always supported the speedway here and it is great to see it come back. I think this will be great for the Island and I wish the Wightlink Warriors a great season ahead.”
Bishop added,
“They will be using their blacksmith skills to initially fix a few broken seats in our stand and then support our welding and blacksmith needs during the season.
“Having this kind of support really helps the club massively and we once again thank each of these latest three local backers in addition to those we’ve revealed previously, for their involvement that quite simply has been amazing.”
Warrior Express set to hit the road
On the club’s supporters front, The Warrior Express team are to organise travel for Wightlink Warriors away meetings, starting on April 8th when the team travel to take on Somerset at the Oak Tree Arena.
It’s hoped that the Warrior Express will travel to every away meeting in one form or another depending on the number of fans wanting to travel.
Kev Shepherd from the club’s management team said,
“Traveling to away tracks is a great experience for any speedway fan and the Warrior Express will be a great chance for our fans to support their team at away meetings and enjoy themselves. During my time as team manager our riders really appreciated the support of traveling fans and it always makes a difference to the way they go about things so I hope our fans will not only make use of the Warrior Express but gain a great experience visiting away tracks at the same time.”
More details on the Warrior Express can be found via the club’s official website and on both Facebook and Twitter. Bookings can be made by emailing [email protected] or call the speedway office on 0333 5774458.
Start of the Season Party
Dancing shoes will be needed to round off the Wightlink Warriors official Press and Practice day on 2nd April with the staging of our Start of the Season Party in Smallbrook stadium’s Premier Lounge from 7.30pm onwards.
There’ll be a disco, buffet and a raffle with tickets for the event just £5 per person and can be reserved by emailing [email protected]
Just three weeks to go
There’s just over three weeks to go now until the day a majority of Isle of Wight Speedway fans must have feared would never happen after the club closed in 2013, that date being 7th April when the full Wightlink Warriors team plus other invited riders will take to the Smallbrook track to contest the Betapak of Rookley sponsored Vince Mapley Memorial Individual trophy meeting at Smallbrook.
The meeting will be held in honour of and dedicated to the memory of track staff stalwart Vince, who sadly is no longer with us. It’s likely to be a somewhat emotional event for many, with the 2016 team members being joined on track by Cradley Heath’s James Purchase, Buxton’s Ollie Greenwood, Kent’s James Shanes, a former Islander in the shape of Stoke’s Chris Widman and Adam Sheppard coming in as reserve for the meeting.
Image: © Adam Extance
