For the second successive home meeting, the Warriors & Wizards speedway teams delivered a fine pair of convincing victories beating Cradley in speedway’s National League and Milton Keynes in the Development League.The Warriors victory see the Island club sitting top of the National League at this early stage of the season, having gained ample revenge over the Heathens for the four point defeat in the Midlands last Monday.
Undoubtedly the most frustrated man on that night was Warriors number one Georgie Wood whose mechanical issues proved costly, but he was back on top form last night surging to a full five ride maximum with a breathtaking display of speed and courage.He received full backing from all areas of the team with every rider weighing in with valuable points at crucial times and the Warriors quick start had them twelve points to the good after six races stifling any real chance of a Cradley upset. Solid returns from Ben Morley and Danno Verge were well supported by returnee Scott Campos and young Chad Wirtzfeld working hard from the awkward number two position for the first time, whilst one of the broadest smiles was being worn by Chris Widman whose paid ten return was his best for some time and ‘just what the doctor ordered’.
For the Heathens, Jack Smith was tenacious and fully deserving of his score whilst Max Clegg couldn’t live with the pace of Wood in their three meetings and whilst solid, the Heathen couldn’t repeat his full score from Monday. Warrior’s enthusiasm and determination meant that there were slim pickings for the rest of the visitors who left the Island well beaten.
Warrior’s co-promoter Barry Bishop was very pleased with the work of both of his squads as he said, “Another great night for both our teams and a landmark for the club as we see the Warriors have climbed to the top of the National League and the Wizards now sit joint top of the Development League. That makes me so proud and it’s happened on a night where we have given our best and most cohesive performance of the season. I wondered before the meeting how well our boys would cope with the new riding order, but it was no problem. Every one of them buckled down and turned in a very polished performance.