This coming Saturday can’t come quick enough for Shanklin resident James Luckman. On that evening he will fulfil a long held ambition to represent the Island in a competitive speedway meeting.
James, a Road Safety and Travel Manager with Portsmouth City Council, has been selected to make his debut for the newly formed Wightlink Wizards team after many hours practicing at the ‘My First Skid’ speedway school based at the Smallbrook Stadium in Ryde. The Wizards set out on their quest for silverware in the Southern Development League (SDL) this weekend with an away trip to meet the nomadic Weymouth club who are based at the Eastbourne track this season.
After the Warriors have completed their National Trophy fixture with the Eagles, James will be joined on track against the Wildcats by fellow Wizards Jamie Sealey, Ben Ilsley and Chris Watts with the four other squad members expected to be in attendance to support their colleagues.
Luckman interrupted his preparations to say, “It’s been a long time coming and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to race. I’m excited and can’t wait for Saturday night. The chance to be a team member in a real speedway side has been a life-long wish and is now a dream come true. I’m realistic enough to know that the Eastbourne track is very different to Smallbrook so I will be talking with Jamie who has done a few meetings there to get some tips and advice. We’ve got a good group of riders and we’ll all be giving it our very best shot”.
Another man keen to see SDL racing get under way is the Wizards joint team manager Sid Sheldrick. The no nonsense northerner made the club’s intentions crystal clear, “Bring it on. We’ve got a great squad who are all prepared to listen and learn and we will help them as much as we can. Whilst we may be the new boys in this league, make no mistake we will be gunning for top spot from the off”.