stressed

Islanders press release containing revised ferry information applicable for Fastcat travellers today >>> HERE

Islanders press release HERE

Press release on Islanders website Further update will be issued tomorrow.

That'll teach me for typing stuff at silly o'clock, thanks for spotting it

SIMMONS SHINES FOR ISLANDERS By Isle of Wight Speedway ~ Wednesday 25th May 2011 Wightlink Islanders skipper Nick Simmons sped away to a five ride maximum last night against title favourites Belle Vue Colts at Smallbrook . Maximum man Simmons said; "I enjoyed it tonight, I made some good starts but when I didn't, I also managed to make some good passes and good first turns." Following the tragic news from Poland at the weekend that Slovenian former Grand Prix star Matej Ferjan was found dead in his van, an impeccable minutes silence was held to pay respect to the rider who lived in Gorzow, Poland and had been racing for Newcastle in the Premier league. Racing got under way with Paul Starke and Rob Smith taking a heat advantage over Colts Byron Bekker who fought his way from 4th to 2nd place after two false starts for movement at the tapes by the Colts riders. Young hotshot Jason Garrity make the first of seven appearances taking the win just ahead of John Resch and Luke Chessell sharing the heat. Heat 3 was also shared with Scott Richardson taking a rider replacement ride covering the the injured Kyle Howarth, Lee Smethills and Brendan Johnson took the minor places. Islanders skipper Nick Simmons flew from the tapes recording the fastest time of the night 69.7 seconds with team mate Resch packing in for second place from the start to put the Islanders into an early 6 point lead with Adam McKinna back in 3rd place. Smethills raced to the flag in heat 5 chased all the way by Bekker with Richardson 3rd for another shared heat. The Islanders crept ahead with a heat advantage in the next, McKinna splitting Smith and Starke on the line. Luke Chessell took a heavy fall into the 3rd turn fence on the 2nd lap of heat 7. Meeting referee Mick Posselwhite had no option to disqualify him from the re-run which was again won by Simmons leaving Bekker and Mason trailing after a short delay while the medics attended to Chessell who was withdrawn from the meeting suffering from back pain. Smith pulled out a cracking ride in heat 8 to head Garrity to the flag who battled hard through to 2nd with Resch 3rd putting the Islanders 10 points up, 29-19 at the halfway stage. The Colts team managers wasted no time electing for McKinna to take a tactical ride for double points in heat 9. McKinna was out-gated and outfoxed around the first turns with Johnson and Smethills grabbing a welcome maximum heat advantage, Garrity was 3rd after swapping places with Smethills a couple of times while McKinna languished at the back with the Islanders ahead by 14 points. Not to be outdone Smith and Starke banged in another maximum heat advantage in the following heat over Mason and Widman stretching the lead to 18 points, 39-21. Again tactical ride for Bekker was the order from the Colts managers who grabbed 2nd place behind race winner Simmons and 3rd place team mate Richardson to narrow the Islanders lead by 2 points. Heat 12 saw Mason elected to take a rider replacement ride with Garrity coming in as a reserve change who held of Smethills to close down the Islanders to 12 points difference. Two shared heats followed, Simmons again taking the flag in heat 13 ahead of Bekker and McKinna after powering between the two Colts on the back straight. Garrity squeezed past on the back straight to head Resch and Johnson in the penultimate heat leaving a 12 point difference between the two sides, 49-37 going into the last heat. Simmons completed a superb five ride maximum the hard way after Garrity took the lead. Simmons passed Bekker along the back straight on the first lap to move into 3rd and rounded team-mate Smith exiting turn 4 setting off after Garrity. Simmons and Garrity were neck and neck out of turn 4 on the 2nd lap but Simmons had to wait until the next lap to pass Garrity on the home straight to give him his 5th win of the night and a final scoreline of 53-30 to the Islanders in their opening National league fixture of the year. "It was an awesome result, it will make a few teams take note that the Islanders are a team to be reckoned with. Rob Smith was superb tonight, it was a good all round solid team performance and I just feel sorry for Luke Chessell who is in agony. As for Nick Simmons, well that's the Nick we know." said Chris Hunt Islanders co-promoter who added "We've got a winning team, we need the supporters to come out and support us, now we've beaten Belle Vue I can't see anyone else beating us, we just need to go and pick up some away points." Kevin Shepherd Islanders co-promoter said; "They have produced some very good racing tonight, fair play to Belle Vue considering they are missing Kyle Howarth they have put up very tough opposition and it's good to see the boys get off to a good start. Simmons added; "Belle Vue do have a good team but our place is different for them, I thought beforehand that we should be alright. It was a good solid performance, you need stuff like that and you definitely need good home wins, it gets everyone's confidence up and hopefully we can go and get a result at Mildenhall on Sunday." Again there will be a break in racing at Smallbrook with challenge fixtures not viable to run at present. Quad racing fills the vacant Tuesday 7th June date. Next for the Wightlink Islanders is an away fixture at Mildenhall in the Suffolk countryside this Sunday 4.30pm start. There is also a fixture change for the Islanders with their trip to Lakeside being brought forward from Friday 8th July to Friday 17th June against Hackney Hawks which means the two sides meet home and away the same week with the Islanders next home fixture now being Tuesday 14th June. National League ISLE OF WIGHT ISLANDERS - [53] 1. Paul Starke 3, 1, 2', 0, = 6+1 2. Rob Smith 1, 3, 3, 3, 1, = 11 3. Lee Smethills 2, 3, 2', 1, = 8+1 4. Brendan Johnson 1', 0, 3, 1', = 5+2 5. Nick Simmons © 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, = 15 6. Luke Chessell 1', FX, = 1+1 withdrawn 7. John Resch 2, 2', 1, 0, 0, 2, = 7+1 Team managers: Chris Hunt & Kevin Shepherd BELLE VUE COLTS - [39] 1. Byron Bekker © 2, 2, 2, 4^, 2, 0, = 12 2. Scott Richardson R, 3, 1', 0, 1', = 5+2 3. Rider Replacement for Kyle Howarth 4. Karl Mason R, 1', 1, 3, R, = 5+1 5. Adam McKinna 1, 2, 0^, 1', = 4+1 6. Chris Widman 0, 0, 0, = 0 7. Jason Garrity 3, 0, 2, 1, 2', 3, 2, = 13+1 Team managers: Stephen Williams & Graham Goodwin REFEREE: Mick Posselwhite GATE POSITIONS: Colts won the coin toss and took gates 1 & 3 in heat 1 Islanders took gates 2 & 4 in heat 15 HEAT DETAILS: Heat 1: (re-runx2): Starke, Bekker, Smith, Richardson (Ret), 71.0, 4-2 (4-2) Heat 2: Garrity, Resch, Chessell, Widman, 71.8, 3-3 (7-5) Heat 3: Richardson (RR), Smethills, Johnson, Mason (FR/Ret), 71.6, 3-3 (10-8) Heat 4: Simmons, Resch, McKinna, Garrity, 69.7, 5-1 (15-9) Heat 5: Smethills, Bekker, Richardson, Johnson, 71.8, 3-3 (18-12) Heat 6: Smith, McKinna, Starke, Widman, 71.3, 4-2 (22-14) Heat 7: (re-run): Simmons, Bekker (RR), Mason, Chessell (FX), 70.4, 3-3 (25-17) Heat 8: Smith, Garrity, Resch, Richardson, 71.1, 4-2 (29-19) Heat 9: Johnson, Smethills, Garrity (RC), McKinna (TR), 70.4, 5-1 (34-20) Heat 10: Smith, Starke, Mason, Widman (RR), 71.7, 5-1 (39-21) Heat 11: Simmons, Bekker (TR), Richardson, Resch (RC), 69.8, 3-5 (42-26) Heat 12: Mason (RR), Garrity (RC), Smethills, Resch, 71.7, 1-5 (43-31) Heat 13: Simmons, Bekker, McKinna, Starke, 70.9, 3-3 (46-34) Heat 14: Garrity, Resch (RC), Johnson, Mason (Ret), 70.3, 3-3 (49-37) Heat 15: Simmons, Garrity, Smith, Bekker, 70.2, 4-2 (53-39)

Unfortunately not Bryn, too much to do on race night as it is, although I will post a full meeting report and heat details if a texter can't be found but it won't be until the early hours (ish)

I think the usual texter is away this week Meeting preview >>> HERE

Meeting report and details here >>> http://www.speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.11026.6

ISLANDERS TACKLE HORNETS [Preview] By Isle of Wight Speedway ~ Tuesday 10th May 2011 Wightlink Islanders tackle the Newport Hornets in Knock Out Cup action tonight with Luke Chessell replacing the injured Tom Hill at reserve for the Islanders at Smallbrook Stadium. Hunt said; "I would like to thank Rob Godfrey at Scunthorpe for his help allowing us to sign Luke Chessell as cover for Tom until he is fit to return to the saddle. All of us on the Island would like to wish Tom a speedy recovery." Brendan Johnson took a last minute call up to ride in the European Under 19's last Saturday in Germany, he had two second places and two thirds and a nasty fall in his third outing. "I have a sore shoulder and took a big knock to my head again, it was a bit like the crash on the Isle of Wight! One of the Polish riders came underneath me, I was able to get back up the inside of the Polish rider, he picked up grip his bike hit the fence and rebounded back into mine wiping my front wheel out. I went head first onto the ground smashing all my safety gear, snapping my head brace, cracking my helmet, my kevlars were ripped and a lot of things on the bike were broken, but I'm ok." Hunt added; "We need to push on and take every point we can to take with us to Newport on Saturday for the second leg, they have a good home advantage around Newport and have a strong line up with a very strong top two in Herne and Kurtz." Johnson said. "We have a solid team and were unlucky not to get any points away from home at Belle Vue, the team spirit is definately there this year and we just need to get some points on the board. Newport are strong but not one of the league favourites, I feel we can get wins home and away against Newport to get into the next round. Johnson added, "I'm feeling very confident and enjoying my racing again after last season coming back from my injury which I don't like to use as an excuse but I was struggling a bit with motivation but this year I've got my head screwed on, feeling more confident, enjoying my racing, learning a lot and even wanting to be out in the workshop 24/7 again and I've really got the bug back again." The Islanders return to track action in two weeks on Tuesday 24th May with their first league fixture at home against Belle Vue Colts following the return of this evenings KO Cup fixture against Newport Hornets which has a revised start time of 4.00pm. ISLE OF WIGHT ISLANDERS 1. Paul Starke 2. Rob Smith 3. Lee Smethills 4. Brendan Johnson 5. Nick Simmons 6. Luke Chessell 7. John Resch Team managers: Chris Hunt NEWPORT HORNETS 1. Jay Herne 2. Tom Young 3. James White Williams 4. Matt Bates 5. Todd Kurtz 6. David Gough 7. Richard Andrews Team managers: Kevin Brown REFEREE: Dave Robinson

Because webspace is set up waiting for the site to be published

Looks like there will be a dedicated website for Hackney at last http://www.hackneyhawks.co/

NEW HOLMWOOD PAIRS CHAMPIONSHIP - HILL INJURED - REPORT By Isle of Wight Speedway ~ Wednesday 4th May 2011 Tuesday evening at Smallbrook Stadium Wightlink Islanders skipper Nick Simmons and pairs partner John Resch clinched the New Holmwood Pairs Championship in the final heat of the evening from second placed pairing of Mark Baseby who was unbeaten in his five rides and his brother Aaron Baseby. Lee Smethills took the win in heat 1, the first of three wins on the night for the Islander his partner Tom Hill took 3rd while Paul Starke split them. Mark Baseby remarkably still without a team spot won heat 2 in blistering form on his way to an unbeaten 5 rides. His brother and partner Aaron slotted in for 3rd with Rob Smith slotting in between them. Not to be outdone Islanders skipper Nick Simmons raced off for the the win in heat 3 from the second turn, Brendan Johnson grabbed a strong second place with Simmons partner John Resch 3rd. Maximum points for the Baseby brothers pairing in heat 4 with Mark again showing everyone the fast way round Smallbrook. Aaron had a great tussle with Starke who had to settle for 3rd. The second maximum heat came for Resch and Simmons who battled hard to grab 2nd from Smith and Walter in heat 5. There was bad news for the Islanders management as reserve Tom Hill lost control exiting the 4th turn and took an awkward fall in heat 6. After medical attention Hill was withdrawn from the meeting and returned to his northern base to visit his local hospital where in the early hours it was revealed that nothing was broken but he has suffered soft tissue damage and deep cuts. He also had a blood clot removed from a finger nail. Hill added; “I’m all bandaged up now but it’s a big relief that nothing is broken.” In the re-run heat his partner Smethills raced off for the heat win but Johnson and one of last years Islanders Dean Felton took the minor places giving them a heat advantage with the 4,3,2,0 scoring system for the Pairs meeting. Smith and Walter packed the minor places in heat 7 to take the advantage over race winner Starke in heat 7 while Simmons and Resch took a heat advantage in heat 8 and Smethills out on his own split the pair. Mark Baseby took the win in heat 9, Johnson split the brother pairing. Starke headed home the Simmons/Resch pairing in heat 10 round the outside of turn 2 and 4, while Smith was unlucky in the next heat retiring from first position allowing Johnson and Felton to take maximum points in heat 11. Heat 12 was awarded by meeting referee Dave Watters following Aaron Baseby's fall 2nd turn 3rd lap, Mark took the win passing Smethills exiting the 4th turn 1st lap. Heat 13 was re-run due to an unsatisfactory start but in bizzare circumstances after the tapes went up in the re-run riders thought the race was going to be stopped again with a flag marshall holding the red flag out riders looked all around but no red light came on! Johsnon took the initiative and raced away for 1st place with Stoneman 2nd and Felton 3rd but a very unhappy Starke retiring from the race. Smith and Walter took 2nd and 3rd while Smethills was away at the front in heat 14. The two top pairs were all set to meet each other in the final heat with the Basebys on 23 points and Simmons and Resch one point ahead on 24. Simmons and Resch just needed 2nd and 3rd places to take victory overall and they duly obliged with Mark Baseby away at the front after taking the lead early on. Simmons while in 2nd place slowed the race down enough for Resch to find a way round Aaron Baseby 4th turn 3rd lap to give the Islanders pair the spoils. The European Under 19's takes place this Saturday in Germany and has received a late call up into the meeting. "A Polish rider pulled out of the meeting and they gave the place to a British rider to take his place, I was selected to represent my country so I've got to go out there and give it my best," said Johnson who added; "I'm using my normal Isle of Wight kit for this one, my bikes seem really fast at the moment, my confidence is high and I feel really good at the moment." With receiving the late call up Johnson would like to hear from anyone who may be able to help with any sponsorship for this meeting or indeed the season, "I lost a lot of sponsorship during the winter, I have been struggling as I like to turn up with nice kit, we've struggled to get all the nice kit for the beginning of the season, that's the trouble with not having many sponsors, it would obviously be nice to get a few if that's possible, I've just got to keep plugging away and hope something will come my way," added Johnson. Prior to Tuesday's meeting taking place the new clerk of the cours at Smallbrook Graham Arnold was presented with the Geoff Dalby Memorial Trophy for his services and contribution to the sport. This was voted for during the winter by the referees and is presented annually. The Islanders return to track action next Tuesday in the KO Cup against south Wales side Newport Hornets featuring big hitters Todd Kurtz and Jay Herne, gates open 6.00pm, parade 7.20pm with first race at 7.30pm. NEW HOLMWOOD PAIRS CHAMPIONSHIP Isle of Wight Pairs ~ Tuesday 3rd May 2011 1. Paul Starke 3, 2, 4, 4, Ret, = 13 Danny Stoneman 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, = 3 = 16 6th 2. Tom Hill 2, FX, NS, NS, NS, = 2 Lee Smethills 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, = 18 = 20 4th 3. Mark Baseby 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, = 20 Aaron Baseby 2, 3, 2, FX, 0, = 7 = 27 2nd 4. Rob Smith 3, 2, 3, Ret, 3, = 11 Ross Walter 0, 0, 2, 2, 2, = 6 = 17 5th 5. Nick Simmons 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, = 17 John Resch 2, 4, 2, 2, 2, = 12 = 29 1st 6. Brendan Johnson 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, = 17 Dean Felton 0, 2, 0, 3, 2, = 7 = 24 3rd REFEREE: Dave Watters HEAT DETAILS; Heat 1; Smethills, Starke, Hill, Stoneman, 70.3. Heat 2; (re-run); M. Baseby, Smith, A. Baseby, Walter, 68.2. Heat 3; Simmons, Johnson, Resch, Felton, 70.3. Heat 4; M. Baseby, A. Baseby, Starke, Stoneman, 69.0. Heat 5; Resch, Simmons, Smith, Walter, 70.6. Heat 6; (re-run); Smethills, Johnson, Felton, Hill (FX), 71.0. Heat 7; Starke, Smith, Walter, Stoneman, 69.2. Heat 8; Simmons, Smethills, Resch, Hill (NS), 70.0. Heat 9; M. Baseby, Johnson, A. Baseby, Felton, 68.8. Heat 10; Starke, Simmons, Resch, Stoneman, 69.4. Heat 11; Johnson, Felton, Walter, Smith (Ret), 73.0. Heat 12; (awarded); M. Baseby, Smethills, A. Baseby (FX), Hill (NS), No Time Heat 13; (re-run); Johnson, Stoneman, Felton, Starke (Ret), 75.9. Heat 14; Smethills, Smith, Walter, Hill (NS), 71.7. Heat 15; M. Baseby, Simmons, Resch, A. Baseby, 70.3.

New Holmwood Cup - Best Pairs The Wightlink Islanders take a break from team action with The New Holmwood Cup, a Best Pairs meeting taking centre stage. The meeting will be run over 15 heats with gates open 6.00pm, parade 7.20pm with first race at 7.30pm. LINE UP; Mark and Aaron Baseby Nick Simmons and John Resch Paul Starke and Danny Stoneman Brendan Johnson and Dean Felton Tom Hill and Lee Smethills Rob Smith and Rikki Mullins REFEREE: Dave Watters

Yeah it was funny that, silly thing is I had two stop watches with me as well Shame he wasn't quick enough, I remember Bruce Cribb at Poole donkeys years ago, my God he was amazing and if I remember right he broke the track record that night

Unfortunately true, hence why the promotions of both teams were working together to try and put a competitive side out against the Islanders. I won't name anyone but last Tuesday during the practice session on the Island I was told by the promotions that they were still trying to get riders and could only give me four names to put out to the press and public due to so many declining the chance to ride for one reason or another. It's very hard trying to organise challenge matches; Do riders have the necessary licences? DO they have bikes and engines ready? Is permission required from their promotion? The list goes on unfortunately, but the majority of knock backs were genuine and couldn't be rectified in time or they were not financially viable due to obtaining licences and getting bikes and engines race ready/serviced etc. Whereas most of the above you can draw a line through if a rider is in a team, normally then it's a matter of seeking permission and your off and sorted, but when you are talking unattached riders it becomes more of a problem and costly to them so it's down to whether it's worth their while financially and career wise to try and put their self in the shop window, if it is then a costly and time consuming business begins for around 4 minutes of racing on most parts.

If you look on the Islanders website and the BSPA website (under National league press releases, last week) you will be able to read up on the little information that has been available due to several riders not wanting a ride

Quote from the club press release on the BSPA website; http://www.speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.10560 The Wightlink Islanders opening fixture is the Pete Redfern Memorial Trophy which takes place on Tuesday (19th April) against Sittingbourne Crusaders at Smallbrook. Mike Corby manages the Crusaders and so far can confirm the Baseby brothers, Mark and Aaron along with Dan Berwick and Ricky Mullins. Unfortunately some riders that have been asked are unavailable for one reason or another, we should have the full line up over the weekend just need three more replies saying 'Yes'

Hope this helps http://www.davidmasonracing.co.uk/html/fixtures.html

No problem glad I could help

Hi brumspur Wightlink Flyer COST: £21.50 (remains the same as last year) 'Ryde Taxi' Pick-up point is the taxi rank at Ryde Pier Head, please produce your 'Wightlink Flyer ticket' and the taxi will take you direct to the stadium. The 'Wightlink Flyer' includes; Ferry, Taxi, Stadium admission and programme. For the return journey 'Ryde Taxis are based at the stadium and will return you to Ryde Pier to catch either the 9.45pm or 10.45pm ferry.

Sounds like a wires crossed issue here then

On the BSPA website KING'S LYNN 1 Darren Mallett 7.48 2 James Cockle 7.46 3 Adam Lowe 5.62 4 Lewis Kerr 5.48 5 Jake Knight 4.29 6 Tom Stokes 3.00 7 Lewis Blackbird 3.00 8 Total 36.33 Remaining 3.67

Looks like someone still uses a typewriter

There are a good few out there mate waiting around for a call

At last a sensible decision which has now made many, many people really happy, go for it Fen Tigers!