Ian Clark was the winner of the inaugural NORA GT 140 Island Masters title at the Smallbrook Stadium in Ryde on Tuesday evening.
Amongst a field that contained eleven of the top twelve ranked competitors in the UK, Clark – the current National Champion – continued the form that recently took him to the title with a power-packed showing, riding unbeaten during the night and recording the fastest time of the meeting along the way. It really is turning into a season to remember for the former Peterborough speedway rider.
With eighteen competitors taking part in six rider races, it was a very entertaining spectacle watching how the riders adapted to a shale surface rather than grass and it’s credit to everyone who contributed to plenty of close quarter action, all rounded off by a very competitive A final where the battle for minor places produced one of the races of the night. In the end Lowestoft based Steve Newsham came home safely in second place closely followed by Kevin Gwillam with Max Broadhurst, Chad Wirtzfeld and Mark Scopes completing the final finishing order.
B Final winner Jordan Cross will be cursing a fall that probably cost him a place in the A final whilst C final winner Connor Sargeant showed plenty of potential and would certainly be prepared for the slightly different style of track action in future.
Wightlink Warriors co-owner Barry Bishop reflected on the meeting saying,
“I enjoyed that, and I hope our supporters did too. Certainly, the riders that I have spoken to said they had a great time so that gives me confidence to think that we should repeat the meeting next season. Thanks to Adam Hawker for his work in helping coordinate the event and I look forward to working with him again”.
Qualifying Scores:
Ian Clark 20, Chad Wirtzfeld 19, Steve Newsham 17, Max Broadhurst 16, Mark Scopes 16, Kevin Gwillam 14, Luke Wicks 13, Luke Tuck 11, Jordan Cross 10, Wayne Broadhurst 10, Adam Hawker 7, Darren Sargeant 7, Connor Sargeant 6, Richard Knight 4, Thomas Wilding 4, Vinny Smith 4, Jed Rolph 2, Lester Denham 0.
C Final: C. Sargeant, Smith, Knight, Wilding, Denham, Rolph (ret.).
B Final: Cross, Wicks, Tuck, Hawker, D. Sargeant, W. Broadhurst (ns.).
A Final: Clark, Newsham, Gwillam, M. Broadhurst, Wirtzfeld, Scopes.
