Warriors still In Trophy hunt following win against Kent

The win means the Isle of Wight side’s hopes of taking the National Trophy remain very much alive.

But to do that, they must go to Kent on Monday and win by seven points or more. Any other result hands the silverware to the Kings.

Prior to the match, fans would have been in the dark when Warriors number one rider Georgie Wood did not appear for the pre-match introductions.

That was because he was being whisked to Smallbrook from Ryde Hover Terminal having missed the car ferry to the island.

Yet he made it to the track with just enough time to pull on his race suit and hop on one of Chad Wirtzfeld’s bikes.

And, remarkably, Wood blasted away to win heat one in a time just 0.1 seconds slower than his best time while mounted on his own equipment.

With Chris Widman bagging a valuable third place in heat one, the Warriors had made the positive start asked for by team manager Jackie Vatcher – and the recent improved performances and enthusiasm rubbed off on the whole team as they led the much-fancied Kings 28-14 after seven races.

Wise heads on the terraces waited for the Kings to respond and over the next eight races they did just that, outscoring the Warriors by eight race points 20-28.

Fortunately that big early advantage laid the foundation for the Warriors’ most complete performance for some time and a home win was generally felt to be the right result on the night.