Nikki Latham
3TT Speedway Meeting On Isle Of Wight 23rd June 2022
There have been updates from this meeting from each of the teams, so here we share our reflections on the meeting which opened the season for the Isle Of Wight at the Smallbrook Stadium on Thursday night.

The weather forecast looking very worrying in the 24 hours before the meeting with a weather warning issued for thunderstorms on the island, and with a large cloud emptying itself as the ferry docked, it was the arrival talking point as the riders were unloading their vans, rather than usual, asking about the journey.

The Isle Of Wight meeting is a difficult one to commentate on as the main meetings of the night are split up. We were going to focus on just the 3TT, but with Chesil Radio sponsored riders and former Wildcats, taking part in the Wizards & Warlocks challenge, we chose to cover this too. I would like to apologise for a couple of my mistakes on the night, but it was the first back fully since lockdown and our first 3TT event (red and orange were difficult to distinguish as the light faded).

Fortunately, it was without too much delay in the meeting and in the capable hands of referee Ken Burnett, there was over 20 heats during the evening and everyone in the crowd clapped no matter what team or how big or small the rider was. Every rider came round with the chequered flag to the applause of the crowd for their heat wins and with only a couple of injuries, Alex Spooner (shoulder - had to receive medical attention and miss his next meeting) and Sam Peters (knee, shoulder and nose - a bit sore but no hospital treatment), the meeting went smoothly and completed by 9.30pm.
I absolutely loved it, and can't wait to get back there myself. Unfortunately, due to our technical issues at the start the meeting, it was not recorded in a format that can be broadcast again on this occasion, but we hope to with future broadcasts, as we have in the past.

If you want to hear about each teams view of the meeting then follow each of the teams on Facebook, and each have their own take on the evening meeting:
https://www.facebook.com/WightlinkWarriors
https://www.facebook.com/groups/581372859565152 (Cradley Heathens)
https://www.facebook.com/weymouthspeedway
As Chesil Radio travels with the Wildcats Management, the meeting was the topic on the journey back to Weymouth, and both Martin & James, joined myself on the radio for a Breakfast Club extra with only a couple of hours sleep. You can catch repeats on these on Monday's Breakfast and Drive Time shows and we will share on our social media during the week if you missed them.

Onwards with Chesil Radio's speedway coverage, with a trip to Kent, more details to follow on that and we will be back on IOW with the Wildcats & Heathens for the next meeting, Round 2 of the 3TT. The speedway season has most definitely arrived on Chesil Radio.
A big thank you to Sportography for capturing me in action and providing our team with the pictures from the meeting of the riders, with even more pictures of Danno Verge, who seemed to star in all our Facebook Live's (check them out on our Facebook page too!)
