Heathens Clinch Vince Mapley Memorial Trophy Despite Warriors' Spirited Win In The Second Leg
- Nikki Latham
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Cradley A.R.H. Heathens secured the Vince Mapley Memorial Trophy after a commanding 84–93 aggregate victory, surviving a determined fightback from the IOW Wightlink Warriors, who claimed a 51–36 home win at Smallbrook Stadium in leg two.
Going into the meeting with a 24-point advantage from the first leg, the Heathens rode with composure, spearheaded by Connor Coles, who bagged four race wins, and James Shanes, whose dramatic last-lap Heat 10 pass, drew huge applause.
The opening heats were evenly contested before IOW’s Ben Morley and Ryan Ingram’s 5-1 in Heat 5 swung momentum in the Warriors’ favour with Ingram, having raced for the Heathens in Leg 1, taking second following Danno Verge’s bike issues and then James Shanes slowing on the last lap both riders suffering with burnt out clutches. Consistent scoring from Mark Parker and Nathan Hargrave kept the pressure on and retained the aggregate, but the Warriors stretched their lead on the night.
Despite the aggregate deficit, the Warriors, led by an unbeaten Darryl Ritchings - who the previous week rode in the Best Pairs for the Chesil Radio Royal Wildcats - and aided by a brave performance from IOW Warriors injured skipper Arran Butcher – battled hard, winning key heats and thrilling the home crowd with late dominance.
But in the end, the trophy belonged to the visitors, who celebrated a hard-fought two legs, cementing their status as worthy winners, especially as the Heathens had also lost the exciting Charlie Wood to injury suffered in the Best Pairs, the previous week, but in a great example of his commitment and demonstrating the Heathens team spirit Charlie travelled across to the IOW to support his team in the pits.
Yet more silverware for the Heathens having won the inaugural Steve Piper Trophy - held in honour of the hugely popular Warriors manager, who also had strong links to the Weymouth Wildcats, who sadly lost his life at the end of last year - in past meetings this season. Warriors have lost the previous two meetings of the season at Smallbrook Stadium, and this win was highly expected given Darryl Ritchings, previous performances for Warriors and Wildcats in past weeks and further strengthening of their first leg team.
Andy Hawthorne, Heathens manager, said on the night: “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy against a much stronger Warriors team and also missing two riders who had hit 13 points each in the First Leg. Our priority tonight was to all go home in one piece and, of course, defend the first leg lead, the lads knew the score and that avoiding last places was vital - and most of our last places were actually down to misfortune. Ultimately, though, despite al the bad luck that hit us tonight – all of our riders except Connor lost multiple points through various adversities with skipper Danno Verge particularly hard hit– we did, comfortably achieve our aim."
He added: “Thanks as always to Barry and Martin and Wightlink Ferries, and to all of the volunteers on the island as well as every single rider and fan, especially those who travel to support The Mighty Heathens – and get well soon JSS!” Jack Scully-Syer suffered a broken wrist during the 500cc dash races prior to the main meeting, and was anticipated to be a key rider for this week’s MSDL standard clash.
Final Score (Leg 2): Wightlink Warriors 51 – 36 Heathens Aggregate: Heathens 84 – 93 Warriors
This week sees the IOW Warriors hosting visitors, Mildenhall, and the additional action comes from IOW Wizards and Cradley Juniors, which gives race and track time to riders who are ready to breakthrough into the main teams in seasons to come.
We haven't forgotten the Best Pairs and the Steve Piper Memorial Trophy... story to follow!!