The next stage in bringing NORA racing to Iwade is this weekend with the Kent Kings staging their Press and Practice Day on Sunday (24th.) – 11am to 3pm with fans invited to come along and meet the riders.
Those fans will see an Old Gun Site circuit that’s had a considerable spruce up in recent weeks as part of an approach to make the spectating experience at Iwade a better one and as the Kings’ General Manager Derek Barclay says, the promotion will have a ‘Back To The Future’ approach to the on track entertainment to be on show.
“The opportunities that going under the more flexible NORA umbrella will give us allow a range of fixtures that will, we are confident capture the imagination of Speedway fans in the region.
“No criticism intended of the former National Development League which Kent competed in, but some of the visiting sides represented little in the way to bring too much interest and conversely there’s nothing quite like local rivalries.”
“There are three active campaigns in the south-east to bring back currently defunct tracks at Eastbourne, Thurrock and Rye House and those clubs being able to play their part in NORA competition with fixtures confirmed against the Kings and hopefully at the other NORA track, Isle of Wight also will give those campaigns a big boost.”
“These fixtures with local fans from across the region are creating a real buzz”
The meetings will have what could be termed ‘old school’ second halves too as Barclay explains,
“Both myself and promoter Steve Ribbons were brought up on Speedway meetings in the ‘70s & ‘80s where individual competition followed the main match in properly competitive second halves and that’s something we hope to bring to fruition also – it’s a great opportunity for sponsors giving their name to a trophy and providing prize money and any companies or individuals keen to do so should contact us. As of course should any riders interested in riding in second halves.”
The club is also looking to appoint a Community Outreach Officer to work on taking the Speedway message out to local schools/colleges and community groups.