More top names for Josh’s big day

JOSH AUTY is close to completing the line-up for what looks a mouth-watering testimonial meeting at Scunthorpe’s Eddie Wright Raceway on Sunday, March 22nd at 3pm.

The Yorkshireman has announced a further quintet of riders – former Scorpion Ryan Douglas, Wolves’ No 1 Sam Masters, Australian Ty Proctor, Brit Richard Lawson and American international Ricky Wells.

Auty said: “I’m delighted that they have agreed to ride in my testimonial – they’re all good friends of mine.

“They are all really good riders and I’m lucky that so many quality riders will be on show at the Eddie Wright Raceway for my meeting.”

Douglas, a Scorpion between 2013 and 2017, needs no introduction to the Scunthorpe fans.

Auty remarks: “I rode with Ryan (Douglas) at Scunthorpe for five seasons, so it was a bit weird to find myself racing against him last season, when he came back to Britain and signed for Leicester.

“I had a few good tussles with him last season and there were a few unfortunate decisions that I felt went against me.

“It comes with the nature of the sport I guess, and we all understand that. One night you can be banging elbows with someone; the next night you can be team-mates.

“I think 99 per cent of the riders have an on-track respect for one another but because Ryan rode for Scunny for a number of years, for him to go to the other side of the pits all of a sudden, it was strange in some respects.

“Once your helmet goes on, though, it’s back to business and the four riders at the tapes all have the same goal and that’s to win, no matter who you are against. But once our helmets come off, we’re friends again.”

Of the four other riders, Auty commented: “Sam Masters has been Wolves’ No. 1 for a period of time and is a really good, consistent rider. I rode in Australia, I saw and spoke to him a bit then and since he came over to England, I’ve always regarded him as a friend. He’s a top, top rider in this country.

“Ty Proctor rode with me at Redcar when he first came over and I spent quite a bit of time with him because he was stopping at Dan Giffard’s at the time in Wolverhampton. I got to be really good mates with him from then onwards and we’ve kept in contact.

“Ricky Wells has been a No. 1 wherever he’s been in the Championship, he’s an international rider, and he’s ridden in the World Cup, so he’s another top rider. It’s tough for riders like Ricky because they just need that right level of backing to take it up to the next level. I would put Ricky in that category. If he had, say, double the amount of backing he has now, I think he could seriously go places in the sport.

“As for Richard Lawson, he’s another home-grown English rider in my line-up. Until you get to know him, he’s rather quiet but he’s another rider I have a lot of respect for and I’d regard him as a friend. Like a few of the lads, I would say he’s on the fringe of potentially being British Champion. You just need that one meeting in the British Final when everything goes right and we saw that last year with Charles Wright.”

Admission for Auty’s showpiece event is £16 adults, £14 student / OAP, £5 children aged 10-17 and Under 10s go free. A family ticket for two adults and two children aged 10-17 is available for £37. Further details are available from joshautytestimonial@hotmail.com.

LINE-UP SO FAR:
Jake Allen, Thomas Jorgensen, Simon Lambert, Rory Schlein, Danny King, Charles Wright, Chris Harris, James Sarjeant, Sam Masters, Ty Proctor, Ryan Douglas, Richard Lawson, Ricky Wells.