Great day ahead with Josh’s testimonial
THE weather is set fair and there is a top-quality field, as a brand-new British Speedway season commences with the Josh Auty Testimonial, sponsored by Attis Insurance and Hirst Electrical, at Scunthorpe’s Eddie Wright Raceway this evening (Saturday, 5pm).
The meeting is headed by a trio of British Champions in Chris Harris, Danny King and Charles Wright, while there are also no fewer than six 2022 Scunthorpe Scorpions on parade.
Josh Auty is Scunthorpe Speedway’s all-time top scorer and has won more honours with the club than any other rider. He will move onto pastures new with Birmingham Brummies this season, but he will remain a popular figure with the fans for his exploits since joining Scorpions as a 15-year-old in September 2005.
Josh said: “I do have a lot of happy memories with Scunthorpe. Of course, there was winning the league in 2012. It was called the Premier League at that time, and I went out with Nick Morris in the final race and we got the 3-3 we needed to win by one point on aggregate. That was an amazing moment.
“It was always good to win a last-decider in Heat 15 around Scunthorpe; those were special. I also remember one more recently, when Jake (Allen) and I got a 5-1 in Heat 15 and won Scunthorpe the match, having not led at any point until then.
“There were a few supporters at Scunthorpe who I tended to chat with every week before the meeting and you do build up a relationship with them. I will miss not talking to them every week.
“I thank all the Scunthorpe fans for their support over the years.”
He is looking forward to the new season and the fresh challenge. He previously rode for Birmingham in the top-flight in 2012 and 2013.
He admitted: “It will be weird coming to Scunthorpe later this year with Birmingham and being on the other side of the pits.
“But I am definitely excited by the new challenge of riding for Birmingham. There are quite a few other English lads there. I spent quite a lot of time with Ash Morris in Australia, and James Shanes and Stefan Nielsen are at Birmingham too. Of course, I rode with Stefan at Scunthorpe. I’m looking forward to riding with those guys.
“I had a couple of good years at Birmingham when I was there before – we reached the play-offs in 2012 and then lost in the final in 2013.
“2013 was tough at the end of the season, because we lost to Poole, who only finished fourth in the league table. I’m not sure if I’m a fan of that, but, then again, Scunthorpe weren’t top in 2012 but I won the play-offs with them, so it can go the other way.
“I have some good memories of Birmingham and hopefully we can make some more.”
This evening’s meeting is excellent value for money, with an adult admission price of £16 for 29 races of speedway in total. The main event consists of the 23-heat Grand Prix format, with 20 heats, two semis and a final, while there are also six British Youth races.
Josh concluded by saying: “I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has helped with this meeting – the sponsors, the riders, the volunteers, the supporters and my family.”
Admission prices for this evening (Saturday):
Adult: £16.00
Student/OAP: £14.00
Child (10 – 17): £5.00
Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult)
Family Ticket £37 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-17)
Full line-up (not riding order):
Josh Auty (Birmingham)
Danny King (Poole and Ipswich)
Chris Harris (Berwick and Peterborough)
Charles Wright (Redcar and Belle Vue)
Richard Lawson (Poole and King’s Lynn)
Paul Starke (Newcastle and Ipswich)
Ulrich Ostergaard (Glasgow and Peterborough)
James Wright (Newcastle)
James Shanes (Birmingham)
Connor Mountain (Leicester and Sheffield)
Jake Allen (Scunthorpe)
Ryan Douglas (Scunthorpe and Wolverhampton)
Tero Aarnio (Scunthorpe)
Simon Lambert (Scunthorpe)
Jordan Palin (Scunthorpe and Peterborough)
Zaine Kennedy (Scunthorpe)
Reserves: Harry and Sam McGurk (Belle Vue)
Youth races:
250cc class: Luke Harrison, Max James, Sonny Springer, William Cairns.
125cc class: Jack Franklin, Harry Fletcher, Caydin Martin, Casper Kluczniak.
