26/08/2026
Meeting Report – 2026 NORA British Individual Championship
RITCHINGS TAKES BRITISH TITLE
Isle of Wight speedway star Darryl Ritchings lifted the NORA British speedway crown after a pulsating evening of racing at the Smallbrook stadium on Tuesday writes Ken Burnett.
With the twelve-man field reduced to nine after a weekend of spills causing withdrawals due to injury the format was changed to three riders in each qualification race with each rider taking four outings.
The change made very little difference to the racing as the Handlebar Heroes gave it their all.
Kent’s Jack Kingston set the pace with an outstanding pass on Cradley’s Charlie Wood in heat one, before Ritchings stormed to victory in the second.
Hot favourite James Shanes won his opener by a street in heat three, before Ritchings had to work hard to hold off the exciting Kingston in the fourth.
Heat five, saw Wood take a hefty tumble on turn two trying an early outside swoop on Arran Butcher, the referee’s decision to disqualify the Cradley man not being received well as he returned on foot to the pits. Butcher made no mistake in the rerun to take the win.
Shanes then produced a perfect pass on Alex Spooner and then held off the hard charging Kingston in heat seven to book his semi-final spot.
Warriors captain Danno Verge gave the home crowd plenty to cheer, when he won heat 8 from pillar to post and in the next heat Ritchings came from last to first to book his spot in the semi-final with a magical pass of Butcher before Butcher joined him by winning the tenth.
The penultimate qualifying race pitched the two unbeaten riders, Ritchings and Shanes together to decide top gate picks and it was the Warriors number 1 who emphatically took the spoils in the fastest time of the night.
Spooner took the last qualifying race to book his progression leading Verge all the way.
In the first semi-final it was Butcher who sped from the start followed by Ritchings, they chased and passed each other twice in a super race, before Ritchings dived through to take first place, with Verge missing out.
The second semi-final saw Shanes race away to victory, but all the real action was behind him with Kingston and Spooner going neck and neck before Kent man Kingston, swooped past for second to take the last place in the Grand Final.
And what a Final it turned out to be with four terrific laps of racing with places swopping on every lap. Kingston went from first to last, Butcher first to third. Shanes fourth to second and the eventual winner Ritchings third to first in superb style for the win. The image courtesy of Sportography / Ian Groves shows the riders in the Grand Final bursting from the start with Jack Kingston in the red helmet, James Shanes in blue, Arran Butcher in white and Darryl Ritchings in yellow.
It was a fitting finale to end a fabulous evening of action in which every rider will look back on at least one highlight, and the super-sized, appreciative crowd can marvel at the sheer bravery and speed of the riders.
Qualifying Scores. Ritchings 12, Shanes 11, Butcher 10, Kingston 9, Spooner 7, Verge 7, Laker 5, Wood 5, Rogers 4.
Semi Final 1. Ritchings, Butcher, Verge, Laker.
Semi Final 2. Shanes, Kingston, Spooner, Wood.
Final. Ritchings, Shanes, Butcher, Kingston.
In the junior final that supported the main event, it was Archie Strong from Bicester who was victorious on his Smallbrook debut with four straight wins, but a special mention to Vinny Smith and Liam Laker who slugged out an exciting run off for second place that eventually went Smith’s way.
Promoter Martin Widman said after the meeting, “After all the problems with rider injuries, and last-minute rider unavailability, those riders that did take part put on a great show in front of another bumper crowd. There was some superb racing and even the riders in the Junior Championship played their part in what was a fantastic night of speedway”.
Next week (Tuesday 1 September), it's the final meeting of the season when the Warriors take on the powerful Kent Eagles. Tapes up 7pm.
As always, it’s thanks to Wightlink Isle of Wight Ferries for transporting the riders and staff across the Solent.
