Panthers promoter can't wait for a magical Monday
PANTHERS bosses are bracing themselves for one of the biggest-ever attendances for a speedway meeting in the city.
PANTHERS bosses are bracing themselves for one of the biggest-ever attendances for a speedway meeting in the city.More than 3,000 advance tickets have already been sold for Event Two of the Speedway World Cup at the East of England Showground on Monday.
The grandstand is a complete sell-out and a crowd in excess of 5,000 is expected for a mouthwatering night of racing action.
It will be the biggest turnout since the city club’s famous Elite League Grand Final triumph in 2006 when they defeated Reading Bulldogs to lift the title in front of a huge crowd.
And Bratley (pictured right) reckons merely being selected to stage the high-profile meeting underlines how far the club have progressed since owner Rick Frost took charge in August last year.
“It will be brilliant to see so many people at the Showground,” said Bratley.
“We are thrilled to bits with the amount of tickets already sold and we are definitely expecting there to be between five and six thousand people present on Monday.
“It is an honour to stage a round of the World Cup and its a long time since we have held a meeting of such prestige around here.
“The track is in good condition, the staff are enthusiastic and we can’t wait for Monday.
“The club has made some great progress since Rick came in and now the challenge is to show we can stage a meeting of such magnitude.”
Most experts reckon the meeting will boil down to a two-horse race between Australia and Poland, but Bratley doesn’t share that view.
He reckons the men from Down Under will be in a class of their own on the Alwalton shale.
Former Panthers stars Jason Crump and Ryan Sullivan - men regarded as two of the finest-ever riders of the city venue - join skipper Leigh Adams in a seriously strong side.
Coventry man Rory Schlein and Poole ace Chris Holder complete their quintet and Bratley expects them to zoom to victory.
But he is also looking forward to catching up with a member of the Polish side. Piotr ‘Pepe’ Protasiewicz scored 435 points during two seasons with the city club earlier this decade.
“I look at the Australian team and don’t see a single weak link, especially around the Showground,” continued Bratley. “There is no way I can see past a victory for Australia.
“But it will be great to see Pepe at Alwalton again.
“He was a very good rider for the club and is one of the nice guys in the sport.
“I guess you could call him a gentle giant.”
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Thursday 09 September 2010
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