ISLE of Wight speedway star Scott Campos was in top form as he lifted the annual Slide in Ryde best pairs title at Smallbrook Stadium.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Scott Campos, who won the Slide in Ryde best pairs contest with Richard Andrews.

The popular Warriors member paired up with Plymouth Devils rider Richard Andrews to win the competition under the name, London Loonies.

The pair made an ideal combination for this type of meeting, with Campos’s fast starts complimented by Andrews's brave bursts when behind.

Andrews deserved much praise as he came from last place to second in the final, having twice taken nasty falls during heats five and seven.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Isle of Wight Warriors Danno Verge and Scott Campos, with Campos's riding partner, Richard Andews.

Facing off against tjem in the final were Jason Edwards (Eastbourne) and Ryan Terry-Daley (Plymouth), known as the Speedway Widows, who came through qualification and their semi-final with a consistent series of scores.

The two top scoring pairs in the qualification rounds were both eliminated at the semi-final stage because a race win was insufficient when the second team member didn’t score.

Racing in front of meeting sponsor Steve Luxton from Cobra’s Garage Mahal, on a flying visit from Florida, the six pairs were certainly well matched on paper.

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So it proved on the track, with plenty of incident and passing to keep a good sized crowd well entertained.

As early as heat one, Tom Brennan (Eastbourne) and Jamie Bursill, known as Stamford Bridge, both suffered simultaneous first-bend engine problems - handing the Full Monty pairing of Isle of Wight Warriors' Alfie Bowtell and Alex Spooner (Kent Kings) an early 7-0 heat win.

On the night, Bowtell was the stand-out performer, recording wins in all six of his races.

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However, that wasn’t enough to manoeuvre the Full Monty to the final - dipping out 5-4 in the semi-final to the Speedway Widows, despite Spooner’s best efforts to find a way past his opponents in front.

The close heats and passing were reflected in the efforts of Taylor Hampshire (Kent Kings), who was always a threat with tigerish Warriors rider Danno Verge as Steve’s Scorchers, who fully deserved a semi-final slot.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Scott Campos in action at Smallbrook Stadium.

Brennan too was impressive and would have scored more heavily had it not been for the first race gremlins and a heat eight fall when trying a daring pass on Leon Flint (Birmingham Brummies), while Flint himself was unlucky to break his saddle just as race ten was about to start.

He missed the time allowance and had to start from a 15-metre handicap, which was just too much to recover.

After finishing in the runners-up position last year, a delighted Scott Campos said: “Phew, what a night! I’m very pleased.

"We got close last year and I was hopeful this year.

Isle of Wight County Press:

"The pairs were very even and it was a hard meeting to call.

"We tried something a little bit different with the bike tonight and it certainly seemed to work.

"Got to say a big 'well done' to my riding partner Richard. He took a couple of heavy knocks early on, but he kept his chin up, battled away and I’m told did some awesome passes to get with me in the final.

"I'm absolutely chuffed. Great night for us.”

Isle of Wight County Press:

Qualifying Group Scores: Stamford Bridge 14, Full Monty 30, Steve’s Scorchers 25, Retail Renegades 19, Speedway Widows 21 and London Loonies 24.

Semi finals: Speedway Widows 5, Full Monty 4; London Loonies 6, Steve’ Scorchers 3.

Final: London Loonies (Scott Campos 4, Richard Andrews 3) 7, Speedway Widows (Ryan Terry-Daley 2, Jason Edwards 0) 2.