The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Gosberton Risegate speedway ace Simon Lambert will reach the pinnacle of his career this weekend as he prepares for his very own testimonial meeting.
Having been a King’s Lynn Stars asset for the last 11 years, the British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA) granted his testimonial – dubbed Rambo Lambo’s Decennary – over a year ago.
Now based in Kirton, Lambert, his family and the testimonial committee, have put in much hard work and preparation to make sure Sunday’s meeting at Lynn’s Adrian Flux Arena is a huge success.
The meeting is headlined by the appearance of British Champion Danny King, who will be bringing along his Championship trophy for supporters to take photos from 12.30pm to 1.15pm.
Joining him on track will be the five-time reigning Danish Champion Niels Kristian Iversen, reigning Australian Champion Sam Masters, former National Champions Brady Kurtz (Australia) and Ricky Wells (USA), former and current team-mates plus rider friends to complete a cosmopolitan line up.
Lambert himself will be taking part on track too, although the demands on his time off track during the day means his meeting focus will be rather different to normal.
In addition, there are support races featuring four rising young stars, with their eyes looking towards emulating the senior stars on show in the not too distant future.
There are guests of honour, too. Former Stars captain Tomas Topinka, a friend and early mentor to Simon, messaged him to say he has made his travel arrangements to be there – a terrific gesture as he lives in the Czech Republic.
Topinka is second in the Stars’ all time appearances list – and joining the party to make it a 1-2-3 appearance holders-wise will be number three on the list Ian Turner and the number one, widely recognised in speedway circles as ‘Mr King’s Lynn’, Terry Betts.
This testimonial would not have been possible without the valued contribution of sponsors and advertisers. The lead sponsor is the family business ‘Lambert’s Transport & Warehousing’, supplemented by individual sponsors for each rider and heat. Some tyres and fuel are also sponsored, too – with each and every one greatly appreciated by Lambert.
Also much appreciated is the wonderful gesture by Lambert’s promoters during his loan spell at Rye House a few seasons ago, Len Silver and Hazal Naylor.
Through their Silver Ski Holidays business, they have donated a top prize for the testimonial raffle of a skiing holiday for two, for the week Sunday, December 17 to Sunday, December 24 (2017).
The raffle will be launched at the testimonial meeting where tickets will be on sale for the first time, then will remain on sale until the draw at Peterborough – location of Simon’s club for season 2017 – on August 16.
Following the action on track, the day concludes with an auction of the riders’ race jackets and other items in the stadium’s main bar area.
Admission prices for the testimonial have been geared towards a family day out. They are adults £16, concessions £13, aged 12-18 £6, with under-12s free.
Racing at the Adrian Flux Arena starts at 2pm, with the gates opening at noon.
All monies raised are in the form of donations to the benefit of the Simon Lambert Testimonial in recognition of his services.
