What. A. Week! Our first ever ‘E-Bee Wight Star Electric Dirt Bike Festival’ is now etched in history and we’re really pleased with how it went. So many of the families that came over to the Isle of Wight went home with amazing memories, and that’s what we wanted. It wasn’t just about the racing, families spent quality time together, camping, going to the beach, seeing fire shows, going on boat and chair lift rides, getting up close to a beautiful Bald Eagle and a real life giant Teddy Bear, walking with Dinosaurs, playing at foam parties and racing through bubbles to name but a few things, but the best thing of all….. having lots of fun with plenty of laughter.
We kicked it off at Smallbrook Stadium on Tuesday, the home of the ‘Wight Warriors’ Speedway team, where our own mini warriors had the chance to ride the full speedway circuit before the Island’s Speedway racers showed us all how it’s done at 60mph plus with no brakes. The kids had a blast at the Speedway track, not just going as fast as they could an trying to get their bikes sideways but also off the track with many of them taking up the opportunity to try electric bike trails, with the Isle of Wight Trials club on hand doing demos and try outs. Then, for those who still had the energy there was a kids running race around the track at the half time interval of the Speedway race in the evening.
Wednesday was an opportunity for families to go off and explore the island and all it has to offer and many did just that and took advantage of some beautiful weather before heading to Robin Hill Adventure Park where we held our two days of racing. Thursday was a chance for the kids to get used to the track with our open practice day and have the morning to enjoy all the park’s attractions, such as the Toboggan Run, Jungle Heights. Tunnel Quest, Bounce, The Adrenaline Zone, Wobble Bridges, Canopy Sky Walk, the Falconry Experience and one of our personal favourites, Digger School, where the kids get to operate a real 360 Digger!
Friday was the first of our two race days and we started it off with a visit from our special guest and grand marshal, ‘Kailani’, a beautiful Bald Eagle from the Falconry Experience within the park. It was such a memorable and cool experience for the kids to get up close and personal to such a magnificent bird of prey and have their pictures taken with her. Once Kailani had flown off back to the Falconry, the two days of racing got underway on the fantastic, natural circuit laid out under the canopy of the trees at the top end of the park. The track was flowing and technical, with prime dirt and produced some extremely close racing which kept everyone entertained, even for those not involved with the event who were visiting the park and stopped by to watch or as they past by on ‘Harold the Big Red Tractor’ train ride that travels around Robin Hill Adventure Park.
After a brilliant first day of racing, many of our young racers and families enjoyed the foam party that took place in the late afternoon sun and any other attractions they’d yet to try, like the frisbee golf before heading back to their accommodation for the night. There was a really nice vibe in the camping area at the park for those who had decided to stay on site with the kids playing on into the evening in a safe, family environment amongst the trees and fairy lights.
Like the day before, Saturday started with another special guest, with ‘Ted Funnel’, the live sized bear mascot and Captain from Red Funnel Ferries turning up to spend some time with the kids. Ted was a hit, not just with kids but with us EXGB staff and we’re all happy we also got some selfies with him! Once Ted had left to get back to his job of sailing ferries our second day of racing got underway and it was equally, if not, more exciting than the day before.
At the end of it all and two days of brilliant racing and a few days of fun filled family memories, there were no losers….only winners, with everyone having a great time. We throughly enjoyed putting on our inaugural ‘E-Bee Wight Star Electric Dirt Bike Festival’ and we’re already planning for an even better running of it for 2027 now we’ve seen the response from all the families and kids and discussed the varying ways we can improve the festival. And that’s the key word here, we wanted our first ever ‘off shore’ event to feel like a festival, a celebration of all the good things of what the motorcycling community offers. People having a good time, getting along, making friends, helping each other out, making memories and having fun in a non pressured environment and that’s what we witnessed. Which is why we’re excited to do it all again next year…but even better!
We’d like to take this opportunity to say a big fat ‘Thank You’ to all the families who made the trip over the Solent to come and spend the week with us and justify our vision and hope for this event. To the brilliant Robin Hill Adventure Park and all of the friendly and helpful staff there, making us all feel welcome. To Charlotte at the Falconry Experience for letting ‘Kailani’ be such a big part of our event and of course the whole team at Red Funnel Ferries for the discounted travel and bringing everyone safely over the water to and from and the beautiful Isle of Wight. Thanks also to our brilliant partners, Revvi, Ninju, Amped Bikes, Duck Smart, Armor Vision and Stacyc for their continued support throughout 2026, it’s so greatly appreciated.
We now just have two events left for this year. Our final ‘E-Bee Practice’ at SX Worx on the 19th August and then our final ‘E-Bee All Stars’ Championship round, scheduled for Wheeldon Farm, Devon on the 14/15th November. Entries for both are open and available on the events page of our website. We’re working hard behind the scenes with our plans for 2027 and will be announcing them before the year is out, so keep an eye out on our social media and website around November and December. There’s exciting, fun times ahead for EXGB and we hope you continue to come along for the ride. Until then, take care, be kind, be safe. – Julie & The EXGB Team.
