LEE Kilby, son of the legendary Bob Kilby, admitted he was disappointed but agreed the right decision had been taken to call-off the memorial meet dedicated to his father at the 11th hour.

The call was made reluctantly by promoter Alun Rossiter yesterday morning after Steve Worrall (broken wrist), Shawn McConnell (work permit) and Charlie Gjedde (work) all had to withdraw at the last minute.

Due to the meet being at the end of the season, both Kilby and Rossiter had struggled to get the riders they wanted and took the decision to postpone the race rather than put on a sub-standard show.

“It was just rider unavailability; from the sound of it Alun was on the phone all night long trying to get riders,” said Lee shortly after the news broke.

“It is kind of one of those that you want him to do that because you want to get the meeting on, but two of the riders who can’t ride are Charlie Gjedde and Shawn McConnel and that is the reason why a lot of people were going to go up there.

“People wanted to see those guys that they haven’t seen for a long time and there is no point replacing those with people who the crowd don’t necessarily want to see as much because it won’t bring the people in.

“As hard as it is, I think they have made the right decision to not run it.”

The club have confirmed that the Bob Kilby Memorial will now open up the 2015 season, with the date already fixed for Thursday, March 26.

That will be one week after press and practice, on March 19, and the first top-flight action will see the Robins take on champions Poole home and away on Good Friday, April 3.

Many riders, including Troy Batchelor and Mads Korneliussen took to Twitter yesterday to express their disappointment at the cancellation but have already committed themselves to next year, including Jason Doyle.

“It is re-scheduled, which is good because when you do it at the start of the season everyone is keen to ride because they haven’t had it for five or six months, so it does give it a better impetus and better drive,” added Lee.

“It is a real shame, we’re obviously very disappointed but there is not much we can do about it.”