The hottest young property in British Speedway is scorching into Central Park Stadium for 2019 with the announcement by Kent Speedway of the signing of Dan Gilkes.
In the news all Kings’ supporters were hoping to hear, the 16-year-old was excited to give his reaction to putting pen to paper to join the Sittingbourne-based side for their assault on the 2019 National League, “I’m really happy to have chosen to ride for Kent Kings in my first season in league Speedway. It’s been a long thought out process for me to decide on which club to choose but all the support I’ve received from the Kent management and from the supporters there too has been overwhelming really and has in the end made this definitely the right decision for me. My two occasions racing at Central Park have shown me also what a positive place it is to be at and I was made to feel at home there by everyone straight away.”
Gilkes has already made a big impression on the Central Park faithful with those two eye-catching late season performances at the track. The Northampton-based teenager’s first competitive action at NL level came at Kent in mid-September representing a Lakeside Select side. The rider who tore up the Development Leagues during 2018 (starring for Peterborough Thundercats in the Midlands division and likewise for Reading Racers in the Southern version) won his very first race at Central Park that memorable evening, going on to claim three outright and one paid wins in total, to amass a remarkable debut score of paid 12 – taking the hugely notable scalps of Kent’s top two Jack Thomas and Nathan Stoneman along the way. This performance secured an invite to the season-ending Laurels’ individual championship meeting for Dan and he excelled again – taking a race victory ahead of eventual meeting winner Jon Armstrong on the way to nine points in qualification; and then by finishing third in the final becoming the youngest ever rostrum finisher in the Laurels’ long history.
It was the culmination of a carefully and maturely planned 2018 where the youngster ensured he got his education sorted while gaining experience of a range of tracks across the length and breadth of the UK.
Level-headed Dan reflects on the progress made over the past year, “I don’t go into any meeting with particular expectations – more to gain experience and as much knowledge as possible. These were the positives at this stage of my career rather than the points I scored – although I have to say coming in and scoring double points figures from the start at National League level was a real bonus”.
Kent is a location surely written in the stars for the youngster who began racing on a 125cc Speedway machine aged just 10, as those early rides were made at one of the Garden of England’s training tracks – Dan and his father Cory making the three hour drive from their Northampton home to Lydd for invaluable laps of practice and junior racing. Gilkes quickly progressed up to a full sized 500cc bike before he was even 13 years and then entered the British Youth scene once he got to 14 – ultimately taking a runners up spot in the national championship at that level, matching the second place he’d previously obtained in the Auto-Cadet class at Speedway’s sister sport of Grasstrack.
Dan recalls those early days, “I first went to Speedway at Brandon Stadium in Coventry when I was apparently just two years of age! As I got older, I saw the young mascot there and thought I wish I could be out there riding a bike like him. I got a motocross mini-bike when aged just six and though I enjoyed that and the Cadet Grasstrack too, all I wanted to be was a Speedway rider”.
And Dan is quick to acknowledge the massive support of his family and other backers. “With my Dad having been a semi-professional footballer himself and then a football coach, we weren’t actually a family with a motorcycle racing background like some are, so I really have to thank Rob Painter (former Conference League rider and now boss of Speedway’s Team Great Britain ) for the brilliant support he’s given me. My Dad has devoted so much time, energy and effort to supporting my career as has my Mum, Bridgette, my grandfather Peter and I’ve had great support from my number one fan my younger sister, Alix. I couldn’t do any of it without them”.
Dan’s mother is a teacher and refreshingly, the youngster has definitely put education first during his schooldays and the crucial Year 11 he has just completed – gaining his GCSEs first before making this step into League racing as a professional Speedway rider. It’s an education carrying on too as the latest young Kent Kings’ rider to be enrolled in the Poultec-sponsored Speedway Training Academy based up in Norfolk.
Dan is already backed by some invaluable sponsorship and hoping that now his 2019 destination is set they’ll be others coming on board to add their support. “I have a lot of sponsors to thank: Revolution Speedway, Rob Racing, Full Throttle Motorsport, Fuchs Silkolene, Mardi Gras Motorsport, Hagon Shocks, Jays Duke Box and VM Motorsport. I’m so pleased to have signed on the dotted line now for the Kings – there really is no better club to start my Speedway career at and I can’t just wait to get started.“