History shows that a team with ambitions of winning Speedway's National Trophy [NT] need to beat Sunday's opponents Mildenhall Fen Tigers in order to do so - for the past two years that distinction has not been achieved, with the side from the Suffolk fens winning the competition for the sixth and record seventh times in the 2017 & 2018 seasons.
So if one was looking for a benchmark of how far this current Kent TouchTec Kings has come one needs to look no further than Sunday's trip to West Row [3pm start time].
There are of course two members of that NT winning side from last term, in the Kent side this year: Drew Kemp & Jordan Jenkins (indeed JJ was an NT winner with the Fen Tigers the year before also). Last Monday's maximum man as the Kings' got a first NT win of the season, Drew Kemp will though be missing out on a quick fire return to his old home track on Sunday(as the Sabbath more often than not finds the World U21 semi-finalist) up in South Yorkshire on Sheffield Tigers' duties in the SGB Championship. As with last Sunday when the Kings' reigned up in Stoke, team boss Chris Hunt has turned to Ben Morley to come in as a 'Guest' in the number one race jacket.
Dan Gilkes who missed the emphatic win over Plymouth on Monday after suffering an injury to his groin up at Stoke is fully expected to be fit to return alongside teen of the moment Nathan Ablitt: whose two successive 13 points hauls have been very far from unlucky for the TouchTec-sponsored Kings!
The NT holders Mildenhall haven't just lost Kemp and Jenkins, with only Aussie Matt Marson and former Kings rider, Danny Ayres left from the 2018 squad. The Newmarket-based Ayres has this year been upgraded to the number one race jacket and given the responsibility of captaining his home county club. There's a new team manager at the helm too - NL veteran administrator and historian, Malcolm Vasey has previously been the man in charge at Boston Barracudas and Stoke Potters but it's his spiritual home of Mildenhall, Malcolm is now holding the managerial reins for.
A former Potter from last season has made the trip to the fens with Vasey, GB international David Wallinger. Mildenhall's dreams of adding the National League to their perennial NT triumphs were ended last season in the Play Off Final by Eastbourne - and from that Eagles side are two riders who've now taken flight to Mildenhall : Charie Brooks and another GB pick like Kemp for the following weekend's World Under 21 semis the following weekend, Jason Edwards. And at reserve there's Mildenhall's rookie for 2019, Elliot Kelly (a North Yorkshireman setting up camp in the Suffolk fens like Wallinger) and a rider familiar to Kent fans, Macauley Leek.
The action gets underway at 3.00pm at Mildenhall Speedway, Hayland Drove, West Row, near Mildenhall, Suffolk IP28 8QU