There’s a familiar feel to the fixture occupying Bank Holiday afternoon at Kent Speedway on Monday (26/8 – 4pm start time) as it’s a reprise of the Whitsun holiday meeting – with Mildenhall Fen Tigers the visitors.
That was in the National Trophy [NT] and the TouchTec Kings’ 48-41 victory was a hugely significant step towards Kent’s victory in that competition. And it’s hoped that it can be a happy coincidence as a win in this, the last home match in the regular National League [NL] campaign, can all but clinch a top four slot – and a place in the title-deciding Play Offs.
The visitors are themselves very much in the frame for the top four also though – having played catch up on fixtures and hitting a rich vein of form, the Suffolk side have rocketed up to third in the table : five points behind their hosts on Monday with a possibly significant three matches in hand.
Some things have changed since that seven points defeat back on the Spring Bank Holiday weekend – three riders from that Mildenhall side for one. One is down to injury with their number one, former Kent Kings favourite Danny Ayres suffering again the jinx which always seems to hit him late season, meaning he misses play offs and title deciders – this time with a broken leg. Danny scored a faultless five ride maximum on his return trip to Central Park back in May; his replacement though is proving to be no slouch, Ryan Kinsley having had one match so far back in the Fen Tigers’ race jacket and himself getting a 15 points maximum – in the home win over Kent last weekend. Kinsley was the revelation really of last year’s NL rising from second string to genuine number one and it was actually his 13 points tally in the NT win the Fen Tigers achieved at Central Park early last season which really got it all going for the rider from Norwich. Kinsley also recorded double figures scores in the other two Mildenhall wins at Central Park last term - so he’s a really dangerous opponent.
The other change in the main body of the Mildenhall side from the NT match this year sees Henry Atkins (former GB Youth champion at 125cc) replacing David Wallinger. Atkins has also won a British title this year – at Grasstrack in the 250cc class, pipping Kent’s own protégé Jake Mulford into second place.
The third change is at reserve with on-off Fen Tigers’ squad member (as he’s been previously with a number of other clubs), Macauley Leek replaced by former Birmingham rider, Arran Butcher. The 18-year-old from Leicestershire took a fairly unusual route to a Speedway career – making his name competing in coastal Sand Racing.
For Butcher's 2019 side, the Play Offs would be a reminder though that life can be a beach - as last term they topped the table decisively but lost out in the play offs themselves. A solid looking side will be hoping to be the team who comes up on the rails this time. The Aussie Matt Marson is a survivor from that unlucky side last term and now captains the team – he was hurt along with Kent’s Jacob Clouting in a bad crash at West Row involving the other Mildenhall reserve Elliot Kelly last Sunday. Both Marson and Clouting return on Monday.
The other star man in the Fen Tigers’ line up is Jason Edwards – the teenager who split Kent’s Drew Kemp and Anders Rowe in the GB U19s championship final. Completing the visitors’ line up is local Suffolk rider Charlie Brooks.
For the hosts, Drew Kemp is of course an ex-Mildenhall rider but the side will be without their other signing from that nearly-all conquering Fen Tigers side, Jordan Jenkins - who has announced he is to sit out the rest of this season. It’ll be Rider Replacement to cover for this unexpected absence at this juncture. Jenkins was stand in skipper – the incumbent of that captaincy role, Rob Ledwith is expected to be back though: completing his recovery from a broken collarbone.
The gates will open at 2.30pm with fun events for the children in the MunchKings ‘kids club’ and tapes up on the action in this absolutely vital NL match at 4pm.