Third time lucky is what the National League stars lining up for the NL Riders; Championship [NLRC] are hoping for when the 16-man field re-convene at Scunthorpe Speedway on Sunday 20th. October.
With a second rearrangement, Kent TouchTec Kings; top two Anders Rowe and Drew Kemp face a revised line-up as they seek separately to follow in the tyre-marks of previous Kent winners of the NL's premier individual championship: Stevie Boxall (2013) and Ben Morley (2015).
The NLRC comes in between the TouchTec Kings' most important team matches of this campaign and Grand Final opponents Leicester Lion Cubs have three protagonists similarly engaged: Ellis Perks and the Thompson twins Dan & Joe . Perks was a maximum man in last Wednesday's first leg of the Play Off Final and will be a very short odds favourite to take the NLRC title. Surprisingly there's no Danyon Hume in the revised line up - the Leicester skipper having also been unbeaten by a Kings rider in the 59-31 win for the Lion Cubs.
The side Kent dispatched in the P/O semis, Belle Vue Colts also have three riders in the field, with newly reinstalled as number one for the Manchester side, Jordan Palin finally elevated into action - joining GB U21 internationals Kyle Bickley & Leon Flint. The rain off will have been welcomed by former GB Youth champ, Flint who is arguably the next most in-form rider behind Perks as the previous staging-date he was absent due to attending a Life Guard course. With the awfully wet weather there's been the past four weeks, being a Life Guard might seem an entirely appropriate thing for someone in Speedway to become qualified in!
With Cradley's Dan Halsey missing from the revised field (the West Midlanders have Jack Smith carrying their hopes alone), the only former winner is Morley - actually defending champion having won his second NLRC title in Isle of Wight Warriors' colours. Morley is joined by team mate and fellow former King, Danno Verge.
The other ex-Kent rider previously included was Plymouth's Nathan Stoneman, He's out now as is his Gladiators' colleague (and a former winner in Ben Wilson) - rather oddly the Devon club's sole representative is a rider no longer officially on their books, David Wallinger. Indeed the rider from York was more and most recently a Kent TouchTec Kings; rider - helping out Chris Hunt's side in the last few NL fixtures.
The meeting may end up being the last time the famous Stoke Potters name is seen in competitive action after the closure of their long time Loomer Rd. home. Joe Lawlor and former Kent Kings' rider Connor Coles represent the side from Staffs,
Finally there's no change around the two Mildenhall representatives who are their top two, Jason Edwards & Ryan Kinsley.
The revised line up in draw order (with track reserves) is:
1 Ryan Kinsley (Mildenhall fen Tigers) 2 Kyle Bickley (Belle Vue Colts) 3 Jordan Palin (Belle Vue Colts) 4 Ben Morley (Isle of Wight Warriors) 5 Ellis Perks (Leicester Lion Cubs) 6 Joe Thompson (Leiceste Lion Cubs) 7 Dan Thompson (Leicester Lion Cubs) 8 Joe Lawlor (Stoke Potters) 9 Jason Edwards (Mildenhall Fen Tigers) 10 Danno Verge (Isle of Wight Warriors) 11 Drew Kemp (Kent TouchTec Kings) 12 Leon Flint (Belle Vue Colts) 13 David Wallinger (Plymouth Gladiators) 14 Anders Rowe (Kent TouchTec Kings) 15 Connor Coles (Stoke Potters) 16 Jack Smith (Cradley Heathens)
17 Tom Spencer (Cradley Heathens) - Track Reserve 18 Sam Woods (Unattached) - Track Reserve
The venue is Scunthorpe Speedway, Eddie Wright Raceway, Normanby Road, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, DN15 8QZ