Kent TouchTec Kings' Paul Starke gets back into competitive action after a six month absence by carrying the club's colours in the country's biggest Speedway individual meeting, the British Final at Ipswich's iconic Foxhall Heath Stadium this Saturday (26th. September).
And for Starke who was one of the new signings to spearhead the Central Park-based club's inaugural season in the SGB Championship in 2020 (sadly a league campaign that was never to be), it will be a chance to lay some personal demons - having suffered season-ending injuries when he crashed out in this showpiece event after qualifying in 2019.
16 of the top British and British-based Australians will go into this one - the 60th staging of the British Final with 12 clubs represented and it's a red letter day for the Kent club having one of their riders competing at the very top table of the sport in the UK.
There are two former winners in the field, three-times GB champ and former GB Grand Prix winner, Chris Harris; and (triumphant four years ago), Maidstone's Danny King. With the experienced Danny one of the most highly-fancied contenders for the coveted title on what is now his home track, it means that the sure to be sizeable travelling Kent contingent of fans in the sell-out crowd will effectively have two Kings to support!
The cherry on the icing on the cake for this major event (the return of top class Speedway to the UK after losing all of the rest of the campaign due to the Covid-19 pandemic) is the announcement that English-born Australian Jason Crump will make his long-awaited British racing return in the meeting. Aged 45 now, Crump is a three-times World Speedway Champion and along with fellow former Aussie World Team Cup medalist Rory Schlein provides the return of Antipodean flavour to this historic event.
30-year old Starke is buzzing at the prospect of competitive action again - having last ridden back in March at the Ben Fund Meeting in Scunthorpe and having to kick his heels since.
"I'm really looking forward to the British Final. It promises to be a really good meeting for all involved. For me it's a great opportunity to get back into competitive action and at the very highest level. For the fans who've also of course suffered such disappointment having missed the sport for so long, it's a great meeting for them to enjoy in these strange times"
Crowd wise this is an officially-sanctioned pilot event with strict regulations in place on face coverings and social distancing meaning a capacity-limit of 1.000 has been imposed and tickets sold out in just a few hours. The meeting is also available on Pay To View with streaming details available on the British Speedway website,