Two sensational teenager maximums led the way for the Kent Iwade Garage Royals as they got the National League [NL] away campaign off to the best possible start with a victory at Belle Vue’s National Speedway Stadium home on Friday (2/7).
Dan Gilkes continued his unbeaten start to the season with paid 15 and fellow teenager Jake Mulford delivered the best performance of his fledgling Speedway career with a remarkable paid 21 points tally. New skipper Ryan Kinsley led from the front, also recording a double figures score of his own as the Royals hit the half century mark winning 50-39.
The match got off to the perfect start with Kinsley and Mulford (coming in after Jacob Clouting suffering mechanical woes and failed to beat the two minutes allowance) laying down a 5-1 in the opening heat. Mulford was quickly in the winning habit himself in the following race and then in heat 4 and with Gilkes recording a first heat win and Kinsley first to the chequered flag in heat five it established a handy five points lead for the Royals.
Alex Spooner and Josh Warren kept that margin intact with a handy 3-3 behind the colts’ number one Jack Parkinson-Blackburn and the lead was extended to 7 when Mulford and Clouting combined for a 4-2 in the always vital heat 8. That lead though was pegged back to a slender three points by a 5-1 to the hosts before successive race wins from the Royals’ three main men Gilkes, Mulford and Kinsley steadied the ship.
It was raining points for the visitors and then it was raining in reality (well, it was Manchester!) and the final race had to be awarded with Gilkes leading from Patrkinson-Blackburn, who’d ended the Royals’ skipper’s chances of being a third maximum man for Kent in heat 13.
Belle Vue Colts 39 Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 1, 3, 1, 3, 2 = 10 Ben Woodhull 0, 0, 0 = 0 Benji Compton X , 2, 2' = 4+1 Paul Bowen 2, 1', 3, 1' = 7+2 Connor Coles 2, 2, 2, 1, X = 7 Sam Woolley 1', 1', 1', 0 = 3+3 Harry McGurk 2, 1', 2, 0, 1, 2 = 8+1
Kent TouchTec Kings 50 Ryan Kinsley 3, 3, 3, 2, 1 = 12 Jacob Clouting M, 0, 1, 0 = 1 Dan Gilkes 3, 3, 3, 2' 3 = 14+1 [PM] Kelsey Dugard X R 0 = 0 Alex Spooner 0, 2, 1, 0 = 3 Josh Warren 0, 1', 0 = 1+1 Jake Mulford 2', 3, 3, 3, 2', 3, 3 = 19+2 [PM]
