Kent Iwade Garage Royals take their unbeaten record in this season’s National League [NL] to Berwick on Saturday (21/8) – in a match which forms the second part of a double header following on from the two senior sides from the respective clubs contesting their SGB Championship fixture.
There are two riders from the Bandits’ side who double into the Berwick NL side which is a newcomer to the third tier this season and are called the ‘Bullets’. The two teenagers have six British Youth titles between them: Leon Flint won three titles at youth level, the 150cc in 2015 when aged just 13 and then two successive 250cc championships in 2016 & 2017. His team mate in both the Bandits and Bullets sides, Kyle Bickley won the main 500cc Youth national title in 2016, having previously won the 125cc championships twice in 2013 & 2014, the same years he actually took world titles at Youth Longtrack. With such a strong top two, it’s perhaps not surprising that the Bullets are currently top of the NL table albeit that the Royals in third, four points behind have three matches in hand.
Of course the Iwade Garage Royals have two riders in their side who double up into the SGB Championship side too but only one of these, top of the NL averages Dan Gilkes is at Berwick on Saturday; as the other, Jake Mulford is travelling across Europe to compete in the World Long Track Challenge in Czechia. Coming into the Royals’ side to replace Mulford in the reserve berth for the Royals on Saturday will be a youngster from the north-east, Yarm-born Alex Goldsborough. Alex has come through the junior ranks at his local track Redcar, riding 125cc machines from the age of nine; and when he turned 16 in March this year signed as a full asset for the Teesside-based club. This will be Alex’s NL debut having been recommended to the Iwade Garage Royals’ management.
There are more issues for the Royals’ management to contend with following the news this week that Kelsey Dugard has walked away from the sport for this season – the side will use Rider Replacement to cover for his absence but are sweating also on the availability of Alex Spooner, who has been suffering with a viral illness in the early part of this week. The Iwade Garage-sponsored Royals are of course led into battle by Ryan Kinsley with Jacob Clouting and Josh Warren completing the line up.
The Bullets side incudes former Buxton Hitmen rider Kieran Douglas; the comeback Scottish rider Greg Blair, who was a star in the old Conference League back in the early noughties before serious injury caused him to pack up in 2011; only returning this term; fellow Scot Ryan MacDonald who had a brief spell with Lakeside Hammers a few years back; Berwick-born Mason Watson; and a rider who Gilkes will have taken on the night before riding for Edinburgh Monarchs, Luke Crang.