The beleaguered Kent Iwade Garage Royals lost their 100% record in the National League [NL] in difficult circumstances against table-toppers Berwick Bullets, getting shot down in the Borders 52-38.
The second half of the double header following the SGB Championship match between the two senior sides, saw three of the Royals’ septet who’d ridden in the first match take to track again – a real stamina test on riders and more particularly as it turned out on their machinery on one of the UK’s largest circuits.
The reason it was three as opposed to just the normal duo of Dan Gilkes and Jake Mulford was due to the terrible circumstances of the story enfolding during the day surrounding the theft of Royals’ skipper Ryan Kinsley’s van. Stolen from outside the Middlesbrough hotel where he was staying on Friday night, the vehicle was found later on Saturday but without any of its contents: three bikes and all tools and riding equipment gone.
The sickening blow of course meant Ryan was out of the meeting and left the Royals facing huge team problems, already utilising R/R for Alex Spooner who didn’t travel to Northumbria. The solution was to draft Kent’s all time highest points scorer in the NL, Ben Morley into the Royals’ team for his first appearance in the newly named Royals’ side and frantic discussions with the very helpful League management and with the full and generous support of the understanding Berwick club the last minute change was ratified. At the opposite end of the experience spectrum, 15 year old Vinnie Foord was making his debut for the Royals.
It was perhaps not surprising in such circumstances that the visitors had a difficult start to the match and found themselves 10 points down after six heats. And the problem with machinery which was to bedevil the Royals in this meeting manifested itself in the very first heat when Gilkes suffered an engine failure while in second gifting the hosts a 4-2 and a lead they were never to relinquish. A 5-1 to Berwick inn the reserves race (with Josh warren a faller) meant the homesters had started with a bullet!
It was ot all gloom in the opening stanza of the match though, with Jake Mulford proving his liking for the larger type circuit (unsurprising considering his Grasstrack and Long Track experience) by beating the very experienced Greg Blair in his first ride. This was swiftly followed by a second race win for the Royals by new number one Dan Gilkes in heat five.
Even better was promised two heats later with Morley and Berwick first-timer Warren on a 5-1 for the visitors – Blair got past the Royals’ reserve but the 4-2 achieved reduced the deficit to eight. And that became six when Mulford recorded a second heat win with young Vinnie Foord backing him up.
The second engine failure to derail the Royals’ hopes came in heat 11 and it was a huge blow to their chances – Jacob Clouting suffering a huge (and expensive) engine blow out when in third place. Now the visitors were really up against it and despite two more heat wins in heats 12 and 14 by Morley, a 5-1 in between those two sterling efforts clinched the win for the Bullets; and then insult was added to injury by yet another EF (this time for Morley) in the final race leading to another 5-1 and a very unjust final 14 points losing margin at the end.
Next up for the Royals will be the start of the home fixtures with Belle Vue Colts (who they conquered on the road previously) visiting on 21st. September.
