The Kent CTA Fire Kings moved up to third place in Speedway’s National League after a win over rivals Stoke Potters on Monday (4/8): a result which may well prove hugely significant in the battle to secure a top four place and a slot in the end of season championship play-offs.
Having twice previously prevailed on visits this term to the Central Park track in Sittingbourne, Stoke arrived full of confidence and bolstered by two prominent ‘Guest’ riders; Elite League Fast Track star James Sarjeant and the rider Kent fans would surely vote as the most intrepid visitor to their home track this year, the Sussex-based one-time Iwade graduate, Marc Owen.
But despite being without inspirational skipper Simon Lambert (in hospital having eight screws and a metal plate inserted into a hand badly mangled in a track crash ironically when appearing for Stoke and in an incident involving Sarjeant on Friday), the home side produced easily their most dominant showing of the season to defy expectations by securing a 20 points victory, 56 to 36.
For no fewer than four of the Kent septet it was a best points scoring performance of the season. Stand-in skipper David Mason reprised his excellent home form this campaign on his return after a nasty bout of illness to roll back the years, as he delivered a near perfect paid 14. Even more remarkably Benji Compton who had to withdraw from his most recent meeting with a reoccurrence of his own troublesome hand and wrist injuries was in imperious form – recording four heat wins in a top-scoring 15 point performance. For Sevenoaks-based Aaron Baseby his paid 12 was a best ever showing in the Invicta race jacket of his home county. And yet perhaps the stand-out performance of all came from rookie Jason Garrad – a commanding win in heat two was followed by a truly remarkable effort in heat 11 to clinch the match points for his side: holding off the vastly more experienced Sarjeant in a race which brought a large summer holiday crowd to its feet. That was one of a remarkable six maximum heat advantages for the CTA Fire Kings in an opening 11 races which well and truly smashed the resolve of the side from Staffordshire.
Indeed the side which had started the match in a position of favouritism not just to win on the night but eventually to overhaul Kent and grab that vital top four slot, were left to reflect on a heavy defeat from which recovery might prove very difficult. Only their ever game skipper Jon Armstrong and the precocious talent that is Owen offered any kind of resistance, with their other guest Sarjeant marching off into the sunset chastened by some convincing on-track defeats and a disappointingly petulant outburst in the pits. Owen maintained that reputation as the most exciting thing on two wheels around the Central Park circuit: finding a way in the dirt around the boards which seems to defy gravity at times and is elusive to most others – but it was never going to be enough and it may be now that the young Sussex speedster’s employers King’s Lynn Young Stars will now represent the bigger challenge to Kent’s chances of that coveted top four berth.
Also from Sussex but from an earlier generation, though consistently turning back the years in what has been a magnificent season for the division’s all-time top points scorer, David Mason took the missing Lambert’s mantle as Bronze Helmet ‘holder’ into a match race at the end with his counterpart (in every respect) in the Stoke side, Jon Armstrong. It was effectively a retro match-up as two former League riders champs from earlier decades and in Mason’s case the record holder of Bronze Helmet wins, met up to decide the current destiny of the division’s match race championship. Mason’s peerless record is 29 wins but sadly it wasn’t to be a round 30 as the Mancunian known as the Mighty Midget, Armstrong rode impressively to take the bronzed skid-lid back up to the north-west with him.
With an oh-so vital League away match at Stoke coming up in three weeks time they’ll still be hope the Helmet can be recovered and brought back to Central Park – though on a night of a supreme team showing it’ll be the pursuit of that top four berth this team so deserve which will be concentrating minds of the CTA Fire Kings’ riders solely from now on.
Next up is that chase for the top four is a home match versus the basement side Scunthorpe Stags at Central Park next Monday (11/8), 6.30pm tapes up.
KENT 56: Benji Compton 15, David Mason 12+2, Aaron Baseby 10+2, Ben Morley 8+1, Jason Garrad 6+1, Danny Ayres 5+1, Simon Lambert r/r.
STOKE 36: Marc Owen 11, Jon Armstrong 9+1, James Sarjeant 8, Ben Hopwood 4, Rob Shuttleworth 2, Chris Widman 1, Adam Kirby 1. Bronze Helmet: Armstrong beat Mason.
