The 85th. anniversary of Speedway in Kent was commemorated on a night of very close fought action at the current home of the sport in the county, Central Park Sittingbourne on Monday night (13/4).
Just two points ended up separating the top five pairings in the ‘Crayford Anniversary’-sponsored Invicta Pairs in a meeting which literally went right down to the wire.
The withdrawal of Kent SLYDE Kings’ rider – but earmarked as a ‘Crayford Highwayman’ just for this night of celebration – Danny Ayres on the eve of proceedings having broken a bone in his hand in a crash at an individual at Eastbourne on Sunday was of course a blow; but had the effect of just bringing in a bit more of an evenly-matched look to the line-ups. And how true that was to prove: rarely if ever in the history of the Invicta Pairs format (used for years down at the Canterbury track), could there have been less to choose between the competing sides.
In the end the dominance of one rider was to make the crucial difference for the triumphant home side with the Kent SLYDE Kings skipper, Ben Morley in imperious mood, sweeping all opponents aside with a five ride, 15 points maximum. But mechanical misfortune for his partner Adam Sheppard restricted the no 2 to just two points and that meant just a solitary point winning margin from equal second placed Romney Fal-cons and the side the meeting was also mainly commemorating, the Crayford Kestrels (watched on by many fans and by members of their 1975 side and others who’d worn the colours of the former track in the north-west of the county).
It was indeed the Kestrels who opened proceedings with a 5-1 a margin which actually wasn’t to be emulated at any point in the following 14 heats and did much therefore to ensure the Kestrels kept in the hunt right to the exciting denouncement of the night. It could’ve been all so different though and actually ulti-mately cost the ‘other’ Crayford themed side, the Highwaymen pairing of Brendan Johnson and late stand in for the stricken Ayres, Nick Laurence, overall victory themselves: for in the first staging of heat one Johnson was leading when he lost shape, over-locked and by doing so caused the chasing ‘Kestrel’, Danno Verge to fall. The result was an exclusion for the former Mildenhall & Isle of Wight man Johnson (currently without a team berth in this year’s league). Brendan was to fire off 10 points in impressive style in his remaining races and Laurence quietly but efficiently picked up five useful third places but 15 fell ultimately just short.
Actually heat 7 proved in many ways the decisive race: Kent’s exciting new signing James Shanes was to rack up four wins from his five rides representing the Romney Falcons but in heat 7 he couldn’t master his club skipper Morley and with Niall Strudwick (the Sevenoaks-based racer who’s no 8 this year for East-bourne) failing to get past Sheppard, that 4-2 race victory was to prove crucial. The proud Romney Falcons record of the club based down at the training facility in Lydd was that no team wearing their colours had ever lost a meeting. That record may have gone but was as close as it could be to being retained before falling just one point short. Shanes on this form alongside Morley is as potent a top two surely as any in the City Gearboxes National League.
The side wearing the famous Crusaders’ race jackets (made famous by Canterbury of course and later ap-propriated by the Iwade club) also ran their opponents very close, with Aaron Baseby continuing his excel-lent start to the season with a 12 points individual score. After a long spell out, his one time team mate from that Iwade-based Crusaders side of seven years ago, Dan Berwick was inevitably a bit rusty but made a reasonable contribution.
The Kestrels continued though to fly high leading throughout the opening rounds with Harvie Banks, son of former Crayford, Canterbury & Sittingbourne rider Trevor doing the family name proud with an impressive 7 point tally. Most heartening, of all indeed probably for the Central Park faithful, though was the 9 points scored by Danno Verge – bouncing back from some disappointing scores over Easter for a resurrection of his own: including giving Morley his only shock of the night leading the main man in heat 4 before finally be-ing passed in a great battle. If Verge rides like this when the main League action starts up later this month at Central Park then the sparks will really fly.
The other pairing saw the SLYDE Kings’ other three point man Jamie Couzins paired with one of the division’s most highly rated riders, Darryl Ritchings. The rider who’s competing for the Coventry Storm this year was riding in one of his first meetings since missing all of the 2014 campaign due to a bad injury and it was a pleasure to see him back. But if one team was just a tad off the pace it did turn out to be Ritchings and Couzins, wearing the rarely seen colours of Kent’s shortest lived sides, the Rochester Bombers.
A meeting as close as this was almost bound to go to a last heat decider and so it did. The Kestrels and the Falcons were perched waiting on 16 points as the Kings and Crusaders contested heat 15. The Crusaders needed a full house to overhaul them; for the SLYDE-sponsored home pairing three points would do it and Morley was to make no mistake completing his maximum to move the Kings up to a winning 17. Berwick will have been heartened by his defeat of Sheppard in the mini-battles between the second strings which was throughout a sub-plot of the meeting.
Co-promoter and something of a Kent speedway legend himself (having helped reopen Crayford those 40 years ago) Len Silver was happy with the night, “It was a good evening’s entertainment overall. Closely contested, well balanced pairings and a lot of useful track time for the squad. We thank the other riders who took part as well and of course the sponsors and former Crayford riders who I’m sure will have thoroughly enjoyed the reunion and the exciting Pairs event”
Top dog Ben Morley found it hectic but fulfilling, “It was weird the format, it went so fast it really felt like I was in every race! When we first got here I thought we had a chance and if Adam (Sheppard) hadn’t had some bike problems I think we would have won by more. It’s a confidence boost to get some silverware for the Kent SLYDE Kings so early in the season all we have to do now is keep it going.”