Kent SLYDE Kings won a hard fought National League Best Pairs at the Adrian Flux Arena in King’s Lynn on Saturday night (5/9) to make history for the Central Park, Sittingbourne-based Speedway club.
After the disappointment of so unluckily missing out on the National Fours in June, Captain Marvel Ben Morley and crowd favourite Danny Ayres guided each other to land the club’s first major silverware in only their third season in the sport. Beating Cradley Heathens in the final. Heathens captain Max Clegg won the race, with Morley and Ayres taking the all important second and third places (under Pairs scoring of 4, 3, ,2 0) after Ellis Perks took a fall in the first bend to give the SLYDE Kings’ duo a 5-4 heat win sealing the win and the club’s first national silverware as a team.
"Absolutely unbelievable" was how Danny Ayres described winning his first major silverware in what is, of course, his first full season in the sport. The SLYDE Kings topped Group ‘B’ picking up heat advantages in all four qualifying heats in a group that included the useful Cradley and Birmingham Pairs;. Before seeing off the homesters, King’s Lynn in a semi final battle - with a maximum heat advantage over the hard charging Tom Stokes.
The racing was close throughout on an evening of high octane excitement enjoyed by a large contingent of visiting Kent SLYDE Kings’ supporters. Home rider Josh Bailey was among one of the stand out performers on the evening pulling off a number of passes, as was his team mate Tom Stokes. The meeting started with maximum points for the Rye House Raiders pairing of Rob Branford and Kyle Hughes (to be dominant in Group ‘A’), laying down a marker and looking formidable over the reigning champions Stoke. The opening race of group B saw Birmingham take on Mildenhall. It was maximum points for the Brummies with Zach Wajtknecht making a sublime start and pulling clear with team mate Tom Perry battling with Mildenhall captain and NLRC holder Dan Halsey.
The SLYDE-backed Kings were the last pair to take to the track (a frustrating and tension-filled wait) and in heat 6 they met the hugely-fancied Brummies duo with once again the young starlet Wajtknecht making another jet propelled start and pulling away. Ben Morley and Danny Ayres packed in the minor places though to keep out a battling Birmingham skipper, Tom Perry to take what was to prove an absolutely crucial 5-4 heat advantage. Heat 8 was one of a number of contenders for race of the night, Dan Halsey for the Mildenhall Fen Tigers gated and pulled away leaving team mate Connor Mountain to battle with Buxton pair Liam Carr and Ryan Blacklock. As Carr pulled out, Mountain then set about conquering Blacklock and he passed him cleanly to join Halsey at the summit for a 7-2: a well deserved lap of honour applauded by fans of all the clubs for young Connor as he returned to base camp.
Heat 10 saw the Kent pair meet Cradley one of the pre-meeting favourites for the title. Ayres made a start and rode a sensible and controlled four laps whilst looking to help his partner. Morley was battling with Max Clegg and Ellis Perks. He held off Perks superbly before nipping inside Clegg on the last bend to take second place and give the Kings a 7-2 heat advantage. The SLYDE Kings topped their group at the half way stage. Few would’ve predicted at this stage that it would be Kings vs. Heathens in the Grand Final itself later on in proceedings.
Heat 15 saw hosts King's Lynn take a hard fought 7-2 over Coventry pair Mark Baseby (drafted in as a late replacement for the West Midlanders) and Martin Knuckey in another contender for race of the night, as Tom Stokes gated but with Josh Bailey in last a heat advantage to the Storm looked on the cards, cue the antics of Mr Bailey. He cut inside Mark Baseby on the back straight of lap 2, then set off after Knuckey. And on the last bend of lap 3 he gave the Cornishman a little nudge wide and took second place to the applause of the home fans and just about all neutral fans.
Heat 16 saw Kent take another step towards the semi final with a 5-4 heat advantage over the Buxton pair. A win from the gate from Liam Carr though he was pushed a little over the race by Ayres whilst Morley did a captain's job in holding off Ryan Blacklock.
Heat 17 was significant in Group ‘A’ as a disappointing Eastbourne Eagles effort ended with the holders (also bowing out at this stage), Stoke hold the Sussex side at bay in terms of the points the eagles had needed to proceed: veteran Stoke Potter Jon Armstrong rolled back the years with a very stylish outside swoop on Bradley Wilson-Dean and Marc Owen in one go to take a classy win.
Heat 18 was one which set the course of the Pairs in terms of Group ‘B’ qualification and ultimately the title destiny itself. Cradley came up against their landlords Birmingham including the previously unbeaten Wajtknecht. Max Clegg won the race from the start and Ellis Perks saw off the young Wajtknecht to give the Heathens 21 points from their 4 rides. Birmingham may well clinch the City Gearboxes National League title this weekend but in the Pairs now their future was out of their hands as they’d finished on 20 points. The SLYDE Kings had 17 with one race to go.
So in Heat 20 the job was simple, four points for the Kings would see them top the group – beating the Brummies by one and being placed above the Heathens courtesy of beating Cradley when they met in the heats. None of that mathematical ‘countback’ was needed though, as Ben Morley gated and won an impressive tapes to flag victory, Mildenhall duo Halsey and Mountain were in second and third but Ayres swooped around the outside of Mountain to take the third place securing a 6-3 heat advantage to the Kings and top spot in the group - meaning a semi against the home team was to come.
Semi-Final 1 pitted the previously unbeaten group 'A' winners Rye House Raiders against Cradley. Once again Max Clegg gated. Branford and Hughes to be waiting for each other to go and in the indecision Perks sneaked into third place to send Cradley to the Final. It was tough on the Herts’ pairing who’d been the only maximum men in qualifying, showing how ruinous to one’s chances even a solitary last place can be to a Pair’s chances in this format.
Thankfully for the SLYDE Kings fans semi-final 2 was less stressful as the Kent duo gated first and Morley allowed Ayres to come around him and then team rode him home for four perfect laps. There was no question that with the previously unbeatable looking Raiders out of the picture, Kent were the pairing in top form as the long meeting reached its conclusion.
The third place Play Off between the hosts and the crestfallen Raiders was another contender for race of the night with riders in second, third and fourth interchanging position during the first couple of laps. As Young Star, Bailey tried hard to catch up, he first ran his team mate wide on lap three then charged after Rob Branford catching him, passing him on the last bend only to spin round and come to grief. So the Raiders took third place overall.
The Grand Final proved to be a tense affair all involved as the build up to it reached fever pitch. Kent vs. Cradley, the underdogs v the favourites. Heathens’ Max Clegg gated once again but his hopes of winning the trophy were dashed when team-mate Ellis Perks took a tumble on the first bend leaving Kent in the winning positions. Perks sportingly got up and cleared the track allowing the race to continue and Ben Morley pressured Max Clegg for all four laps and an explosion of whistles greeted Morley and Ayres when they took the chequered flag.
Speaking after the meeting captain Ben Morley said “I couldn't ride with a better person, we spoke before every race. We were here to do one thing and we did it.” An emotional, fired-up Danny Ayres added “words can't describe how it feels, we both pulled together it was just amazing.” Team Manager Chris Hunt in his first season in charge added “I'm over the moon - this was for the fans.”
So the Pairs turned into a night of firsts for the SLYDE Kings. A first major trophy for the club; led by manager Chris Hunt in his first season in sole charge; captained by Ben Morley his first season as skipper; and backed up by Danny Ayres his first full season in the sport!