Kent Speedway’s 2017 season got off to a rip-roaring start with the new-look SLYDE-sponsored Kings producing a superb performance, leaving the holiday crowd in buoyant mood at Central Park Stadium on Good Friday (14/4).
Rarely has a Speedway season started with such an excellent meeting as the Kings squared up to an extremely formidable Mildenhall side. It was nip & tuck for the opening 12 heats, only for Kent to storm away in emphatic fashion at the end to win 49-39 and take a now handy-looking ten points lead into the second leg of this Easter Chase competition on Easter Day (16/4) up in the Suffolk fens.
Leading from the front as ever was skipper Luke Bowen, who got up from an extremely heavy crash in the very opening heat (clipping the back wheel of Connor Mountain in a very determined chase-down of the fast-gating number one in the opposition’s ranks) to reel off four superb race wins.
That opening race mishap had put the homesters somewhat on the back foot and the Fen Tigers found themselves in an early lead which they maintained for the opening four heats. But the Kent new boys were giving the visitors plenty to think about – with young Alex Spooner (riding in his first ever match at this level of Speedway) giving the highly rated Jordan Jenkins a superb race in heat two – leading until the penultimate lap.
Then Nathan Stoneman announced his arrival on the Central Park scene in thrilling fashion with a superb chase-down and then breathtaking, fence-scraping pass down the back straight on lap three of former League Riders Champion, Dan Halsey in heat four. Stoneman’s heroics lifted the entire team and in the very next race the other new heat leader Ben Hopwood joined the party, partnering Jack Thomas to the first of what were ultimately to be four decisive maximum heat wins for the hosts.
In heat three Hopwood and Thomas had failed to get the better of the veteran Mildenhall skipper, Jon Armstrong but this was to be the only time the two of them were headed home by an opposition rider. For Hopwood it was a dream debut; for 2016 Rider of the Year Thomas, it was surely his finest ever performance in the Invicta race jacket – in the main body of the team, five rides and paid 14 points!
Having now nosed just ahead with that heat five 5-1 and then protecting their narrow lead with Bowen storming to victory in heat six in the fastest time of the night, there were set-backs in heats seven & eight with successive Fen Tigers’ heat wins (by their two main men on the night who occupy opposite ends of the age spectrum, forty-something Armstrong and teenager Jenkins) – and so going into the second half of the match, the Kings trailed by two points.
Cue Messrs Hopwood & Thomas again – who with a team riding display par excellence grabbed a second 5-1 and forced the hosts back into the lead in the meeting.
Mountain holding off his fellow GB U-21 finalist Stoneman with the unfortunate Bradley Andrews a faller saw 4-2 to the visitors in heat 11 and tied matters up at 32-32.
Hopwood rattled off another heat win to complete his highly successful evening and so with three heats to go it literally could not have been any closer with a match score of 35 points each.
Heat 13 always pitches the big players together and the top two for Kent didn’t disappoint – the skipper Bowen and one of his new charges Stoneman flying to maximum points.
The penultimate race was now of vital proportions in an effort to defend this hard fought late lead and Thomas & Spooner bettered even that with a 4-2 which took the lead to six points and so secured match victory on the night.
But this was just a first leg so heat 15 was vital too in establishing exactly what size of lead would be taken up to the Fens on Sunday. Thomas got Team Manager Chris Hunt’s pick for his first-ever heat 15 ‘nominated riders’ race and he celebrated by anchoring his captain’s heat win and holding Mountain and Armstrong at bay behind him (a magnificent achievement for Kent’s hugely popular teenager) for a 5-1 greeted rapturously by the Central Park masses.
Kent SLYDE Kings 49 1. Luke Bowen FX, 3, 3, 3, 3 12 2. Luke Clifton 2, F, 2, 0 4 3. Ben Hopwood 1*, 3, 2*, 3 9+2 4. Jack Thomas 2, 2*, 3, 3, 2* 12+2 5. Nathan Stoneman 3, 2, 2, 2* 9+1 6. Bradley Andrews F, 0, R 0 7. Alex Spooner 2, 0, R, F, 1 3
Mildenhall Fen Tigers 39 1. Connor Mountain 3, 1, 3, 1, 1 9 2. Luke Ruddick X, 0, F 0 3. Jon Armstrong 3, 3, 2, 2, 0 10 4. Danno Verge 0, 1, 1*, R 2+1 5. Danny Halsey 2, 2, 1, 0 5 6. Sam Woods 1, 1*, 0 2+1 7. Jordan Jenkins 3, 1*, 3, 1, 1*, 2 11+2