We bring you up-to-date today with the latest news from Kent CTA Fire Kings and their pre-season preparations.
It has been a busy weekend for a number of the Sittingbourne outfits riders as they got their racing preparations underway for the 2014 season.
The first and only place to start and that is with the announcement of the Captain for the Kings for the forthcoming season.
CAPTAIN LAMBERT GETS THE NOD
Meanwhile, as preparations gain apace for the new National League season all seven of the Kent CTA Fire Kings squad, plus team boss, John Sampford and assistant manager, Chris Hunt, voted to decide who would be the captain of the Kings this coming season.
The result was a resounding show of approval for new number one, Simon Lambert. The three times Conference League Pairs champ and winner last year of the prestigious Laurels event staged at Central Park was delighted to hear the result of his peers’ deliberations.
The Boston-born racer said: “I will give it my all and help out the youngsters where I can. It will be an honour to be captain of such a good upcoming club.
Running second in the voting, so taking on the vice-captain’s role is the vastly experienced David “Magic” Mason. Kent co-promoter, Len Silver, was very pleased with the unique exercise in democracy which led to these crucial appointments, he said: “It is good for the club to be led by such an enthusiastic and experienced racer as Simon who can set a fine example to the rest of the team. I was aware that Simon really wanted the position and the vote proved that the rest of the side endorsed his wish.” 
Morley and Blake have successful weekend
Ben Morley & Daniel Blake had a useful pre-season outing at the Rye House Speedway track in Hertfordshire on Sunday in a Solo Speedway competition as part of Quad Racing UK’s Cavalcade of Speed event.
Pitched up against the home track’s Edward Kennett, Luke Bowen and former team-mate Stevie Boxall, this was always going to more about getting some useful laps in rather than challenging for honours and Southend-based Morley will be especially pleased with how his new bike held up to the stiff competition and chilly conditions to record a pleasing tally of three second places and eight points in total.
This was actually enough to finish runner-up in the mini demonstration competition, with former Grand Prix star Edward Kennett (nephew of Canterbury Speedway legend, Barney) suffering engine problems which curtailed his scoring in his first two rides and saw him eventually withdraw from his fifth outing. The one-time GB Under 21 champ won his only two completed rides and was the only rider to finish ahead of the very fast and confident-looking Boxall, who on this showing seems set fair to take his splendid and record-breaking form shown last season, when he was the Kent Kings’ skipper, into the new campaign and be perhaps as big a success in the Premier League as he was last term in the third tier.
For Harlow-born Blake this was his first competitive outings on a Speedway machine since a bad leg injury ended his 2010 campaign when riding for the Isle of Wight and he looked well on the pace in general terms, though never likely at this early stage of his comeback to make too much impression on such experienced campaigners. Luke Bowen, who finished runner-up in the last meeting of last season at Central Park, the Sittingbourne dog track home of the Kings, had a disappointing afternoon – winning what was to be his only ride impressively from Morley before suffering a blown engine and having to withdraw.
BRITISH TITLE GLORY TRAIL STARTS FOR MORLEY
Ben Morley is next in individual action riding in the semi-final of the GB under 21s at Plymouth on March 22nd.
Twice a rostrum man in the national championship for the age-range immediately below (the under 19s where he took national bronze in 2011 and again last year), Morley will go into the semi-final among the more fancied competitors to grab one of the six places up for grabs in the British U-21 Final which will be staged by the Cradley club at their Wolverhampton base the following month. 
Morley will be joined in the Plymouth-staged semi by 2014 new signing for the Central Park-based side, one time GB Under 15s champion Brandon Freemantle. For Kent supporters making the long journey down to cheer on the Kings’ duo they’ll be the added attraction of seeing how two young favourites from last season’s side fare as Jack Kingston and Connor Coles (both now riding for Suffolk side Mildenhall) are among the 16 rider field.