The latest rider to be announced in the Kent SLYDE Kings Speedway side for the forthcoming 2016 campaign has a family pedigree steeped in the history of the sport in the county.

33-year-old Luke Clifton is the nephew of one-time Canterbury Crusaders favourite, Graham Clifton – a member of the side from Kingsmead which won the National League back in 1978.

But Luke – who was born himself in the Cathedral City – has his own racing pedigree too: having ridden for the Arena Essex Hammers back in 2000 and 2001 before a bad injury in the Thurrock-based club’s last meeting of the 2001 season set back what was then shaping up to be a very promising career.

Clifton who now lives in Suffolk was lost to the sport for many years and indeed hasn’t ridden for a full twelve years and with such a long absence it means Luke has been given an assessed three points average – as is the norm for any rider out of the sport for so long.

And it was only a chance event which has seen Clifton shake off the cob-webs and re-emerge to ride Speedway again.

Luke, whose cousin Ade Clifton won the World Stock Car championship earlier this month, was given a gift by his wife of a days racing at a Powerslide event at King’s Lynn Speedway track.

Luke attended, got on a bike again and impressed all onlookers and instructors with his prowess – more importantly, father of three Luke got the bug again, racing around the circuit that was his home track when he rode in the third tier from 1997 to 2001 with the Anglian Angels, Norfolk Braves and Boston Barracudas.

Luke’s last full season in the then Conference League was 2003 with Trophy winners Boston before disappearing from the sport after the briefest spell under Kent co-promoter Len Silver at Rye House the following season.

Silver is delighted that Clifton will be coming on board to add experience and know-how to the reserve berths with the Central Park outfit,

“It’s great news that someone so steeped in Speedway in Kent as Luke Clifton has not only come out of what was a very premature retirement a dozen years ago but immediately felt it was with the Kent SLYDE Kings he wanted to make that comeback.  So serious is he that he is in the process of building himself a Speedway workshop in order to be able to maintain his equipment, a luxury he did not have in the past.  Such commitment and that level of maturity he brings as a racer and person is going to be a major asset”.

There was no doubt the Sittingbourne-based team suffered badly last term from deficiencies points scoring wise and in terms of racing know-how in their lower order and the signing of Clifton looks certain to resolve those short-comings as Silver goes on,

“I am indebted to our team manager, Chris Hunt for discovering Luke’s intentions;  and Chris wasted no time in making contact.  Luke’s previous experience will undoubtedly strengthen that part of the team that let us down so badly last season.  He was very keen indeed to join the Kings and I could not be more pleased that he is with us.”

The Haverhill-based Clifton commented: “I’m just grateful to the Kent SLYDE Kings for giving me this opportunity and hope I can repay the club’s faith in me out on the track. I’m raring to get going and looking forward to the forthcoming City Gearboxes National League season.  I first raced the sport back at my local track Lydd in the early 1990s and this feels like coming home, riding for Kent”