The Kent CTA Fire Kings head into the weekend and a double header with Buxton Hitmen on Sunday and Monday.
First up is a visit to the Derbyshire side’s picturesque Hi-Edge Raceway – the highest Speedway circuit in the UK. The visiting Kent side, buoyed by terrific recent results and with their riders hitting top form at exactly the right part of the campaign will certainly be on a high themselves if they can come away with the points on offer: as a visiting side these vary as follows
Away loss by 6 points or less = 1 league point
Away draw = 2 league points
Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3 league points
Away win by 7 points or more = 4 league points
Whilst the full four points will be the priority, such is the current situation with five clubs challenging to join leaders and reigning champs Cradley in the top four playoffs, even a solitary point from Kent’s visit could be vital in the final mix. Team boss John Sampford and his charges won’t be thinking of small pickings like that as they travel north on Sunday.
The roles are reversed in terms of travelling the following day (Monday) when the Hitmen come to the Sittingbourne home of the CTA Fire Kings as the last side from the division to appear at Central Park this term and Kent’s final home league opponents of the season.
Captaining the side from the Dales is LIAM CARR – a youngster in his second year now with Buxton after starting out with the Northern Junior League Border Raiders side in his native Berwick-upon-Tweed. Carr won the Riders Championship in the NJL three years ago now and top scored for the Hitmen when they finally got the mark in the NL last month versus Devon Demons. Like Carr, Stefan Farnaby is from Tweedmouth and began as a junior at their local Berwick track.
Providing much needed experience in the Hitmen outfit is veteran Welshman Tony Atkin at 48 years of age, the oldest rider currently in League racing in the UK. Atkin is a four-time British 350cc Grass-track Champion and 20 years after the first of those victories on the green stuff slid his way to a British Ice Racing Championship on the rink at Telford.
Tom Wooley is another rider with a varied CV containing other motor-cycle oval racing disciplines. Twice the lad from Burton also in Derbyshire was the junior champ in the Short Track UK series before moving up to the seniors in the US-styled version of dirt track and achieving a Silver Medal in the inaugural FIM Gold Cup (effectively the European Championship) at Flat Track.
Continuing that theme of crossing over from other disciplines are Adam Extance, a former Motocrosser and stunt rider and Ryan Blacklock, a Cumbrian who started out racing MotoX alongside his friend, GB SGP qualifier and a former Buxton star himself, Craig Cook.
The home match versus Buxton is on Monday 18th. August at Central Park with a 6.30pm start time.