The Kent SLYDE Kings moved back up to second place in Speedway’s Travel Plus National League with an emphatic victory over the Isle of Wight Warriors on Monday at Central Park in Sittingbourne.
A sixth meeting this season with the side from the Hampshire holiday island and a sixth victory really says all that needs to be about Chris Hunt’s charges’ total dominance over the Warriors, who have had the warring instinct beaten out of them over half a dozen superlative performances by the Swale-based side.
This was as solid an all round team showing as one could ever hope to see from the homesters, five of the six on duty (this was all achieved without injury victim, the Kent talisman Danny Ayres) recorded paid double figures scores and the odd man out wasn’t far behind: Luke Clifton’s two paid wins in a total of paid 8 marking a welcome return to form after his own injury woes of the Canterbury-born racer.
Clifton’s namesake, the SLYDE Kings’ number one and skipper, Luke Bowen achieved one of his personal targets this term in heat one: smashing the track record, lowering the mark down to 57.1 seconds. A couple of uncharacteristic falls meant of Bowen’s six starts there were to be only four times past the chequered flag but each time he did, it was ahead of a visiting rider; and the same was true of James Shanes, following up a first race retirement with five wins on the bounce.
Solid scoring from the two reserves, Danno Verge winning two races for a second home match running and Jack Thomas again in double figures even without taking into account bonus points was good to see for the home faithful. And equally heartening was paid 10 from the division’s all-time record points scorer David Mason making light of the mechanical and injury problems which ruined his preceding seven days.
The conditions weren’t ideal either – after Bowen scorched to his heat one victory the unseasonal weather closed in on the Sittingbourne Greyhound Stadium and drizzle from the halfway point had become full on precipitation by the end but nothing was going to rain on the Kings’ parade this time!
Next to visit will be the King’s Lynn Young Stars – back in sixth place but with three matches in hand on Kent and more on some of the others above them, the Norfolk based side ended the SLYDE Kings’ unbeaten record in the TPNL last month and represent dangerous opponents for sure. That visit of the Young stars takes place o Monday 8th. August – 6.30pm start time.
TAGS: Kent Kings