The future is very much in the spotlight at the Central Park Stadium home of Kent SLYDE Kings Speedway on Monday with the inaugural staging of the Buckmore Park Karting-sponsored Futurama – a 12 rider, 15 heat individual championship meeting.
For Speedway fans, not only is this an opportunity to see some of the best up and coming talent from around the UK put through their paces, but it’s also at a bargain price as for this special event admission prices are being cut: for adults the admission on the night will be HALF-PRICE, so that’s just £6.00 on the gate; and for all 17 years and under, admission will be FREE.
Representing the home club, the Kent SLYDE Kings will be Adam Sheppard and Jamie Couzins. Newly-installed in the Kings’ side as numbers 6 & 7, this will be an invaluable opportunity for Kent’s two inexperienced reserves to get more track time around the Central Park circuit – in this case pitched up against reserve and ‘no. 8s’ from some rival clubs in the City Gearboxes National League as well as other riders all vying themselves to bring their racing to the attention of the various CGNL clubs.
These ‘contenders’ include Dan Berwick, the rider from Maidstone who made his racing comeback in the colours of the ‘Crusaders’ at last Monday’s Invicta Pairs meeting at Central Park; and rookie Andrew Palmer. Dan & Andrew will be wearing the colours on the evening of a one-off ‘side’ for the occasion, the Buckmore Bombers.
Buckmore Park Karting, Kent Speedway’s valued partners and who run an unparalleled variety of family based events across the range of international competition racing through to corporate events for groups of 10 right up to over 200 drivers and through to Kids Karting from their excellent circuit in Chatham are the sponsors of this open event.
From Kent’s next opponents in the City Gearboxes National League, the Mildenhall Fen Tigers come two riders who’ll be making their first appearances at Central Park: 16-year-old Connor King has looked impressive this year already and looks like being another local rider off the impressive conveyor belt of talent produced by the side from the Suffolk Fens over the years; and a rider hoping to bring home the bacon is Tom Bacon, from Warwickshire, named as Mildenhall’s no. 8 this season, his first in the sport.
Macauley Leek is another rider from Suffolk and rode at Central Park last season competing in the GB Under 19s championship. Macauley was third-placed finisher in last season’s GB Youth Championship (the under 16s title) and is a strongly fancied contender for that title in 2015.
Meanwhile from the Milton Keynes Knights Midland Development League side comes Rob Watts -, named as a number 8 by the Kings on a couple of occasions last year without ever actually getting on track in the famous Invicta race-jacket, Watts rode for the Rye House Raiders side last term.
A former Mildenhall rider without a CGNL team berth yet this year (and who also rode in last Monday’s Invicta Pairs) is Nick Laurence and lining up also is a rider well known over at the Iwade-based Sittingbourne Amateur Club, Chris Neame.
Finally completing the field is the no. 8 from Kent’s next home opponents in the CGNL, Cradley Heathens’ rider Tyler Govier.
The action gets underway at Central Park in Murston at 6.30pm on Monday April 20th.
Images courtesy of PSP Images