The perceived wisdom had it that last season’s champions Birmingham had it all sewn up again for 2016. 
They had the strongest team by far and were going to sweep all the opposition away and win every match in this year’s Travel Plus National League [TPNL] – certainly no-one would be able to live with them at their Perry Barr fortress.
That was until, though, the Kent SLYDE Kings arrived in the Second City to blow all those assumptions away and write a different version – on a day suitably denoted for the heroism about to enfold, the seven Stars in the Invicta race jacket went into War with the Brummies and answered emphatically the call, that May the Fourth Be With Them!
A draw was a result which continued the Sittingbourne-based side’s unbeaten run at the start of this season (to an all-competitions club record of seven, five of which have been on the road away from their Central Park home), but more than that made the rest of the Speedway world sit up and take notice.
In a week when the miraculous nature of sporting team achievement has made the front page headlines, the tale of wooden spoonists of 2015 taming the champs and putting down a decisive marker that they are surely contenders for the championship itself this term has the stuff of fairy tale about it also.
With a majority of heat winners (nine out of the 15) and with all of the team pitching in and even having to cope with the loss of a rider mid-meeting to injury, this was just about as heroic a showing as the SLYDE-backed Kings have ever produced – on a night of crackling excitement and nail-biting tension, with no quarter asked for or given, this was truly also a superb advert for TPNL Speedway racing.
It’s highly unlikely anyone leaving a packed Perry Barr felt anything other than this was a fully deserved draw: two heavyweights of the division clubbing each other in a dog-fight and breathlessly accepting parity at the end.
Indeed, eight of the heats were shared as 3-3s and at no point did either protagonist move more than two points clear. First blood (after a storming heat one ride from skipper Luke Bowen, one of four wins on the night for the Kings’ inspirational number one) came courtesy of the SLYDE Kings’ plucky reserve pairing.
Jack Thomas & Danno Verge went into this meeting with a proud record of securing 5-1 maximums in all six previous matches this campaign. But few anticipated that a repeat of that could be possible – not up against the two teenaged sensations in the homesters’ ranks: both Jacks, fourth in this year’s Under 21 national championship, Parkinson-Blackburn and U21 World Championship qualification pick, Smith.
But again the two Kings reserves were out of the traps first and for two full laps and a bit it seemed that the division’s most unexpected 100% record could be maintained. The national youth champ, Parkinson-Blackburn was giving it double-barrelled to Danno though and just managed to get past the Shorne speedster; but Thomas was away – a notable scalp achieved in beating the highly-rated JPB and all this on a circuit he’d not only not ridden previously, he’d never even seen before.
The 4-2 in heat 2, though was – it could be argued – the lynch-pin of what followed for the visitors; an unexpected early lead to defend and a sense that anything was possible in the West Midlands evening sunshine.
Not sure if the ref Tony Steele had the dipping sun in his eyes but the decision to pull back the lightning fast-starting Danny Ayres in heat 3 (costing the Kent man a heat win there) and yet allow Parkinson-Blackburn and home skipper Tom Perry to jump the tapes in the next race without punishment did the visitors few favours; but the upshot was after four heats it was all tied up again at 12-12.
The home side nudged ahead for a first time in heat six when old rivals James Shanes and his schoolboy racing nemesis Zach Wajtknecht locked horns – the Bristolian protege coming out on top this time; but Ayres’ first win of the night storming past Perry in spectacular fashion with David Mason in third in the next race saw the scores levelled up once more.
Heat 8 was always going to be crucial and Thomas and Luke Clifton (also a complete first-timer at Perry Barr) didn’t let the side down, leaving the inconsistent Parkinson-Blackburn back in last place.
A last bend overtake by Daryl Ritchings denying Verge a point saw the match score remain tied at 27-27 going into a potentially match-changing heat 10. After a clean get away, the home side’s no. 2 Danyon Hume locked up completely on the first bend, leaving the Kings’ David Mason nowhere to go.
Showing all his track craft, Kent’s ‘Magic’ man laid down to avoid hitting the Brummies youngster. And came off worse – damaging knee ligaments which saw the vastly experienced Mason out of the meeting. Ayres was flying now and had no difficulty winning the rerun (which included Hume even though a less generous official might have deemed him the cause of the stoppage). Ayres was a winner of heat 12 too (after another ballistic showing by Bowen in heat 11). It was a nail biting 36-36 going into heat 13.
Heats 13 and 14 ramped up the drama to a crescendo. Bowen gated but Shanes was at the back behind Wajtknecht but this time Kent’s Boy Wizard of Balance got past his long-time rival; Kent led again 38-40.
Heat 14 though saw the only 5-1 of the whole match and it went to the homesters: the loss of Mason in this race costing Kent dearly.
So for a second year running in this fixture it was a last heat decider, with the hosts holding a two point advantage. Bowen & Ayres were a certain selection for Kings’ team boss Chris Hunt. It was less clear-cut who the Birmingham team manager would select to seek to defend or extend their narrow advantage: Graham Drury plumped for Perry & heat 14 victor Ritchings.
You could have cut the tension with a knife as the four gladiators of the track lined up at the tapes. The brilliant Bowen was not to be denied and stormed ahead. Ayres was behind Ritchings. Perry, well at the back and slowing all the time – seemingly seeking to nurse his machine around in case Ayres was to be a faller.
The darling of the Kent fans Ayres is the ultimate tryer and he put every ounce of effort and bravery to try and get past Ritchings for four heart-stopping laps; on the home straight approaching the chequered flag it seemed the Kent man could do it but Ritchings moved Ayres towards the fence and left no room.
There was no room for argument either – as the dust settled on a drawn result 45-45, this had been an absolute thriller!
As the away team, Kent took two match points; the chastened Brummies just one.
Next up for Kent is a National Trophy home match vs. Mildenhall at Central Park on Monday (9th. May – 6.30pm start time). A win then will put the SLYDE Kings into the two-legged final of that competition….: against Birmingham! They’ll be standing room only for that one for certain!