The hosts, the Eastbourne Eagles, may be adorned in new colours (their sponsors Forman IT’s green and black replacing the long time yellow and blue livery) but are actually fielding a side with only a minimal number of changes from last term – when the Sussex seasiders took their third successive National League Knock-out Cup title.
At number one and captaining their septet is a face extremely familiar to Kent fans and the first of three Eagles who hail in fact from the Garden of England: Mark Baseby. From Sevenoaks, Mark is older brother of former Kings’ man Aaron Baseby and has was an Iwade-based Sittingbourne Crusaders favourite from all the way back in 2005.
Baseby’s heat leader partners are Georgie Wood and Tom Brennan. Wood is from Maidstone and turned from sister sport Grasstrack to carve out a Speedway racing career with the Eagles four seasons ago now. Brennan is actually beginning only his second full season at the senior level of the sport after a glittering youth career winning a title in every class – individually in the 125cc, 150cc and 250cc and the one and only staging of the Youth Pairs championship at 500cc standard.
The third Kent based rider is Orpington’s Charley Powell – a rider like his county compatriots Baseby & Wood, equally at home on the Grasstracks as on the shale. Powell’s career in Speedway has been something of a slow burner to date and the 25 year old (who competed with gusto in the winter Pit Bike Series at Iwade) will be looking to take a step up in 2018.
A rider who finished last season in the Eagles side and appeared in the Play Offs for them (including making his Eagles bow against the SLYDE Kings in the semis) is Essex teenager Jason Edwards. A rider with considerable potential, the Eastbourne management hope the rider from Billericay will be a real ace in the pack for the forthcoming campaign, A lesser known quantity is their 2018 debutant Charlie Brooks – making his competitive debut on Saturday.
And making it six riders who were at one time or another Eagles from last term is Kelsey Dugard – back again with the club run by his family for decades and under the team managership currently of his brother Connor. Kelsey has had a chequered history with his home club having several times found himself replaced and last year that saw him end up ‘overseas’ with the Isle of Wight Warriors. Like Napoleon returning from Elba, the racing Dugard is back and hoping to be able to hold down a permanent slot this term.
For the visiting SLYDE-sponsored Kings there’s a confirmed full line up, with their own debutants Taylor Hampshire (joining after competing for the Birmingham Brummies last term) and in his first ever competitive fixture in senior Speedway, 19-year-old Jacob Clouting.
The action gets underway at Eastbourne Speedway at 7.30pm (gates opening at 6.00pm) – address is Arlington Stadium, Arlington Road West (just off the A22), Hailsham, Sussex, BN27 1RN