The line-up for one of the most prestigious meetings to be held at Kent Speedway’s Central Park home has been confirmed.

Sixteen of the nation’s top motor cycle dirt track racing starlets will be going hell for leather on Monday 4^th. April at the track in Sittingbourne – looking for progression to the championship final in the Great Britain Under 21 Semi-final.

Leading the way as far as the SLYDE-sponsored Kings’ fans will be concerned will be home favourites, the teenaged pairing of Danno Verge and .

Shanes is a former national Under 21 champion at Speedway’s sister sport of Grasstrack and is looking to make the Final (to be held ten days later up in Sheffield) of the shale sport’s main junior championship for a second consecutive year – hoping to improve on his sixth place last term.

Meanwhile,for the Shorne-based Verge (who’s been impressing onlookers in his recent practicing at the Iwade training circuit) it’s another attempt to progress to the main stage of this prestigious championship.

The Under 21 event dates all the way back to 1969 and was staged at the now defunct Canterbury Speedway stadium for many years – an early winner was that great servant of Kentish Speedway, Barry Thomas who triumphed on his then home track at Kingsmead in 1970.

Shanes will have the legendary Thommo’s example in mind as he sets off on this title race as a real contender and also will be aware that all of England’s World Speedway champions of modern times (Peter Collins, Michael Lee, Gary Havelock and current World number one Tai Woffinden) have taken this particular title along their track to international glory.

Joining the two homesters in the 16 man field is 2013 Kings’ man and still hugely popular down Murston-way, Jack Kingston: the Dagenham born racer who took third place in the GB Under 19s Championship staged at Central Pak in 2014 is lining up in this forthcoming season for twice National League (NL) champs, Cradley.

From the reigning champs and also of course the West Midlands, come  reigning GB Youth (that’s the Under 15 classification) champion Jack Parkinson-Blackburn who will be making a much anticipated first appearance at Central Park and an Under 19 finalist from two years back, Danyon Hume.

From Kingston’s previous side, Mildenhall based in the Fens of Suffolk, come the highly rated Connor Mountain and a rider who was a Rye House Raiders team mate of Hume’s last term, Alfie Bowtell, along with Luke Ruddick. From the Hertfordshire side’s 2016 line up is George Hunter; whilst the Kings’ main local rivals Eastbourne Eagles provide squad man young Kelsey Dugard, son of former GB Grand Prix champion Martin Dugard.

Eastbourne will already have visited Central Park by the time this meeting happens on April 4^th. as they are the first opponents to take on the Kings on Good Friday and the same is true of the King’s Lynn Young Stars who complete the Easter weekend on the Bank Holiday Monday when their signing from Coventry Ryan Kinsley, the highly rated Josh Bailey and their big name new signing Nathan Greaves will have an invaluable opportunity to sound out the newly banked Central Park circuit prior to the big championship event a week later.

The three biggest challenges to James Shanes are probably, though, the experienced Tweedsider Liam Carr who has shown his liking for the Kent track before; Stoke’s ever-improving Danny Phillips (a previous NL title winner with Cradley); and the exciting Ellis Perks – the Anglo-Aussie who always gives full value for money and may just excel (as Shanes is likely also to do) on the newly improved racing lines around the boards at the revamped Central Park circuit.

The top ten on the night will move onto the Championship Final itself at Sheffield’s Owlerton Stadium on April 14^th where the qualifiers will join the seeded  GB World Cup hero, Robert Lambert; former GB Under 19 champ (winning his crown at Central Park the season before last) Oliver Greenwood;  ex-champ at U-21 level looking to regain his title, Josh Bates; Cradley skipper Max Clegg; the French-born racer Adam Ellis, runner up to Bates in 2014, who is racing now for Elite League big boys Poole Pirates,; and Shanes’ long time rival from junior racing across the Continent, Birmingham’s prodigious teenager,  Zach Wajtknecht.

BRITISH U-21 SEMI-FINAL LINE-UP (in draw order): James Shanes (Kent SLYDE Kings), Liam Carr (Coventry Storm), Ellis Perks (Isle of Wight Warriors), Nathan Greaves (King’s Lynn Young Stars), Connor Mountain (Mildenhall Fen Tigers), Danny Phillips (Stoke Potters), Josh Bailey (King’s Lynn Young Stars), Jack Kingston (Cradley Heathens), Ryan Kinsley (King’s Lynn Young Stars), Kelsey Dugard (Eastbourne Eagles), Alfie Bowtell (Mildenhall Fen Tigers), Danyon Hume (Birmingham Brummies), George Hunter (Rye House Raiders), Luke Ruddick (Mildenhall Fen Tigers), Jack Parkinson-Blackburn (Birmingham Brummies), Danno Verge (Kent SLYDE Kings).

Picture supplied by Elizabeth Leslie.