The KENT CTA Fire Kings got their 2014 campaign underway with a bang at the weekend as they won their first away fixture.

They won their first leg Knockout Cup fixture against the Devon Demons, on a night that reflected the progress that the Kings have made since last season finished.

The match in the Preliminary Round of the National League’s Knock-out Cup competition (with the prize for the victors on aggregate, a First Round proper tie vs. Stoke) got off to a flying start for the new-look Kings septet with four heat winners in the opening five heats.

New skipper Simon Lambert led from the front, storming to comfortable victories in heats one and five; while former League Riders champ Benji Compton started as he was to go on with an impressive win in heat three.  Yorkshire man Compton was to end the night unbeaten by an opponent, thus claiming a paid maximum – his first on the road in the colours of the Central Park club.

Sandwiched in between the efforts of two of the Kent side’s renowned big hitters was surely the most pleasing individual victory of the evening: a race win in his first-ever competitive race for 15-year-old rookie, Luke Harris.

The heat two victory for the reigning GB Youth Grass track champ represented real headline material for the hugely promising Londoner, giving a portent surely of Capital receipts to follow!

A solid start, building a four points lead by the completion of heat six was improved and the lead doubled when the CTA Fire Kings other main man, Ben Morley opened his throttle with startling effect in heat seven to anchor home Compton for maximum race points.

Misfortune befalling young Harris with a broken chain was to hamper his scoring return and fellow Kings’ debutant Luke Chessell was finding it tough going but a pair of heat wins for Essex boy Morley in heats 10 & 12 (the first another oh-so vital maximum partnering Compton again to a full house) left the Kent side on the very cusp on history. 

Having failed to gain a point on their travels in 2013, this was shaping up to be a first- ever way win and appropriately enough Simon Lambert was to play the ultimate captain’s role with a win in heat 13 to guarantee at least a share of the spoils on the night.

The penultimate race of the heat provided a last dose of drama though, with the Kent side’s former GB Youth champ Brandon Freemantle lifting badly on the first bend of the re-run race and bouncing off the St. Boniface Arena’s newly-installed air-fence right over the safety barrier into the crowd.

Amazingly and showing how brave and frankly durable these speed-merchants of the dirt tracks are,  the Sussex speedster actually got up and walked back to the pits!  Compton was on hand then in the second re-run to gain a victory to put the seal on a first ever away match win for the Garden of England side.

It was bouquets indeed in heat 15 with Lambert and Morley combining for a maximum 5-1 heat win to ensure the CTA Fire-sponsored Kings hold a lucky-for-some 13 points lead heading into the second leg to be staged at Central Park in May.

To complete a Bronze lining on affairs, top scorer for the Kings, Simon Lambert found himself in the position of defending the match race title (now to be challenged for by the holder at each meeting) bequeathed to him by last year’s number one Steve Boxall and Lambert was to see off the Demons’ Lee Smart to be the first holder of the Bronze Helmet of 2014.

Devon Demons 38

Kent Kings  51

1. Simon Lambert  3, 3, 2, 3, 3   14
2. Luke Chessell  1, 0, 1′           2+1
3. Ben Morley  1, 3, 3, 3, 2′   12+1
4. Benji Compton  3, 2′, 2′, 3   10+2 [PM]
5. David Mason  2, 1′, 2, R   5+1
6. Luke Harris  3, 2, 0, 0, 0    5
7. Brandon Freemantle – 1, 0, 2, F/x   3

Heat 1: Lambert, Webster, Chessell, Stoneman 53.5   [2-4]
Heat 2: Harris, Shanes, Freemantle, Andrews 55.44  [4-8]
Heat 3: Compton, Reade, Morley, Bates 56.53 [6-12]
Heat 4: Smart, Mason, Andrews, Freemantle 54.93 [10-14]
Heat 5: Lambert, Reade, Bates, Chessell 54.59 [13-17]
Heat 6 (Re-run): Stoneman, Harris, Mason, Webster(F/x) 55.29  [16-20]
Heat 7 (Re-run): Morley, Compton, Smart, Shanes(F/x) 55.00 [17-25]
Heat 8: Stoneman, Freemantle, Andrews, Harris 55.56 [21-27]
Heat 9: Reade, Mason, Bates, Harris 55.93 [25-29]
Heat 10: Morley, Compton, Webster, Stoneman 55.40 [26-34]
Heat 11: Smart, Lambert, Chessell, Shanes 55.22  [29-37]
Heat 12: Morley, Reade, Andrews, Harris 55.06 [32-40]
Heat 13: Lambert, Smart, Webster, Mason(Ret) 54.50 [35-43]
Heat 14 (Re-run x2): Compton, Bates, Freemantle(F/x), Shanes(F/x) 56.71 [37-46]
Heat 15: Lambert, Morley, Smart, Reade 54.81   [38-51]
Bronze Helmet Match  Lambert beat Smart 54.50

 

Pictures supplied by Nick Truscott.