History will be made on Monday evening at Central Park whatever the outcome of the second leg of the Final between the Kent SLYDE Kings and the Birmingham Brummies; when a new name will be engraved on Speedway’s National Trophy [NT]. 
The visitors from the Second City, who are the reigning League champions and current Travel Plus National League [TPNL] table toppers, hold a four points lead going into Monday’s decider following their 47-43 victory in a first leg which went to a last heat decider last Wednesday.
They hold that lead only because in that final race up at Perry Barr, when in second place, the SLYDE Kings’ skipper Luke Bowen crashed; and as a result of that fall the Sittingbourne-based club’s number one faces a few weeks on the sidelines with a broken ankle. Coming in to replace Bowen as a stand-in number one for the hosts on Monday will be Dan Greenwood – the Chesterfield-born racer who first appeared in League Speedway with Kent co-promoter Len Silver’s former club Rye House back in 2008, the year after he took the GB Under 15 national title. Now aged 23 years, Greenwood is the track record holder at Central Park and so literally knows the fastest way around the place!
In the match up at Perry Barr on Wednesday it was something of a topsy-turvy looking race card for the hosts, with the Brummies’ narrow victory gained as a result chiefly of sterling performances by the three lower averaged men in their side. Another one-time Rye House man, Danyon Hume claimed the notable scalp of Bowen in one race along the way to a paid 12 points haul. The lad from Bucks has certainly come a long way since he finished in last place in the field of 16 in the Under 19s Final at Central Park in 2013 Though to date it is true to say that Hume has failed to replicate any of his sparkling form at Perry Barr when he visits Central Park, as three pointless rides before ending with just 5 points and 12th. place earlier this term in the U21 semi final at the Sittingbourne Greyhound Stadium home of the Kent SLYDE Kings showed.
Also in that U21 semi final field in what is to date their only Central Park appearances were the two match-winning reserves from last Wednesday’s first leg: Jack Smith (paid 11) and Jack Parkinson-Blackburn (paid 14). Interestingly on that occasion in April neither of the Brummies’ ‘Jacks High’ particularly shone either – finishing 9th. and 10th. in the field respectively. The reigning GB Youth Champ ‘JPB’ though made the absolute most of his progress in the final qualifying berth for the U21 Final itself by becoming the youngest ever Grand Finalist – finishing fourth up at Owlerton in his home town of Sheffield aged just 15! Smith meanwhile (who made his NL debut last term briefly as a Kent King) has made such progress in 2016 that he got selected for the recent GB U21 World Cup squad.
Also in that GB squad was the Brummies’, Zach Wajtknecht – a prodigious talent when in schoolboy racing, with two FIM 125cc Youth Gold Trophy titles (effectively the Youth World Championship) to his name. Wajtknecht had a rare off day in the first leg on his home circuit with just one win and three pointless rides. He shone at Central Park though last term on what is his only appearance at Kent to date: scoring an extraordinary paid 19 points from reserve.
With Bowen the high profile absentee for the homesters, it’s somewhat ironic that the big news from the Birmingham camp is that both of the riders absent from the first leg, Tom Bacon and their skipper Tom Perry are back from their injury lay-offs and ride on Monday. The hugely personable Bacon has, unusually for a Speedway rider, a degree from the University of Leicester. His racing education has seen him turn in some impressive performances riding at Central Park. His namesake Perry, meanwhile, is a three times GB Grasstrack champion and has also finished on the rostrum in the Speedway version of that championship. Their return is a huge boost for Birmingham.
Finally ,whereas Smith, Parkinson-Blackburn and Wajtknecht all have very limited experience of the Speedway circuit in the Sittingbourne Greyhound Stadium – the same can’t be said of Darryl Ritchings, who knows his way around the Kent home circuit well. Ritchings (who scored 7 in the first leg, including an absolutely crucial win in the penultimate heat) is aiming to win the NT with a second club, having been part of the Isle of Wight squad which took the title in 2013. SLYDE Kings team boss Chris Hunt was in charge of that Islanders side then, so for the ‘Huntsman’ it’s a unique chance to win the NT with two different clubs – but clearly the Brummies are going to be a significant obstacle standing in the way of that.
Finally ,whereas Smith, Parkinson-Blackburn and Wajtknecht all have very limited experience of the Speedway circuit in the Sittingbourne Greyhound Stadium – the same can’t be said of Darryl Ritchings, who knows his way around the Kent home circuit well. Ritchings (who scored 7 in the first leg, including an absolutely crucial win in the penultimate heat) is aiming to win the NT with a second club, having been part of the Isle of Wight squad which took the title in 2013. SLYDE Kings team boss Chris Hunt was in charge of that Islanders side then, so for the ‘Huntsman’ it’s a unique chance to win the NT with two different clubs – but clearly the Brummies are going to be a significant obstacle standing in the way of that.
Hunt said: “We have given ourselves a fair to evens chance in this our first-ever major Cup Final after the first leg where we fought back impressively and even after that last heat calamity still held the Birmingham Brummies to a four points advantage. I’d hesitate to call it – as some might – a “slim advantage” because we know how incredibly evenly-poised matches between these two sides have been this year. So we don’t in any way underestimate the challenge of having to turn around a four points margin. Our visitors do have a hugely impressive line up and Monday evening’s match promises to be an absolute Speedway classic”.
The action gets underway at Central Park at 6.30pm on Monday 27 June – gates open at 5pm.
As with last week, the England football game will be shown in the Central Bar in the main grandstand after the match.
Image courtesy of Elizabeth Leslie
TAGS: Kent Kings