Following a torrid time in the past few weeks, culminating in blowing an engine in last Monday’s home defeat by Rye House, Kent SLYDE Kings’ reserve Adam Sheppard has announced he’s taking a break from City Gearboxes National League (CGNL) racing.
The Walton-on-Thames based racer who stepped up from competing in the Development Leagues in the past couple of years, this term for a first season racing regularly in the third tier explained his decision.
He said: “In an attempt to turn my season around and after a week of heavy pondering, I have decided to have a spell away from the CGNL.
“The main aim from this is to focus on my equipment. The latest blown engine is just one of a number of mechanical misfortunes I’ve suffered; and to be honest, it has been very difficult to recover from blowing up my main engine set up to ride the Central Park circuit less than two weeks into the season.
“Former Sittingbourne Crusaders rider Jon Stevens came forward to offer his services as a mechanic for my CGNL campaign this season, which made a massive difference in the pits but unfortunately, after speaking to Kent’s Team Manager Chris Hunt last week and informing him of the struggle, I said that it would be unlikely I would be able to do the next few fixtures on the equipment I currently have.
“The only remaining engine I have is not really suitable for Kent and it struggles to find any drive on a slicker type surface. The engine is close to needing a service as it is and we’ve tried many different things with this engine, varying from one extreme to another on all areas of the setup; but the only changes that can be made that will affect the engine’s performance is having it serviced and its characteristics changed by the tuner.”
Sheppard accepts that due to these problems he’s failed to do himself justice in recent meetings, he added: “My results and scoring have reflected this in the past few weeks and currently I have no trust or confidence in my equipment to get the results that would do me justice.
“I have one challenge meeting to do at Somerset on Friday, when I’ll be ‘guesting’ for a Cradley Heathens Select side and then I’ll be putting my attention on getting my engines sorted, having a few Midland Development League meetings and then hopefully getting in a position to challenge for a team place with the Kent SLYDE Kings again in a few weeks”.
The Sittingbourne Dog Track-based club are confident they’ll be making an announcement about a new signing to step into the side at reserve in the next couple of days, with the next meeting being the all-important first leg of the Knock-out Cup semi final vs. Eastbourne Eagles next Monday (29/6) at Central Park.
Image courtesy of Elizabeth Leslie