All roads lead to the Potteries on Saturday 13th. July for the staging of Speedway’s National League’s big day of the season – with all eight clubs who compete in the third tier sending quartets to contest the NL ‘Fours’ at Stoke Speedway Stadium.
The Fours hasn’t actually been contested since 2016 and in fact the Kent Kings’ last involvement in the event was the year before, so it’s been a while coming - but Chris Hunt’s 2019 side go into this one armed with a healthy dose of optimism that this might be another title they could bring home.
It’s a full strength four-some with Anders Rowe (who got in some useful practice when riding up at the Loomer Rd circuit just last Saturday) and GB U21 international Drew Kemp joined by club captain, Rob Ledwith and coming back now to full form and fitness, Jordan Jenkins. For Kemp it’s, in fact, two ‘four team tournaments’ in two days – competing as he does on Friday evening for his country in the U-21 World Cup. Rowe meanwhile was in action on Thursday night – reaching the semi-final of the innovative NICE 2V individual championship – a unique event staged on the Isle of Wight where all riders were provided with a standard two-valve JAWA engine to level the field mechanically.
Kent are in Group ‘B’ at Stoke on Saturday up against twice Fours' times winners Mildenhall, Plymouth and Belle Vue Colts. Each rider has two outings in the eight heat S/F with the two highest scoring quartets progressing to the Final – also staged over eight heats.
Plymouth (runners up twice in the early noughties) have made a couple of recent changes to their team with Daviod Wallinger (released by Mildenhall;) and former Kent Kings’ man Luke Chessell coming in. Ben Wilson will be the man to look out for in their quartet though – as an ex-Stoke rider he knows the home circuit well and indeed won the National League Pairs at this track when a home based rider in 2014. The popular Richard Andrews completes their foursome – with another former Kings’ man Adam Sheppard making the long journey north to be on stand-by as reserve.
For the Mildenhall Fen Tigers hoping to roar them on to victory in a competition they last won in 2012 is a member of the last Kent team to compete in this event, Danny Ayres. The ever-popular Danny (who makes his senior British Final debut later this month) is joined by GB U21 finalist Jason Edwards (who like Kent’s Rowe scored heavily as a 'Guest' up at Stoke just last weekend) and the relatively inexperienced pairing of Aussie Matt Marson and three-times GB 250cc Grasstrack Champion, Henry Atkins. The club from Manchester, Belle Vue are travelling the shortest distance and look on paper to provide the strongest opposition to the TouchTec Kings in Group ‘B’. Another Aussie, Connor Bailey lines up alongside one of Kemp’s World Cup team mates Kyle Bickley; and the other two Colts are 2019 newcomer who’s shot straight from rookie to number one, Jordan Palin and the experienced former Cradley rider Danny Phillips Talking of the Black Country-based Heathens (who have won the 4s a record three times), they line up in Group ‘A’ alongside the hosts Stoke, Leicester and current NL leaders, Isle of Wight.
The Warriors from the holiday island off the Hampshire coast have been a familiar sight and a thorn in the side of Chris Hunt’s men in recent weeks and with a potent pairing of Georgie Wood and reigning NL Riders’ Champion Ben Morley (a winner of the 4s with Rye House in 2016 and like Ayres a survivor from the Kent side so unlucky nor tho take the event the year before) it seems likely that they could again be facing up to the Kings in the Final. Cradley (who v sit Central Park in NL action on Monday) have a very solid look about them – former NLRC winner Max Clegg, a 2012 winner of the NL4s and also another one time NLR Champ, Dan Halsey and GB U21 international Jack Smith are backed up by Tom Spencer.
Leicester have been hit some what by the unavailability of their number one, Ellis Perks but still have a top class NL competitor in Danyon Hume plus the hugely promising Thompson Twins (Dan & Joe) and there’s their new signing who actually makes his Lion Cubs' debut on the evening, New Zealander Ryan Terry-Daley. The hosts will always feel a sense of possible entitlement and Stoke has won the event before on their home track – even though that was all the way back in 2006 they have a survivor from that winning quartet in their ranks on Saturday: Luke Priest (the only rider in the meeting to have won the NL4s with two different clubs, doing likewise in 2016 with Rye House). There’s an ex-Kings’ rider in the Potters’ camp: Connor Coles and they are led by a rider who’ll be looking to go through the card, former GB U21 rostrum man Tom Perry. The hosts though have been hit by the last minute loss of one of their originally-named four – Joe Lawlor who will probably be replaced by namesake Joe Alcock.
Back in 2015, Kent were denied victory because though they led going into the last heat of the Final they couldn’t field a rider in that decider due to injury and there were no reserves. This time a reserve is named in each side to avoid that possibility. The rules were that the named reserve had to be a two pointer and with Nathan Ablitt out still serving his medical suspension after suffering mild concussion and long time absentee Dan Gilkes concentrating this weekend on getting in as many practice laps as possible before his NL return against Cradley at Central Park on Monday (15/7), Chris Hunt had no two pointer at his disposal from within the Kent ranks. Picked to be on stand by in the no. 5 race jacket therefore will be midlands-based Bailey Fellows. The 15 year old who rides in the Development League for Weymouth hails from the evocatively named Coalville in Leicestershire and will be looking to be 'smokin' should circumstances force him into a Kings’ debut on the night.
National League Coordinator Jason Pipe ,“What a line up we have. I can’t even begin to pick a favourite out of this lot. The response to our sponsorship drive has been beyond my wildest hopes with backing from among others, TouchTec, Iwade Garage and Kent fans remembering the late Dave Pringle and I just know the fans are in for a brilliant night”
The meeting is being held at Stoke Speedway, Loomer Road Stadium, Chesterton, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire. ST5 7LB - gates open at 4.30pm with a range of pre-meeting entertainment including punk band Snide Remarks playing for an hour pre meeting between 5.15-6.15pm. The parade is a 6,30pm with the first heat at 6.45pm