Three times number ones will result in a Fours result for Kent Speedway fans. Nope that’s not the traditional maths answer but the Silver Ski Holiday Fours can count on being a success with the news of the return to track of not just one, not two but THREE former Kent Kings’ number ones!
The four team tournament series sponsored by Silver Ski, the leading ski-holiday company specialising for over thirty years in catered-chalets in the French Alps gets underway this week with the legs at the Isle of Wight (Thursday 25th.) and Plymouth (Friday 26th). And the big news is that Luke Bowen, Paul Hurry & Jack Thomas (all of whom rode in the number one race jacket for the Kings during last season but have been absent from the National League [NL] this term) are all back in track action for the event - which concludes with the third and final leg at Central Park on Monday 5th. August.
With Drew Kemp riding up at Redcar for his SGB Championship side [SGBC] Sheffield on Friday, the GB U21 World Cup silver medallist drops out of the Kent quartet for both south coast sorties at the end of this week, and with Jack Thomas being a hugely valued Kent asset ,what possible better person to step in the four going into action in this event.
Record appearances holder Jack is a Kent King through and through, debuting for the club in 2016 and rising through the ranks from rookie reserve to skipper and number one of the team which contested the Play Offs last term. A move up to the SGBC with Leicester Lions meant this season the 20 year old from Norfolk wasn’t riding in the NL with the Kings, but he remains of course not only one of the most popular ‘sons’ of Kent but a club asset and it’s going to be a hugely welcome move among supporters of the Central Park side that Jack is the Lad again for the Kings in this tournament. Thomas will line up in the Invicta race jacket alongside current number one and stand-in skipper Anders Rowe, Jordan Jenkins and Dan Gilkes in the Kings’ quartet at the IOW and then Plymouth this week.
With Mildenhall pulling out of the event due to difficulties finding a suitable staging date, the fourth team in the series will be the Breem Construction Stars – team managed by former Premier League winning boss John Sampford, the quartet will include Nathan Ablitt from the Kings’ current septet plus the two Kentish Speedway legends, Luke Bowen and Paul Hurry.
Luke who skippered the Kings the last three seasons is back from long term injury and has appeared once for Kent TouchTec Kings this term - in a virtuoso performance away at Swindon last month. He will skipper the BC Stars in all three legs.
Paul Hurry meanwhile is very much a fixture at Central Park these days as ‘Rider Coach’ and the Silver Ski Holiday Fours will mark Hurry’s return to track action after he too saw his 2018 campaign, when he replaced the injured Bowen as Kings’ number one, truncated after a track crash. Born in Canterbury and hailing nowadays from Maidstone, Hurry has a hugely impressive racing CV with top division title wins, the GB U21 crown, the European Grasstrack title and Grand Prix wins in the World Longtrack Championship all featuring on the list of honours for the 44-year-old.
Thanks go to Breem Construction - based in Aylesham near Canterbury, the company has an excellent reputation in the building industry by successfully delivering high-quality projects. The company’s core values are quality, efficiency and reliability – we welcome them on board as sponsors of the Breem Construction Stars.
Preview of the opening two legs at the IOW and Plymouth will follow later this week.