Kent Speedway roars back into action in April with the new look TouchTec Kings embarking on a first ever season in the sport’s second tier, the Speedway Great Britain Championship [SGBC].
There will be a magnificent seven new tracks for team manager Chris Hunt’s charges to visit and the first of those trips is down south to Highbridge just off the M5, the home of Somerset Speedway on Wednesday April 15th. Wednesdays are of course to be the Kings’ new race night and a week before opening their SGBC campaign on the road, the season gets underway at Central Park on Wednesday 8th April with a new individual championship event, the Kent Open Chase.
Co-promoter Len Silver explains, "It was clear that we wouldn't get the necessary Planning Permission for a morning start on our preferred opening date of Good Friday, so that has forced the club to change a few dates and we will now run our first meeting of the season on Wednesday April 8th. - it will be an individual event:The Kent Open Chase and I am hoping to include some Premiership riders in the field. We opted against a team challenge as I want to give our riders an extra bit of practice before facing an official event and without giving one of our rivals some track time at Central Park."
Showing how the SGBC stretches the length and breadth of the UK, Kent’s second away day is up on the north-east taking on the second new track for the club to visit this season, Redcar Speedway home of the Teesside-based Bears.
The first three visiting clubs are rather more familiar to the Central Park faithful: Leicester bring their Lion Cubs side on Easter Monday afternoon (in a quick reprise therefore of the last home meeting of last season when the East Midlanders denied the TouchTec Kings the title in the National League [NL] Grand Final) - that brings a season opener for the soon to be named Kent second team; and it’s the Leicester Lions senior outfit (reigning champs also) who make history on April 22nd as the first home opponents in the SGBC.
Then the month of April closes with local hostilities resumed with Derby opponents Eastbourne Eagles on the 29th.; and its a first Tuesday meeting (the alternate race night when taking on an SGBC side who race also on Wednesdays) as another old rival, Birmingham Brummies are in town on May 5th.
The first Wednesday of the merry month of May sees the Kings south coast bound to one of the blue riband venues of British Speedway, the home of the famous Poole Pirates - with the Dorset club visiting Central Park on May 13th.
Highlights in June see Newcastle Diamonds as first ever visitors to Central Park on the 17th and Scottish team Armadale Devils coming in the NL on the 24th, - the same evening that the senior TouchTec-sponsored Kings pay a second visit of the SGBC campaign to Somerset.
July opens up with a ‘northern tour’ to a trio of first ever visits to SGBC clubs Edinburgh (Friday 3rd.), Berwick (Saturday 4th.) and Newcastle (Sunday 5th) - the last of these three being a double header involving also the Kent NL side taking on a junior Newcastle team.
Both Edinburgh (1/7) and Glasgow (8/7) cross Hadrian's wall en route to the Garden of England on July, whilst the third Scottish side the Berwick Bandits visit on August 19th.
The full fixtures list is available on the Kent Speedway website here.