Edward David Kennett (born 28 August 1986 in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, England) is a

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

rider. He was the British Under-21 Champion in 2005 and has appeared in two

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...

as a wild card. Kennett's father Dave, was a

rider who rode for the

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England, that raced in the SGB Championship. History Speedway was initially introduced to Eastbourne in 1929. During their first league season th ...

Hackney Hawks Hackney Hawks speedway opened in 1963 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London and operated until 1983. The team replaced the Hackney Wick Wolves who had raced at the stadium from 1935 to 1939. The Hawks were then themselves replaced by the ...

Newport Wasps Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Newport, South Wales from 1964 to 2012. They were the 1999 Conference League champions. The Wasp logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City of Newport. ...

and the

White City Rebels The White City Rebels were a motorcycle speedway team who operated from the White City Stadium, Wood Lane in London. History White City were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929 but only raced for the one season. The White City tea ...

. His uncle

Gordon Kennett Gordon William Kennett (born 2 September 1953) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. In 1978 he won the World Pairs Championship with Malcolm Simmons. He also finished runner-up to Ole Olsen in the 1978 Speedway World Championship at Wembley. ...

represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and rode for many clubs. Another uncle, Brian (Barney) Kennett, rode mainly in the

British League Division Two The British League Division Two was created in 1968 and was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom until the restructuring of British speedway in 1995. It was renamed the New National League in 1975 and the National League between ...

/National League for the

Canterbury Crusaders The Crusaders (formerly Canterbury Crusaders and BNZ Crusaders due to sponsorship by the Bank of New Zealand) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They are the mos ...

during the 1970s and 1980s.

Career

Kennett started his racing career in the Conference League with the

Rye House Raiders The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Rye House began life in 1934 hosting open meetings. Whilst at Hackney in 1 ...

in 2001. He had his first permanent team place with the Raiders in 2002. The same season he made his

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

debut for the

Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Rye House began life in 1934 hosting open meetings. Whilst at Hackney in 1 ...

. In 2004, he joined his local club the

in the Elite League. Kennett joined Valsarna speedway, his first team in Sweden 2004. He struggled in his first season and in 2005 he returned to Rye House Rockets in the Premier League. The 2005 season saw Kennett become the British Under-21 Champion. He also qualified for the World Under-21 final where he finished in eighth place. The Rockets won the Premier League and the

Premier Trophy The Major League Tournament (formerly known as the Premier Trophy) is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1938 and has existed under a number of different names. Matches before the 1988–89 seas ...

. The

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by l ...

declared Eddie as their 'Number Eight' (first reserve) in the Elite League. He finished fifth in the

British Speedway Championship The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competition open to British national speedway riders. The winner of the event becomes the British Speedway Champion. History Inaugurated in 1961 as a qualifying round of the Spe ...

Final and was also selected as a meeting reserve for the British

held at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. Kennett decided to stay with Rye House for the 2006 season Bamford, R.(2007). ''Speedway Yearbook 2007''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing in the Premier League with promoter

Len Silver Len Silver (born 2 February 1932, east London, United Kingdom) is a former speedway rider and is former promoter of the Rye House Rockets. Racing career Silver stopped racing in 1957 but returned to the Ipswich Witches in 1960 after a layoff d ...

who had signed his father for Hackney in 1971.Fenn, C.(2003). ''Hackney Speedway, Friday at Eight''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. In 2007, Kennett chose to go back to the Elite League and signed for the Poole Pirates. He also finished fourth in the British Speedway Championship which ensured he would be a track reserve again for the British Speedway Grand Prix. In September 2007, Kennett was selected to represent

for the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Under 21-World Cup Final. Kennett returned to the Eastbourne Eagles in 2008 and won the

Elite League Knockout Cup The Elite League Knockout Cup was a speedway Knockout Cup competition in the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2012. History It was governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). T ...

. He also finished as runner-up in the British Speedway Championship to

Scott Nicholls Scott Karl Nicholls (born 16 May 1978) is a British speedway rider, who has won the British Championship seven times,British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

as a wild card. On 11 August 2011 Kennett resigned from Coventry Speedway; this was because his silencer was deemed 'illegal' when racing against Lakeside on 6 August. Kennett said this was caused by 'a member of his team' who had 'tampered with it'. Kennett was banned from racing for 7 days by the SCB and appeared in front of a disciplinary hearing on 16 August where he received a 6-month worldwide ban. In 2013 he signed for Premier League

Berwick Bandits The Berwick Bandits are a British speedway club, based in Berwick-upon-Tweed. They currently compete in the SGB Championship, racing at Shielfield Park, with home matches usually taking place on Saturday evenings. They also run a second team ...

as a replacement for the injured

Ricky Ashworth Richard David Ashworth (born 17 August 1982 in Salford, England) is a former professional speedway rider who has represented Great Britain. Biography Son of David Ashworth and Mandy Winnard, Ricky was raised in Salford (originally from Irlam) ...

. He has also been named in the Team Great Britain world cup squad along with Chris Harris, Tai Woffinden and Craig Cook. In 2022, he rode for the

Plymouth Gladiators The Plymouth Gladiators are a speedway team in the British SGB Championship. Under several names Plymouth have competed during various seasons from 1932. The club was reformed after a gap of thirty-six years in 2006 by former St Austell Gulls r ...

in the

SGB Championship 2022 The 2022 SGB Championship season is the 75th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Championship. Summary Eleven clubs competed in the Championship in 2022, with Oxford returning to the sport after a 15 year ab ...

Speedway Grand Prix results

World Final appearances

World U-21 Championship

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

- 8th - 4pts *

- Ostrów Wlkp. - 11th - 5pts

World Cup

- 4th - 0pts

U-21 World Cup

- 10th place (4 pts in Semi-Final A)

European Grasstrack Championship

* 2017 Hertingen (Third) 13pts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennett, Edward David 1986 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Eastbourne Eagles riders Plymouth Gladiators speedway riders Poole Pirates riders Rye House Rockets riders