The Kent Royals (formerly Kings) are a British
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
team formed in 2013. Through 2021 they competed in the
SGB Championship
The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It ...
but also run a junior team in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
. They were based at
Central Park Stadium in
Sittingbourne, with a track laid inside the greyhound racing track, but moved to the
Iwade
Iwade is a village and civil parish north of the town of Sittingbourne in the English county of Kent.
History
Iwade was established in the late Medieval period, when it was a settlement linking Watling Street to the coast via Key Street (a st ...
track and operated solely as a NDL team starting in 2022.
History
The Kings joined the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
(third division) in 2013, with the backing of sponsors CTA Fire.
Len Silver co-promoted the team with Roger Cearns. Their participation during the
2013 National League speedway season
The 2013 season of the National League, the third tier of British speedway was contested by eight teams.
Summary
Scunthorpe Saints and Rye House Cobras were missing from 2012, and replaced by Coventry Storm and Kent Kings.
The Dudley Heathens we ...
saw the return of professional speedway to Kent for the first time since
Canterbury Crusaders closed in 1987. The first match for the team was a challenge against the American Touring Team in May 2013, attended by more than 3,000 spectators.
[Tucker, Craig (2013)]
Fans turn out in force for opening Kent Kings speedway meeting at Central Park
, Kent Online, 8 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013 The Kings finished seventh out of eight teams and bottom of the National Trophy. However, the debut season for the Kings at Central Park saw some achievements, including second in the NL Fours (Steve Boxall, Benji Compton, Ben Morley and David Mason), third in the NL Pairs (Boxall and Morley), and third in the British Under 19 Championships (Ben Morley). Steve Boxall won the National League Riders Championship and finished as holder of the Bronze Helmet.
In 2014, the Kings finished third of the nine teams competing in the
2014 National League speedway season
The 2014 season of the National League, the third tier of British speedway was contested by nine teams. The Cradley Heathens won the title. The Isle of Wight Islanders were missing from 2012, and the Scunthorpe Stags and Devon Demons have joine ...
. This was enough for a play-off place, and in the home first leg of the semi-final against
Coventry Storm
Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon
Brandon may refer to:
Names and people
*Brandon (given name), a male given name
*Brandon (surname), a surname with several ...
, the Kings ran out 49–44 winners. In the away leg, the Kings were beaten 54–39, with Coventry progressing to the final against
Cradley. In the National Trophy, the Kings finished last of the four teams competing. Lambert and Morley finished third in the National League Pairs, and Morley finished third in the National League Riders Championships. In the National League Fours, Lambert, Morley, Ayres and Baseby fell agonisingly short in a last heat decider in the Semi-Final group.
From 2016 to 2019, a gradual improvement was experienced by the club, with three consecutive semi final play off appearances in 2016, 2017 and 2018. During the
2019 National Development League speedway season
The National League speedway 2019 now known as the National Development League for the 2019 season was the third tier/division of British speedway. There were several team changes for the 2019 league season with reigning league champions and KO cu ...
the team reached the play off final for the first time, losing to
Leicester Lion Cubs
Leicester Lion Cubs are a speedway team that was formed in November 2018 to race in the National League at the Beaumont Park Stadium in Leicester. This team is the second and junior Leicester Lions speedway team racing at this venue.
History
The ...
in the final.
For the 2020 season Kent Kings entered the
SGB Championship
The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It ...
(division 2) for the first time and the club formed a junior team called the Kent Royals to compete in division 3 but the season was cancelled due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. However the following season the Kings started in the
SGB Championship 2021 and Royals competed in the NDL. In 2022, the team competed solely as the Royals in the NDL.
Season summary
Riders
2013 team
The team manager was John Sampford. David Mason was signed as captain, but lost his team place, with Steve Boxall taking over the captaincy.
[Miles, Greg (2013)]
Sacked Kent Kings captain ‘disgusted’ with treatment
, kentnews.co.uk, 16 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013
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2014 team
The original 2014 line up was Simon Lambert, Luke Chessell, Ben Morley, Benji Compton, David Mason, Daniel Blake, and Brandon Freemantle. John Sampford was to remain in charge, but the highly respected former Isle of Wight manager and former rider Chris Hunt was appointed assistant manager.
Simon Lambert took over the captaincy from the returning David Mason and went on to score heavily throughout the season with a cavalier and exciting style. Daniel Blake retired after two meetings and was replaced by Luke Harris. Luke Harris was himself dropped from the team in June and was replaced by Jason Garrad. Brandon Freemantle was forced to bow out of the Kent Kings side in early May and his place was taken by a former
motocross rider making his debut in speedway,
Danny Ayres
Danny Ayres (16 August 1986 – 1 February 2020) was a speedway rider who rode in Great Britain.
Career
Danny Ayres began his career in motocross and converted to speedway relatively late, in 2014. He rode for various teams, including Kent Kin ...
. The team was further disrupted when Benji Compton injured his hand as was ruled out in June. His place was taken by newcomer to the Kent side, Aaron Baseby. Compton made his return in July, with Luke Chessell being dropped.
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2022 team & average
* 12.00
* 10.30
* 10.00
* 8.19
* 6.14
* 5.55
* 4.22
* 3.52
* 2.61
* 2.00
References
{{Speedway National League
Sport in Sittingbourne
National League speedway teams
2013 establishments in England
Sports clubs established in 2013