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The Kent SLYDE Kings went down to a 52-38 defeat in the Travel Plus National League to the Lakeside Hammers at the Arena Essex Raceway on Friday night.

The scoreline doesn’t begin to tell the story of an eventful evening throughout which the visitors battled through controversial decisions and pain barriers. Jack Thomas and Nathan Stoneman were involved in a nasty coming together at the first staging of heat seven. Jack picked himself up to bravely score 12 points. Nathan rode in the rerun but later withdrew from the meeting.

Heat one saw the visiting skipper jet away from the tapes in typical ‘747’ style to lead home Zach Wajtknecht of the Hammers. No. 8 Alex Spooner was pointless in what was his only outing on the evening.

The second race saw a milestone – Anders Rowe took his first ever race win in the colours of Kent and indeed his first ever at National League level; and with his partner Bradley Andrews claiming third place this put the Kings into an early advantage.

A dramatic heat three saw carnage in the original staging as home rider Alfie Bowtell caused himself and dynamic Kings duo Stoneman and Jack Thomas to fall. All four back was the call of the referee. The rerun was awarded with Paul Hurry well clear, Thomas and Stoneman blocking out Bowtell when he produced a manoeuvre as questionable as a politician during an election campaign to turn left on Stoneman to send the Welsh born King sprawling into the first turn air fence. A vote was cast by the referee that and he elected Bowtell was at fault.

Shared races either side of a fifth race 5-1 for the home side after a fall by the chasing Bowen ending his run of wins on the Arena Essex Raceway put Lakeside two points ahead – a lead that they were never to surrender. The rider Bowen had been pursuing Hurry went on to complete a maximum.

Heat seven was a deciding race in the context of the meeting. The initial race was started without a paramedic on the infield and the red lights came on very quickly, as they came on Stoneman came off falling straight into the path of his racing partner Thomas. After a lengthy delay for treatment both riders emerged for the re-run though Stoneman was clearly second hand.

The re-run provided some good action between former Kent King captain Ben Morley and the battered and bruised teenaged Thomas. Stoneman fell whilst last to the largely inexplicable cheers to a section of home fans, and made his way back to the pits holding his side: having then to withdraw from the meeting for what has transpired to be broken ribs.

Heat eight saw a fantastic piece of team riding from the young duo of Thomas and Rowe. They gated together and during the race Thomas was signalling Rowe where to ride in order to block the challenge of the chasing Nick Laurence.

The resulting 5-1 levelled the scores at 24 each, before the hosts regained a four point advantage with a 5-1 of their own in the 9th and moved six points clear after Heat 10 when Thomas led Wajtknecht for three and three quarter laps only to run wide off the last corner and allow the home number one through. With Lawrence beating a tiring Rowe it was now a six point advantage.

The Kings’ skipper Bowen won Heat 11 with the Kiwi Andrews taking a third place point reducing the deficit to just and left the SLYDE-sponsored team very much in with a chance of taking a match point; but two 5-1 advantages and a 4-2 in the last 4 races in favour of the home team brought the final score line to 52-38 in favour of the Hammers.

The SLYDE Kings don’t have to wait long to try to get back into winning ways they take on the reigning champions Birmingham on Monday (12/6) at Central Park – 6.30pm start time.

Lakeside 52

Zach Wajtknecht 2 3 3 2’ 10+1
Nick Laurence 1’ 0 1 1 3+1
Paul Hurry 3 3 3 3 3 15
Alfie Bowtell X 2’ 2’ 2 6+2
Ben Morley 3 2 3 3 2’ 13+1
Jamie Couzins 2 0 1’ 3+1
Connor Locke 0 0 1 0 1 2

Kent SLYDE Kings 38

Luke Bowen 3 0 3 1 1 8
R/R for Luke Clifton
Nathan Stoneman 1’ 0 withdrawn 1+1
Jack Thomas 2 2 3 2 3 0 12
Ben Hopwood 2 2 1 0 5
Bradley Andrews 1 1’ 0 1 2 5+1
Anders Rowe 3 1’ 1 2’ 0 0 0 7+2
Alex Spooner F 0

Heat Results

Heat 1: Bowen, Wajtknecht, Laurence, Spooner (3-3) 60.6
Heat 2: Rowe, Couzins, Andrews, Locke (5-7) 63.8
Heat3: (rerun/awarded) Hurry, Thomas, Stoneman, Bowtell (Fell/Excluded) (8-10) no time
Heat 4: Morley, Hopwood, Rowe, Couzins (11-13), 60.8
Heat 5: Hurry, Bowtell, Rowe, Bowen (Fell/Remounted) (16-14) 60.8
Heat 6: Wajtknecht, Hopwood, Andrews, Laurence (19-17) 60.7
Heat 7: (rerun) Morley, Thomas, Locke, Stoneman (Fell/Remounted) (23-19) 61.4
Heat 8: Thomas, Rowe, Laurence, Locke (24-24) 62.8
Heat 9: Hurry, Bowtell, Hopwood, Andrews (29-25) 62.3
Heat 10: Wajtknecht, Thomas, Laurence, Rowe (33-27) 61.1
Heat 11: Bowen, Morley, Andrews, Couzins (Fell/Remounted) (35-31) 61.6
Heat 12: Hurry, Andrews, Locke, Rowe (39-33) 61.8
Heat 13: Morley, Wajtknecht, Bowen, Hopwood (44-34) 60.2
Heat 14: Thomas, Bowtell, Couzins, Rowe (47-37) 61.3
Heat 15: (rerun) Hurry, Morley, Bowen, Thomas (52-38) 61.4