Kent Eagles Captain Ben Morley proved a wholly popular winner of the Iwade Championship at the Old Gun Site on Sunday afternoon.
Morley triumphed in a pulsating final four laps in which he saw off the relentless challenge of former team mate Vinnie Foord with the exciting talent that is Cooper Rushen taking third place.
Former Kent exponent Jack Kingston should also be applauded for the part he played in making it a titanic final. Having applied the early pressure on Morley he relinquished second place following a fine outside pass by Foord but still he appeared bolt on to take the third rostrum place until an engine failure entering the final turn effectively gifted Rushen that honour.
Indeed, it proved one of those meetings too difficult to call with a number of riders enjoying notable and impressive moments and emerging as potential contenders to claim the overall prize. Both Foord and Rushen topped the qualifying score chart with 11-points apiece, the former suffering his only defeat at the hands of Kingston in heat seven while Rushen found himself bettered by King’s Lynn Young Stars team mate, the tenacious Ashton Vale in race three.
Kingston was another who showed great form with two wins from four outings on his return to a circuit where he has completed numerous laps. Indeed, he may well have added further to his tally and potentially achieved double figures had it not been for a fall when placed second behind Vale in that race in which he beat Rushen.
Morley for his part had a somewhat discreet passage into the semi-final stage, recording a single win from his qualifiers and suffering an almost unheard-of last place for him as he trailed Kingston, Foord and Ryan Ingram to the chequered flag in the seventh.
Ingram himself was again good value around Iwade as he had previously demonstrated on visits with his own club Plymouth and as a guest for the Birmingham Bulls.
Recent Kent signing Jason Garrad also showed fleet of foot as he headed for the semi final stage however a brace of falls in his final two rides, thankfully with no apparent ill effect, hampered his progress in the latter stages.
Elsewhere, Jamie Etherington made a welcome return to Iwade following a spell on the injury sidelines with an effective performance, fellow Eagle Jacob Clouting returned 4-points and Kenzie Cossey finished on 3-points.
For the unfortunate Luke Harris it proved an afternoon to forget. Having suffered a first race fall, he subsequently retired in each of he’s next two outings feeling the effects of an injured hand sustained in the crash before retiring from his final qualifying ride.
By virtue of them heading the score chart, Foord and Rushen were fast tracked to the Grand Final with two semi finals delivering the remainder of the field.
An incident packed first of these saw Kingston claim the first of these, a rerun being ordered, as Garrad spun out of control on the first turn and out of contention. A rerun with three riders only saw Kingston lead from the off keeping the lively vale at bay for the full course, Vale fell having launched a final bend assault to get on terms but this saw him part company with his machine, leaving Clouting to come through as the only other finisher.
The second semi saw Morley scorch from the tapes and into the final using all of his Iwade track craft to keep Ingram pegged in second place, Etherington seeing off Cossey for the odd point.
He might have snatched his final spot effectively under the radar and almost by stealth up to that point but as the tapes arose for that final time it was Morley who seized his chance making the perfect gate to lead the field from the unfavoured trap three. This was a lead he wasn’t about to relinquish. In spite of the best interests of first Kingston and then Foord who took up the running. As the dust settled on a frenetic final four laps it was the ever-popular Ben Morley, so dubbed Mr. Kent Speedway himself, who deservedly held the Iwade Championship trophy aloft.
In a post meeting interview the triumphant Morley admitted ‘I’d had a mid-meeting blip but when I was in the semi-final I knew I needed to make the start and get to the final and it was all to play for’ Having the last pick for gates almost helped as I didn’t have to overthink it. Luckily, I made the start I wanted again and then I hit the chequered flag.’
Eagles Team Manager summed up the mood and the thoughts of the club ‘What a way to end our home season with a win for the skipper and what a Final it was. We thank all the riders who competed today and all the volunteers who helped on race day and we look forward to seeing you all at the End of season awards evening.
Results:
Qualifying Scorers:
Cooper Rushen 11(4), Vinnie Foord 11(4), Jack Kingston 8(4), Ryan Ingram 8(5), Ashton Vale 8(5), Ben Morley 7(4), Jason Garrad 6(4), Jamie Etherington 5(4), Jacob Clouting 4(4), Kenzie Cossey 3(4), Luke Harris 0(3) Withdrawn, Jordy Loftus (Did not arrive).
Semi Final 1: 1st Jack Kingston, 2nd Jacob Clouting, Ashton Vale (Fell), Jason Garrad (Excluded Fell) Time 60.9
Semi Final 2: 1st Ben Morley, 2nd Ryan Ingram, 3rd Jamie Etherington, 4th Kenzie Cossey Time 61.0
Final: 1st Ben Morley, 2nd Vinnie Foord, 3rd Cooper Rushen, 4th Jack Kingston (Engine Failure) Time 59.9