The Kent Eagles (formerly the Kent Kings and Kent Royals) are a British

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 clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

team formed in 2013. They currently race in the 2025 National Trophy, based at the Iwade Speedway.

History

Origins & 2010s

Kent Kings joined the 2013 National League speedway season (third tier), based at

Central Park Stadium Central Park Stadium formerly Sittingbourne Stadium is a Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing track, and former Motorcycle speedway, speedway track and football stadium located in Murston, Sittingbourne, Kent, England. Grey ...

, with the backing of sponsors CTA Fire and

Len Silver Leonard George Silver (2 February 1932 – 13 October 2024) was an English motorcycle speedway rider and promoter. He has also served as the Team Manager for the England and Great Britain national speedway team during two separate spells in 197 ...

co-promoted the team with Roger Cearns. Their participation during the 2013 season saw the return of speedway to Kent for the first time since

Sittingbourne Crusaders The Sittingbourne Crusaders formerly the Iwade Kent Crusaders were a British speedway team based in Iwade, Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames ...

closed in 2008. 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 team manager was John Sampford and 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 The Kings finished seventh out of eight teams and bottom of the National Trophy. However, the debut season for the Kings saw rider Steve Boxall win the

National League Riders' Championship The National League Riders' Championship is an annual 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 clockwise, anti ...

. The following season in 2014, the Kings finished third of the nine teams competing in the 2014 National League speedway season and reached the semi-final of the cup. A bizarre 2015 campaign ended with the team finishing bottom of the league but with two riders ( Ben Morley and

Danny Ayres Daniel Stuart Ayres (16 August 1986 – 1 February 2020) was a speedway rider who rode in Great Britain. Career Ayres began his career in motocross and converted to speedway relatively late, in 2014. He rode for various teams, including Kent K ...

) topping the Riders' Championship and winning the National League Pairs Championship. The team experienced a gradual improvement, with three consecutive semi-final play off appearances in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Luke Bowen was the clubs top rider during the period. 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 ...

the team reached the play off final for the first time, losing to Leicester Lion Cubs in the final. They also won the NDL National Trophy and the Pairs championship, held at

Owlerton Stadium Owlerton Stadium, also known as Sheffield Stadium, is a purpose-built speedway stadium built in 1929, which hosts greyhound racing five-times a week. The track is in Owlerton near Hillsborough in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Greyhound ...

, on 25 August, with Anders Rowe and Drew Kemp.

2020s

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). ...

(division 2) for the first time and the club also 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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. However through 2021 they competed in the

and the junior team rode in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. In 2022, the club left

moving to Iwade Speedway, the home of the former Sittingbourne Crusaders. They also raced solely under the name of Kent Royals as a National Development League team. After missing the 2023 season, the team returned under their traditional name of Kent Kings but chose to race in the NORA Speedway League (a league outside of the control of 'British Speedway'). In 2025, the club announced their intention to race in during the 2025 National Development League and National Trophy speedway season and changed their name to the Kent Eagles.

Season summary

Notable riders

* Luke Bowen * Steve Boxall * Dan Gilkes * Drew Kemp * Ben Morley * Anders Rowe

References

{{Speedway National League Sport in Sittingbourne National League speedway teams 2013 establishments in England Sports clubs and teams established in 2013 SGB Championship teams