Lions back on track for first time after league triumph
THE Leicester Lions team are back on track tonight for the first time since winning the Championship League title in October 2019, writes Alan Jones.
The team travel to the Central Park Stadium in Sittingbourne to race against the Kent Kings in the first league fixture of the season.
Team manager Stewart Dickson is expecting a close match but is optimistic that his riders can come away with a win.
He said: “The Kent club are newcomers to this league and so I am expecting that they will have only a limited home track knowledge to draw upon.
“It will be a new experience for us too as only the Thompson twins, Dan and Joe, have raced there before.
“Nevertheless, we had a good practice workout on Saturday at Leicester and the boys are quietly confident of delivering a positive performance.”
The inclusion of the Thompson twins in the Watling JCB
Lions team tonight marks the first occasion that two brothers have represented Leicester in a senior fixture since 1983 when Les and Neil Collins represented the club in their last season at their former stadium venue, off Parker Drive in the city.
1. Scott Nicholls,
2. Paul Hurry,
3. Paul Starke, 4. Tom Bacon,
5. Cameron Heeps, 6. Ben Morley,
7. Daniel Gilkes
Leicester Lions: 1. Nick Morris, 2. Ty Proctor, 3. Josh Bates, 4. Kyle Howarth, 5. Ryan Douglas, 6. Dan Thompson, 7. Joe Thompson
Meanwhile, Leicester’s second team, the Lion Cubs, launch their season tomorrow in defence of the league title they won in 2019.
Eastbourne Seagulls will be the visitors to the Paul Chapman and Sons Arena.
The racing gets under way at 7.30pm.