East Kent's Leisurely evening
By TMX Archives on 2nd Jan 09
EAST Kent moved to a new venue this year, Cygnets Leisure Centre, Gravesend, for their annual presentation, to cope with the ever-increasing number of members. The trophies looked fantastic and the room was beautifully decorated - thanks to the committee. Billy MacKenzie presented the trophies and stayed for almost the whole evening, signing photos, kits, arms, heads, etc! Thank you, Billy, you were fantastic! A 40th birthday cake was presented to the chairman, Gary Lane, and there was an enthusiastic rendition of Happy Birthday to You.
A very special moment during the evening was when Billy presented David Taylor, one of our Senior riders, with the Against All Odds trophy. This trophy is awarded to someone each year who has overcome huge difficulties. David broke his back at a meeting at the end of September and was transferred to the Spinal Injuries unit at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital at Stanmore. Initially he had no feeling in his legs but he has stunned doctors, family and friends with his positive thinking and determination. He walked to the stage to accept his trophies (he also finished seventh in the Summer Championship) with the aid of sticks and received a tremendous ovation. You're an inspiration, Dave.
At the end of the season, thanks go to the committee, the landowners, and everyone who helps to make East Kent a great club to race with. And a special thanks again to Billy for an excellent job.
Final Championship table:
Auto: 1 Albie Wilkie, 2 Jake Kemp, 3 Ashdon Manktelow, 4 Lewis Cloud, 5 Bradley Smith, 6 Sam Ongley, 7 Tommy-Lee Judd, 8 Ashley Surridge, 9 Daniel Sultana, 10 Gary Ashley.
Junior: 1 Patrick O'Neill, 2 Jake Deacon, 3 Mitchell Lewis, 4 Aaron Ongley, 5 Charlie Earley, 6 Tom Hutchison, 7 Nathan Turner-Whittle, 8 Harvey Pomphrett, 9 Tom Lockhart, 10 Reece Newham.
Small-wheel 85cc: 1 Jack Eldridge, 2 Lee Newby, 3 Jake Fry, 4 Andrew Hutchison, 5 Daniel Packman, 6 Steven Robinson, 7 Toby Stubberfield, 8 Jonathan Brighton, 9 Jack Norman, 10 Angus Frost.
Big-wheel 85cc: 1 Jordan Divall, 2 Lewis Dowsett, 3 Chris Chapman, 4 Tony Harkness, 5 Zac Peters, 6 Daniel Guy, 7 John Eaton, 8 Grant Young, 9 Lewis Gardner, 10 Jamie Austin.
Senior: 1 Arron Jenner, 2 Joe Cundle, 3 Shaun Springer, 4 Jack Hasemore, 5 Piers Skinner, 6 Craig Bliss, 7 David Taylor, 8 Harry Whitlock-Bain, 9 Adam Cooper, 10 Karl Johnson.
AMX: 1 Paul Willis, 2 Brian Carter, 3 Dave Capper, 4 Neil Midgley, 5 Gareth Newham, 6 Louis Waugh, 7 Michael Chesney, 8 David Valenti, 9 Dean Read, 10 Richard Valenti.