On their Social Media, the club said:

After a recent management re structure, and the separation of Kent Eagle Speedway Club and Sussex Eagles motorcycle club, it gives us great pleasure to announce there will be speedway action at Iwade stadium this year.

After such a successful 2025 we needed to come back for another season, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief as this will happen now.

Unfortunately we are not racing under the SCB though, but will run under the NORA banner for 2026 with 6 home meetings proposed.

We hope all of our fans will continue to support us for another season of awesome racing.

We will be putting together an exciting team ready to do battle with our opponents.

Further details will follow soon on the structure of the meetings and potential opponents shortly.

Look forward to seeing you all soon.

David Graveling
Emily Humphrey

For more info on the club, you can follow them >>HERE<<

Feature Image courtesy of Kent Eagles Speedway

The post Kent Eagles to run at Iwade in 2026 appeared first on Speedway Hub UK.

25-year-old Clouting is another name that comes with a strong Kent connection, having represented both the Kings and the Royals during their Central Park tenure, an attribute that will surely prove pleasing to supporters from both the nearby area and from further afield.

While most of his new teammates have been riding bikes from an early age, Clouting by his own admission was something of a late starter, becoming involved with such things around the age of 14.

This might come as some surprise given that his father is none other than former British Finalist (1998) and 1996 British Junior Champion Savalas Clouting who served several clubs, Ipswich, Poole and Arena Essex before finally calling a halt on his racing career at the tail end of the 2002 season following a spell with the Eastbourne Eagles.

Nevertheless, Clouting, hailing from Ipswich, first started riding bikes at that age, his first being a Yamaha 85cc on which he practiced at his local tracks just for fun.

His first time on a speedway bike came shortly after his seventeenth birthday, his potential quickly being recognised as he was snapped up to ride for the Kent Kings for the 2018 season after only a few months on the bike.

Clouting remained with the Kings in the National Development League in 2019 and it proved a successful year indeed as the Central Park outfit won the National trophy.

2020 proved to be something of a gap year but the following season saw him become a man of Kent once more as he signed for the newly founded Royals.

In 2022 Clouting sought pastures new, signing for the Oxford Chargers at NDL level with whom he has remained to date, the club winning the league title in 2023, another great season as proclaimed by the rider himself.

Clouting is set to ride once again for Oxford in the National Development League for a fourth year in 2025 whilst also competing at the parallel level in the Trophy equivalent with the Kent Eagles.

Clouting commented “It’s great to be back with a Kent based club after spending two seasons and then guesting for half a season with them in the past”.

“I feel that it has taken me a few years to get going after such a late start to riding motorbikes, however the past couple of seasons I feel I have made great progress and in 2025 I really want to push on and aim for a spot in the Championship” he concluded.

With the side now complete, Club owner Michael Gray revealed his thoughts on the Kent Eagles participation in the upcoming National Development Trophy in season 2025.

“We set out to put a local team together with a Kent and an Eagle connection, which I feel that the management team has done”.

“The team looks like an exciting blend of youngsters right through to a rich vein of experience, with all the riders looking to improve towards other opportunities within the sport”.

“We are looking forward to 2025 and it is already shaping up to be a great season, something we can build upon and learn from. We also hope that it will prove to be a campaign that when done we can look back and be proud of.” Gray concluded.

Words and Images by Kent Eagles

The post Jacob Clouting completes the 2025 Kent Eagles appeared first on Speedway Hub UK.

A powerful looking heat leader trio that includes Ben Morley, Vinnie Foord and Nathan Ablitt having already been assembled and Jamie Etherington and Charlie Wood seeming set to form a potentially potent reserve duo the Iwade club bosses remain aware that a strong middle order is equally as important and to those ends, they regard 32-year-old Hargrave as a perfect fit.

Having contested the 2024 season at Iwade in the NORA League with the Kent Kings Hargrave’s recruitment is sure to be popular with the more local patrons.

As with each of the other’s so far named, Hargrave found a love of bikes and started competing at an early age. He first cut his teeth at junior grass track level at the tender age of five and over the next five years he was a committed participant alongside attending Speedway meetings.

At 10-years old he and his family took a hiatus from both the grass and shale disciplines of the sport, but his interest was reawakened in no small way some 19-years later.

This moment saw him attend a practice day and he enjoyed it so much it compelled him to begin contesting amateur meetings once more in 2021.

The progress and renewed enthusiasm were rapid, so much so that the 2022 season proved a busy one with amateur meetings undertaken at Scunthorpe and Lydd as well as Iwade and during this time Hargrave also represented the Mildenhall Fen Tigers as a number eight.

2023 saw him contest second half championships in successful and winning fashion at Iwade while continuing to compete in other meetings.

The 2024 campaign proved something of a breakthrough year with regular appearances both as a part of the Kent King’s NORA League side and also on the Isle of Wight. The continuing promise and progress that Hargrave demonstrated throughout this time certainly did not go unnoticed with him being recognised as ‘most improved rider’ at both venues.

Looking forward to the coming season as a Kent Eagle, Hargrave commented “I’m happy that the Eagles picked me to be a part of their team, both for bike time and to represent Kent / Sussex again’

‘With the strong team we have, I feel like it will be a brilliant season”, he concluded.

Words and  Images by Kent Eagles

The post Nathan Hargrave joins the Kent Eagles appeared first on Speedway Hub UK.

Next in line to put pen to paper to represent them in the forthcoming campaign is highly rated Charlie Wood.

By his own admission Wood has been around the sport and racing virtually all his life, his earliest memories include being transported around the country by his dad and elder brother Georgie, watching them ride which in turn instilled an obsession with bikes within him.

Around the age of 5 or 6 Wood sat on a bike himself, a peewee 50 which he feels sure that many other riders can relate to and from there his confidence grew riding motorcross bikes around nearby fields.

In 2015 Wood’s interest renewed somewhat after brother Georgie signed for Eastbourne, starting at reserve and swiftly rising through the ranks to become a major performer for the Eagles. That year also saw the younger Wood first compete on a speedway bike of his own, his first proving to be a birthday present from his Mum.

Like many others he entered the British Youth Championship system, rising through the ranks in the coming years on the back of some good and notable performances.

In 2021 Wood entered a grass track meeting for a bit of fun, and though a few tumbles disclosed that it was not entirely fun, still he wasn’t daunted, the seasons spanning 2022 and 2024 seeing him concentrate more on the grass track discipline of racing.

He remained in touch with Speedway attending a handful of meetings each season to keep him in the loop, however a crash on the Isle of Wight at the tail end of 2023 set him back, leading him to question his continued participation in that area of the sport.

Wood attended a few practise days in 2024 to see if his passion for Speedway would return and admits that it did, a first league level meeting in May in which he scored a paid maximum for the Hastings Saxons against the Cradley Heathens proving a large factor in that.

Beyond that however Wood, still only 16, continued to focus more on the grass, a successful year, against increasingly tough opposition, though nothing he couldn’t handle, unfolded, one that proffered some inspired results at the top level.

A conversation with Kent Eagles club owners David Graveling and Michael Gray convinced Wood that a highly promising speedway career could yet exist alongside that of an already successful grass track operation.

The realisation that the speedway fixtures could work well in tandem with his grass track commitments sparked a much-renewed interest in the former and Wood swiftly agreed to sign on the dotted line and commit to the forthcoming National Development Trophy campaign on their behalf.

‘I’m really looking forward to riding for the Eagles in 2025 as it is a new challenge for me’ Wood commented.

‘We have set some good targets, and my machinery will be the best to suit me and my team who will be as good as they always are’ he continued.

‘I’m really pleased to have been asked by David (Graveling) and the team and I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity to show them and the fans what I can do. See you in the 2025 season’ Wood concluded.

Words and Images by Kent Eagles

The post Charlie Wood snapped up by Kent Eagles appeared first on Speedway Hub UK.

Indeed, what a signing it is likely to prove as completing an already potent looking heat leader complement alongside Ben Morley and Nathan Ablitt is the young man many people were talking about at the tail end of the 2024 season, none other than Vinnie Foord.

Still only 18-years of age and like Ablitt still considered to be very much at the Development stage of his career, Foord also comes as a proven performer at both National Development League and Championship level with winner’s medals to his credit.

Foord, who hails from Hailsham in East Sussex first emerged on the scene as part of Kent’s National Development League team in 2021 and from there he moved to the Leicester Lion Cubs where he has represented them during the last three seasons becoming a Knockout Cup winner in 2022.

Last year really proved something of a breakthrough campaign for Foord as alongside his NDL dealings with Leicester he became an established and wholly popular member of the all-conquering Poole Pirates with whom, on the back of several impressive performances he became a treble winner, the Dorset outfit enjoying League, Knockout Cup and BSN Series success.

Though an improved average likely froze him out of contention for a return to the Pirates for the coming year, his undoubted potential has not gone unnoticed as he was quickly snapped up to become a member of an attractive looking Workington Comets septet in Season 2025.

Indeed it is likely to prove a busy year for Foord as alongside his duties with the Cumbrian side he is now set to become an important and integral member of the Kent Eagles operation who are set to battle for the National Development Trophy.

The appointment of Foord is one that both club owners David Graveling and Michael Gray are particularly excited about.

Graveling commented “We are very pleased to have secured his services for our first season in League racing at Iwade’ while Gray added ‘We could not be more delighted to have Vinnie on board. He rode for us in our first meeting at Iwade in Eastbourne’s challenge against the Kings in the earlier part of the 2024 season when he was paid for double figures”.

Gray continued “Vinnie has got to where he is the hard way, he is a never say die performer who never gives up.”

‘We look forward to working closely with him. He is most definitely a potential star of the future, and we would take immense pride in being a part of his journey”, Gray concluded.

Words by Kent Eagles – Feature Image by Mark Lee-Sing

The post Vinnie Foord becomes signing number 4 for the Kent Eagles appeared first on Speedway Hub UK.

Nathan Ablitt becomes the third rider to put pen to paper and sign for the Iwade club, one that is sure to prove an ideal seasonal gift set to entice supporters both old and new, near and far to follow their fortunes in the forthcoming 2025 crusade.

At the young age of twenty and widely considered to still be at the development stage, Ablitt comes with an impressive set of credentials to his name, both in terms of clubs he has graced and honours he has won or contributed to. He will surely be regarded as an ideal addition to bolster an already imposing looking line up, one that features both Ben Morley and Jamie Etherington.

Ablitt has enjoyed success in the sport from an early age becoming the British 150cc Champion in 2016 before stepping up and securing the British 250cc crown two years later.

In 2019 he became a National Trophy winner as a member of the Kent Kings side and then in season 2021 he represented Eastbourne at both Championship and National Development League level before seeing out the campaign as a League winner with the Mildenhall Fen Tigers.

Ablitt progressed further becoming a wholly popular member of Poole Pirates double winning side in 2022, a year in which he also saw action with the Belle Vue Colts in the third tier of racing.

In Season 2023 he was a Knockout Cup winner again, this time with the Scunthorpe Scorpions, this combining with a return to grace the Kent Kings NDL side.

Last year he remained with the Scorpions in the Championship and rode for the Scunthorpe / Sheffield outfit at the lower level. A series of ever improving performances would seem to have worked against him however with Ablitt, now on an improved average finding himself a victim of his own success and currently frozen out of claiming a team berth in the mid level of racing, a situation for such a gilt-edge prospect that the sport as a whole must hope is quickly remedied.

Despite that Ablitt retains an ever-positive approach and demeanour and he happily embraces the opportunity of representing the Kent Eagles in the 2025 National Development Trophy.

“I’m really looking forward to joining the Eagles in 2025’ Ablitt stated. There are some really good people in the right places behind the scenes to make this a success and they are already putting together a really strong team’ he continued.

“On a personal note, it’s really important for me to keep riding and enjoying my racing in order to push back into the Championship and Premiership, and I couldn’t think of anywhere better to do that than with the Kent Eagles”, Ablitt concluded

Words and Feature Image by Kent Eagles

The post Nathan Ablitt becomes Kent Eagles third signing appeared first on Speedway Hub UK.

Etherington, a former Kent Kings mascot at Central Park, finished second behind Will Cairns in this year’s British Youth Championship and also raced the second half of the NDL season with Scunthorpe/Sheffield.

Club owner Dave Graveling said: “We regard Jamie’s signing as a very exciting one for the Kent Eagles, and one that fits perfectly with the rider development aspect that we are looking to achieve.

“With Ben Morley already recruited and now Jamie set to become an important member of the side, I believe that these two signings emphasise what we are about with the more experienced members helping to bring the youngsters on.

“With more surprises in store and signings set to unfold in the run up to the festive season, we are already looking forward to an enjoyable and successful 2025 campaign in the National Development Trophy.”

Words and Image by British Speedway

The post Kent Eagles snap up 15-year-old Jamie Etherington appeared first on Speedway Hub UK.

The 30-year-old has enjoyed several spells with the previous Kent side at both Central Park and the current Iwade venue, as well as appearing for Eastbourne in 2019.

Associate Michael Gray says the Sussex Eagles Motorcycle Club are excited to be able to expand their activities into league racing next year.

He said: “Having submitted an application to the Speedway authorities and subsequently being accepted into the newly formed National Development Trophy, we are both delighted and look forward to taking up and meeting that challenge head on in Season 2025.

“The team we intend will provide and combine a fine blend of both youth and experience, and this will offer the younger riders more track time with the older hands, and the valuable opportunity of learning from them and benefitting from their peers’ numerous collective years in the sport.”

Words and Feature Image by British Speedway

The post Ben Morley becomes first signing for the Kent Eagles appeared first on Speedway Hub UK.