Bonanza field completed
Latest News Wednesday 25th March 2026, 9:30am
The field for the Ben Fund Bonanza at Allied Ashfield Stadium on Saturday 28th at 6pm is now complete with the announcement of Leon Flint, Sam Hagon and (of course) Ben Barker. The remaining name should have been Charles Wright but his sad misfortune at Redcar's opening meeting has put paid to that and Edinburgh's Kye Thomson comes in to replace him.
Barker, a key man in the lively looking Plymouth side once again, will be making his 16th appearance out of 16! "Not a bad record is it," he says. "The Ben Fund's close to my heart and that's why I've done it every year. Don't know how many more we've got left though.
"I've benefitted from the fund throughout my riding years and that's why you've always got to support it. I finished the season injured last year."
Ben has been a Tiger in his time having ridden there in 2016. He added "I'm happy it's at Glasgow, I love the stadium and I think they've done a great job there so it's good to go up there and do a Bonanza. It's just the distance I've got to travel!"
Current Glasgow heat leader Leon Flint is coming into the meeting perhaps in a slightly little different mindset of others looking for pre season laps having traversed the globe looking for meetings over the UK Winter. The 23 year old feels ready to go for the season ahead saying, "I've actually had a fairly busy winter, I was over in Australia and America so I have done a lot of riding so I feel like I am sharp.
"Wierdly though that has probably made the last few weeks worse as I've had that racing then come home and had a lot of time without it so it feels like it has been a long time, I am really excited to get going now and everything is in place and ready to go and yeah it's time to get those bikes dirty again."
Flint's career has been one of continuous improvement year on year but that does not come without its travails and as a former beneficiary of the Fund Flint was happy to help out when asked, "I have been in the situation where I have had to use the BEN Fund in the past and they were great, they help in any way they can so it is an honour to do it.
"The BEN Fund are always there whenever anyone needs it, it isn't nice when you do as it means something has gone wrong but it is a great cause and one the riders really appreciate."
Looking to the year ahead it is much of the same for the Northumbrian born racer with team spots at Glasgow and Sheffield once again, albeit perhaps with some added pressure of a heat leader role in the Championship and a step up from 'Rising Star' in the Premiership, Flint is bullish about these promotions though saying "I've showed what I can do and the most important thing for this year is to show that I can maintain and push on from that, that is the plan for this year.
"I have been working hard in the winter and there is nothing that I don't know now when it comes to my home tracks and what to expect so it is the same attitude and application as before I just need to go do it."
Sam Hagon of course will be joining Flint in the Glasgow lineup and with consecutive victories in the British Under-21 final at Ashfield in 2024-5 it hardly seems necessary to ask if he likes the place.
He says "I've always wanted to be a part of the Bonanza, I've been to loads of them as a kid, and the Ben Fund has helped me out with quite a lot. You don't want to be in the situation of needing to use the fund but I'm happy with how they've helped me. Any injured rider past or present will agree it's really good for the sport. So I'm very pleased to be in the meeting.
"Last September I was in one of those unfortunate accidents no rider wants to be in at the first corner and unfortunately I was at the wrong end of the stick. I was also injured a couple of years ago and the Ben Fund have helped me a lot with the last two injuries I've had. I'm very grateful to them.
"I'm happy to have my first meeting of the year at Glasgow and it gives me some practise, it will be a tough meeting but it helps me prepare for the first team meeting at Edinburgh as well, which is a couple of weeks later on. It will help me get race ready."
Kye Thomson is recently back in the UK but was very keen to ride for the first time in the Bonanza. He said "I've been quite lucky with injuries in the UK and have never had to be involved with the Ben Fund but I am excited to race next Saturday and kickstart my season, all for a good cause."
He has a good Ashfield record and had a famous victory over Chris Harris, no less, in an infamous accidently-stopped heat in last year's Premier Playoff semi when he led Bomber the first time then remarkably won the rerun as well! He said "A lot of hard work went in to that race! Ashfield is one of my favourite tracks, creates a lot of fast eye-opening racing and I'm excited to go over and race there again. What they have done there in the last few seasons has been a big step in British Speedway and I've always liked going there."
Kye feels good about prospects for himself and his Monarch team-mates this year. "Getting Dan Thomson is an awesome move for the club, he's a rider I'd always want in the team. I'm very pleased he's there and I will try to bounce off him – hopefully we can win some races together!
I've got some new equipment now from Peter Johns so we'll see if I can keep my improvement going."
Tickets are available from Glasgow Speedway via their website and you can also pay at the gate.
Full Bonanza lineup: Chris Harris, Peter Kildemand, Tom Brennan, Kyle Howarth, Justin Sedgmen, Nick Morris, Tate Zischke, Danny King, Dan Thompson, Kevin Juhl Pedersen, Victor Palovaara, Dan Gilkes, Ben Barker, Sam Hagon, Leon Flint and Kye Thomson. Ace Pijper takes the reserve berth.
