NEW Sheffield No.1 Danny King is officially back in business – after a fine third place in Sunday’s Ben Fund Bonanza at Leicester.
King was racing competitively for the first time since midway through last season, when his campaign was wrecked by serious nerve damage to his arm which could have been a career-ending injury.
But after a disastrous start to the meeting when he broke the tapes in Heat 1, King reeled off four successive victories to show he has lost none of his racing skill.
His highlight was a tremendous first-lap effort to hit the front in a competitive Heat 20, which saw him get the better of Richie Worrall and Sam Masters.
That took him directly into the Final along with Scott Nicholls and former Sheffield man Charles Wright, and they were joined by Masters from the semi.
King had won from gate three in Heat 16 but on this occasion he had to settle for third, behind a fierce scrap up-front between Wright and eventual winner Nicholls.
Meanwhile, the fund-raising event also provided useful track-time for two more Window Centre Tigers riders, as both Kasper Andersen and Zaine Kennedy accepted late call-ups to the meeting after withdrawals.
Andersen was solid after running a last place in his first ride, finishing with six points, whilst Kennedy ended on five including a race win in Heat 13.
BEN FUND BONANZA, Leicester SCORES: Scott Nicholls 13, Danny King 12, Charles Wright 12, Josh Bates 11, Sam Masters 10, Ryan Douglas 9, Richie Worrall 9, Paul Starke 8, Lewis Kerr 6, Ben Barker 6, Kasper Andersen 6, Zaine Kennedy 5, Connor Mountain (res) 4, Ellis Perks (res) 4, Ulrich Ostergaard 3, Jedd List 2, Nick Morris 0, Josh Auty 0. SEMI-FINAL: Masters, Worrall, Douglas, Bates (ret) FINAL: Nicholls, Wright, King, Masters (ret)
