View source for Edward Kennett

{{Short description|British motorcycle speedway rider}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox Speedway rider
| image = Edward Kennett 2017.jpg
| nationality = British (English)
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|28 August 1986}}
| birth_place = [[Hastings]], England
| years1 = 2001–2003
| career1 = [[Rye House Raiders]]
| years2 = 2001
| career2 = [[Mildenhall Fen Tigers]]
| years3 = 2002–2003, 2005–2006, 2014–2018
| career3 = [[Rye House Rockets]]
| years4 = 2003–2004, 2006, 2008, 2019–
| career4 = [[Eastbourne Eagles]]
| years5 = 2005, 2007, 2017
| career5 = [[Poole Pirates]]
| years6 = 2009–2012
| career6 = [[Coventry Bees]]
| years7 = 2013
| career7 = [[Swindon Robins]]
| years8 = 2013
| career8 = [[Berwick Bandits]]
| years9 = 2014
| career9 = [[Birmingham Brummies]]
| years10 = 2015–2016
| career10 = [[Lakeside Hammers]]
| years11 = 2019
| career11 = [[Ipswich Witches]]
| years12 = 2022–
| career12 = [[Plymouth Gladiators]]
| SGP No     =
| SGP starts = 3
| SGP podium = 0 (0-0-0)
| SGP finals = 0
| SGP win    = 0
| indivyear1 = 2005, 2007
| indivhonour1 = [[British Speedway Under 21 Championship|British Under 21 Champion]]
| teamyear1 = 2008
| teamhonour1 = [[Elite League Knockout Cup]]
| teamyear2 = 2005
| teamhonour2 = [[Premier League (speedway)|Premier League Champion]]
| teamyear3 = 2005
| teamhonour3 = [[Premier Trophy (speedway)|Premier Trophy]] Winner
}}

'''Edward David Kennett''' (born 28 August 1986 in [[Hastings]], England) is a [[motorcycle speedway]] rider.<ref>Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''.  {{ISBN|0-948882-81-6}}</ref> He was the [[British Speedway Under 21 Championship|British Under-21 Champion]] in 2005 and has appeared in two [[Speedway Grand Prix]] as a [[Wild card (sports)|wild card]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Rider_Index_2008.pdf |title=2008 Rider index |website=British Speedway |access-date=17 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://grasstrackgb.co.uk/edward-kennett/ |title=Edward David Kennett |website=Grasstrack GB |access-date=17 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Ultimate_Index_1929-2022.pdf |title=ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 |website=British Speedway |access-date=27 June 2023}}</ref> He has recently retired from the sport due to injury.

==Family==
Kennett's father Dave, was a [[motorcycle speedway]] rider who rode for the [[Eastbourne Eagles]], [[Hackney Hawks]], [[Newport Wasps]] and the [[White City Rebels]]. His uncle [[Gordon Kennett]] represented [[Great Britain national speedway team|Great Britain]], and rode for many clubs. Another uncle, Brian (Barney) Kennett, rode mainly in the [[British League Division Two]]/National League for the [[Canterbury Crusaders (speedway)|Canterbury Crusaders]] during the 1970s and 1980s.

==Career==
Kennett started his racing career in the [[Conference League (speedway)|Conference League]] with the [[Rye House Raiders]] in 2001. He had his first permanent team place with the Raiders in 2002. The same season he made his [[Premier League (speedway)|Premier League]] debut for the [[Rye House Rockets]]. In 2004, he joined his local club the [[Eastbourne Eagles]] in the [[Elite League (speedway)|Elite League]]. Kennett joined [[Valsarna]] speedway, his first team in Sweden 2004. He struggled in his first season and in 2005 he returned to Rye House Rockets in the Premier League.

The 2005 season saw Kennett become the British Under-21 Champion. He also qualified for the [[Individual Speedway Junior World Championship|World Under-21 final]] where he finished in eighth place. The Rockets won the Premier League and the [[Premier Trophy (speedway)|Premier Trophy]]. The [[Poole Pirates]] declared Eddie as their 'Number Eight' (first reserve) in the Elite League. He finished fifth in the [[British Speedway Championship]] Final and was also selected as a meeting reserve for the British [[2005 Speedway Grand Prix|Speedway Grand Prix]] held at the [[Millennium Stadium]] in [[Cardiff]]. Kennett decided to stay with [[Rye House Rockets|Rye House]] for the 2006 season <ref name=yearbook07>Bamford, R.(2007). ''Speedway Yearbook 2007''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing  {{ISBN|978-0-7524-4250-1}}</ref> in the Premier League with promoter [[Len Silver]] who had signed his father for [[Hackney Hawks|Hackney]] in 1971.<ref name=hh>Fenn, C.(2003). ''Hackney Speedway, Friday at Eight''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7524-2737-7}}</ref>

[[File:Speedway 2007 Christian Hefenbrock (left) Edward Kennett (right) Oxford v Lakeside 2007.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Kennett (right) racing as a guest for Lakeside in 2007]]

In 2007, Kennett chose to go back to the Elite League and signed for the Poole Pirates.<ref name="yearbook08">{{cite book | last = Bamford | first = Robert | title = Methanol Press Speedway Yearbook 2008 | publisher = Methanol Press | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-9553103-5-5 }}</ref>  He also finished fourth in the British Speedway Championship which ensured he would be a track reserve again for the [[2007 Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain|British Speedway Grand Prix]]. In September 2007, Kennett was selected to represent [[Great Britain speedway team|Great Britain]] for the [[2007 Team Speedway Junior World Championship|2007]] [[Team Speedway Junior World Championship|Under 21-World Cup]] Final.

Kennett returned to the Eastbourne Eagles in 2008 and won the [[Elite League Knockout Cup]].<ref name="sky1">{{cite news|url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12268_4408444,00.html|title=Eagles seal KO Cup shock|date=2008-10-27|publisher=Skysports|access-date=2008-10-28}}</ref> He also finished as runner-up in the British Speedway Championship to [[Scott Nicholls]] and appeared in the [[2008 Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain|British Grand Prix]] as a [[Wild card (sports)|wild card]].

He was signed by Coventry in 2010,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/8435852.stm |title=Coventry Bees net Edward Kennett & Christian Hefenbrock |website=BBC |access-date=24 August 2024}}</ref> but resigned from Coventry in 2011 because his silencer was deemed 'illegal' when racing against Lakeside on 6 August.<ref>{{cite web
 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/14490706.stm
 |title = Coventry Bees skipper Edward Kennett resigns from club
 |date = 11 August 2011
 |work = BBC Sport
 |publisher = BBC
 |access-date = 21 September 2011}}</ref> Kennett said this was caused by 'a member of his team' who had 'tampered with it'. Kennett was banned from racing for 7 days by the SCB<ref>{{cite web
 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/14451419.stm
 |title = Coventry Bees skipper Edward Kennett banned for a week
 |date = 8 August 2011
 |work = BBC Sport
 |publisher = BBC
 |access-date = 21 September 2011}}</ref> and appeared in front of a disciplinary hearing on 16 August where he received a 6-month worldwide ban.<ref>{{cite news
 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/14556629.stm
 |title = Ex-Coventry captain Edward Kennett gets six-month ban
 |date = 17 August 2011
 |work = BBC Sport
 |publisher = BBC
 |access-date = 21 September 2011}}</ref>

In 2013 he signed for Premier League [[Berwick Bandits]] as a replacement for the injured [[Ricky Ashworth]]. He has also been named in the Team Great Britain world cup squad along with Chris Harris, Tai Woffinden and Craig Cook.

In 2022, he rode for the [[Plymouth Gladiators]] in the [[SGB Championship 2022]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/player/kennett-edward/ |title=British Speedway rider profile |website=British Speedway |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref>

==Speedway Grand Prix results==

{{SGP Career|2005|W|POS=27 |PTS=1 |No=18 |event=
{{SGP Career/event|4|2005|a|GBR|18|17|1|(0,1)}}
}}
{{SGP Career|2006|R|POS= |PTS= |No=17 |event=
{{SGP Career/event|4|2006|a|GBR|17|17|-|-}}
}}
{{SGP Career|2007|R|POS= |PTS= |No=17 |event=
{{SGP Career/event|5|2007||GBR|17|17|-|-}}
}}
{{SGP Career|2008|W|POS=22 |PTS=4 |No=16 |event=
{{SGP Career/event|5|2008||GBR|9|13|4|(1,0,0,1,2)}}
}}
{{SGP Career/key}}

== World Final appearances ==

===World U-21 Championship===
* [[2005 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship|2005]] - {{Flag|AUT}} [[Wiener Neustadt]] - 8th - 4pts
* [[2007 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship|2007]] - {{Flag|POL}} [[Ostrów Wielkopolski|Ostrów Wlkp.]] - 11th - 5pts

===World Cup===
* [[2007 Speedway World Cup|2007]] - 4th - 0pts

===U-21 World Cup===
* [[2005 Team Speedway Junior World Championship|2005]] - 10th place (4 pts in Semi-Final A)

==European Grasstrack Championship==
* 2017 {{flagicon|GER}} [[Hertingen]] ('''Third''') 13pts

==See also==
* [[List of Speedway Grand Prix riders]]

== References ==
<references />

{{Eastbourne Eagles speedway team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennett, Edward David}}
[[Category:1986 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British speedway riders]]
[[Category:English motorcycle racers]]
[[Category:Eastbourne Eagles riders]]
[[Category:Plymouth Gladiators riders]]
[[Category:Poole Pirates riders]]
[[Category:Rye House Rockets riders]]