KING’S Lynn underlined their potential as serious play-off contenders with a resounding 52-38 away win at Leicester on Monday.
The Tru Plant Stars were too fast for the Lions in almost every department, and were not remotely flattered by the final margin.
Three King’s Lynn riders went faster or equal to the previous track record at the East Midlands venue, with Niels-Kristian Iversen taking nearly two-tenths off the mark, whilst skipper Robert Lambert was only a fraction behind.
And with the Stars racing into a 17-7 lead after only four races, it was a meeting they controlled throughout.
The result is a significant one as the Stars have now accumulated ten points on their travels – and that means should they win the home matches they have in hand on all of their rivals, they will be firmly in contention with lead duo Somerset and Swindon.
Monday’s task was made far easier by the events of the first four heats, with Iversen launching away to record a new track record time of 60.63 in Heat 1 and with Michael Palm Toft easily defeating Kenneth Bjerre to complete a 5-1.
The home reserves did notch a 4-2 in Heat 2 with Ty Proctor getting out-of-shape which forced Simon Lambert into avoiding action – but two more maximum advantages followed as Palm Toft and Thomas Jorgensen both sailed inside Krystian Pieszczek in Heat 3, and then home captain Hans Andersen hit trouble on turn two in Heat 4, allowing Robert Lambert and Proctor to race clear, with the captain recording 60.64!
Leicester mounted a semi-response with 4-2s in Heats 5 and 7 as Pieszczek defeated Iversen in the former, but a smart ride by Jorgensen took him past the Pole for second place in the latter to prevent a 5-1.
Jorgensen and Proctor rapidly shot past Todd Kurtz off turn two in Heat 8 to share that race, before the one real scare for the Stars as Lambert came to grief in the next when Pieszczek lost control in front of him on the apex of bends one and two.
The Pole was rightly disqualified and after brief treatment Lambert resumed his winning ways in the re-run as the Stars went eight points clear
Jorgensen took a fine win in Heat 10 and Palm Toft recovered from two scoreless rides to head up a 4-2 in Heat 12 as Proctor was passed by a good ride by Charles Wright.
But the next two races summed up the attitude in the Stars team as they made sure of all four league points – first in Heat 13 when Lambert for once missed out off the bogey gate four, but Iversen chased Bjerre throughout the race and finally went around him for second place off the final bend.
And then in Heat 14 Lions reserve James Sarjeant hit the front only for Proctor and Jorgensen to sweep past him in successive passing moves.
Lambert wrapped things up with a Heat 15 win over Andersen, who was the Lions’ most effective rider, with Jorgensen’s third place extending the final margin to 14 points.
Stars return to action with a big programme of home matches starting next Monday (July 23) against Poole – which also features the debut of new signing Jason Garrity.
LEICESTER 38: Hans Andersen 11, Ricky Wells 6+1, Charles Wright 6, Kenneth Bjerre 5+1, Krystian Pieszczek 4, James Sarjeant 4, Todd Kurtz 2. KING’S LYNN 52: Thomas Jorgensen 12+2, Robert Lambert 12, Ty Proctor 11+2, Niels-Kristian Iversen 8+1, Michael Palm Toft 8+1, Simon Lambert 1, Lewis Kerr r/r.
