KING’S Lynn chief Peter Schroeck says the East Anglia derby is a must win fixture as the Poultec Stars take on Ipswich on Monday (7.30).
With the home side looking to maintain their unbeaten record at the Adrian Flux Arena, the Stars’ management hope supporters will turn out in force and roar them to victory.
However, the Norfolk outfit will be without no.1 and British under-21 champion Robert Lambert after the Stars’ skipper suffered fractured T4 and T5 vertebrae in a heavy crash at the latest round of the Speedway Euro Championship in Torun.
With only a few riders eligible to guest, the Stars have opted to use the rider replacement facility with all the remaining six riders able to take a ride.
Ipswich, meanwhile, have the best away record in the league and they travel to Norfolk in the knowledge that they’re the only team to take points off King’s Lynn at home in the Premiership, after they drew 45-45 in June.
Stars’ boss Schroeck said: “It was a little bit of a shock really with the news about Robert Lambert, but it is just something that we have to deal with and it is just another obstacle which has been thrown in our way.
“Hopefully Robert won’t be out too long. We are just going to do things week by week and see how he gets on. I think it is the right decision for him to not ride on Monday because he has got to rest a little bit more.
“I know he is seeing a specialist in Germany who is quite a guru in that sort of thing so, hopefully it will put him straight and with a bit of luck he will be back in a couple of weeks.
“In the meantime we are just going to do rider replacement which means all the other boys can take a ride with him being at no.1 so we should be ok.
“You don’t just win a meeting with one rider and I am quite confident that all the boys are going to get stuck in and do their best. They’re all capable of winning races and I am quite confident that we will be ok, but we will find out on Monday.
“I am still very positive even with what happened to Robert, that we still have enough left in the tank to do what we need to do. We have Ipswich in town on Monday and we need to win it!
“From the club’s point of view we need the fans to back the team. Getting people through the gates boosts the atmosphere around the stadium and we hope they turn out in good numbers and enjoy the evening, seeing us win with a bit of luck.”
KING'S LYNN: Robert Lambert R/R, Michael Palm Toft, Erik Riss, Thomas Jorgensen, Craig Cook, Lewis Kerr, Nicklas Porsing. IPSWICH: Chris Harris, Cameron Heeps, Danny King, Jake Allen, Richard Lawson, Edward Kennett, Krystian Pieszczek.
