KING’S Lynn again found themselves completely out of luck in a 50-40 defeat to rivals Ipswich at the Adrian Flux Arena.
The MacInnes Stars had no real answer to the powerhouse Witches spearhead of Emil Sayfutdinov and Jason Doyle, but the overall scoreline should undoubtedly have been closer.
There was no shortage of effort from the home side with skipper Nicolai Klindt leading the way, recent signing Emil Breum showing plenty of positive signs, and Anders Rowe enjoying his best display yet in the Rising Star berth.
The majority of the misfortune befell guest Benjamin Basso, who was worth far more than five points but suffered two cruel mechanical breakdowns which helped turn the match in the Witches’ favour.
Basso was the Stars’ first race winner in Heat 3 as they cancelled out an early two-point lead to Ipswich, and Breum rode well to defeat Keynan Rew despite an awkward tumble on the first bend in the initial staging of the race, when he was collected by Rew.
Rowe made a smart pass on Daynon Hume for third place in Heat 4 to keep the scores level, but the first big blow came in Heat 5 which once again appeared set for a 3-3 as Basso and Breum followed Sayfutdinov – but as Breum went wide on turn two, Basso dropped a chain and Erik Riss could hardly believe his luck as he shot through into second place.
Klindt got the better of Danny King to win Heat 7 as part of a series of four shared races, with the Dane going back-to-back in Heat 8 as the rider replacement ride, although Rowe was frustrated on this occasion by Dan Thompson.
Doyle’s third win of the night in Heat 9 saw him suffer a puncture as he completed the race, before the Stars edged two points back in Heat 10 thanks to a win for Artem Laguta over King, with Breum taking another good third.
But the Witches hit back with a 4-2 in Heat 11 as Riss got the better of Simon Lambert in the battle for third, and another second place went begging for Basso and the Stars in Heat 12 when he shed a chain heading into the second lap.
Doyle and Sayfutdinov were imperious in Heat 13 with a 5-1 over Laguta and Klindt to secure the match in the visitors’ favour, but the night for the Stars was arguably summed up in Heat 14.
Breum made a great start for the Stars but behind him Ipswich reserve Thompson went down on the first bend – and just as the red lights went on, his team-mate Rew got into trouble on the exit of turn two and also came to grief.
Had the Thompson incident not taken place, Rew would have been disqualified but all four back was the verdict and the Witches added insult to injury when both Rew and Thompson out-gated the home duo in the re-run and went away for another 5-1.
But there was at least some consolation for the Stars in Heat 15 when, with Sayfutdinov rested by the visitors, Laguta and Klindt got out in front and Klindt rode superbly to spoil the Australian’s maximum as Lynn finished with a 5-1.
Team manager David Hoggart said: “The disappointing bit was in the middle with Benjamin Basso breaking a couple of chains, and when do you ever see that happen? That obviously took it away from us.
“When we’re up against a team like Ipswich who have got two World class riders in their side, I’m really keen that we try and stay with it, and not let them get their noses in front.
“The minute they smell success, they’re gone, so with the way our teams are built I need four riders over-performing every meeting to be in with a chance of a win.”
Next up for the Stars is another clash with Ipswich, this time in a Round 2 fixture at Foxhall next Thursday (August 10).
KING’S LYNN 40: Nicolai Klindt 12+1, Artem Laguta 10+1, Anders Rowe 7+1, Benjamin Basso 5, Emil Breum 4+1, Simon Lambert 2+1, Thomas Jorgensen r/r. IPSWICH 50: Jason Doyle 13, Emil Sayfutdinov 11+1, Danny King 9, Erik Riss 5+1, Dan Thompson 4+2, Keynan Rew 4+1, Danyon Hume 4. Ipswich win the aggregate point
