KING’S Lynn manager Rob Lyon believes his side will be well covered with strength in all areas over the coming season.
The Stars have undergone a major winter rebuild with only Michael Palm Toft and Anders Rowe – in the Rising Star slot – remaining from the 2023 campaign, in which they used a total of 13 riders not including guests.
They have recruited a genuine Sports Insure Premiership No.1 in Polish ace Tobiasz Musielak, whilst there could be a degree of rotation elsewhere in the side as averages change.
Fellow new signing Patryk Wojdylo will start the season at reserve alongside Rowe, but his scoring during his short spell with Peterborough last year suggests he is likely to move into the top five once he has completed enough meetings to achieve a ‘real’ average.
And that means based on starting averages, Palm Toft is the rider most likely to go to reserve in the early stages of the season, having spent a significant portion of an injury-hit 2023 campaign in the far more difficult No.5 berth.
Lyon said: “I managed King’s Lynn twice last season, and in the first of those at Belle Vue, Michael beat (Brady) Kurtz and (Dan) Bewley a couple of times and scored paid-13, but then in the following meeting he got injured.
“We know his capabilities, and if he can steer clear of injuries he can be one of those unassuming riders who goes about his business without too much press, and he could well be our trump card.
“He may well go to reserve in the early days, not through any fault of his own but on the basis of what Patryk may or may not do, and it means we should always have two good reserves.
“When I look around the other teams there’s probably only one, maybe two, who could match that in terms of quality, so I think we’re well set in that respect.
“We knew the team needed a complete re-set, that was always our thinking, and we have several riders coming in who are completely new to King’s Lynn fans.
“We’ve got a team with a proper No.1 and which overall I’m confident will be very competitive in this league, and we should be able to achieve good things.”
The Stars are just ten weeks away from the start of their league season as they visit Leicester on Thursday March 21, with the Adrian Flux Arena opener against the Lions just one week later on March 28.
And it’s set to be a big opening month of home matches as Birmingham and Belle Vue follow up on successive Thursdays (April 4 and 11), giving the Stars three of their first four fixtures on their own circuit.
Season tickets for the 2024 campaign remain on sale and represent the best-value way of following the Stars throughout the year.
Adult season tickets are priced at £260 with concessions at £230, both including a programme, covering 13 home matches (12 league and one KO Cup) meaning a saving of around £40 on the equivalent admission cost. Child season tickets (12-15) are available for £50.
*NEW King’s Lynn signing Benjamin Basso features on the front cover of this week’s Speedway Star magazine, and in a two-page interview discussing his hopes for the 2024 season.
