KING’S Lynn make the short trip to Ipswich on Bank Holiday Monday (2.15pm) for local derby action in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.

The PSH Environmental Stars meet the Witches for the first time this season, with clashes between the two clubs usually proving to be eventful affairs.

They travel with confidence raised from Thursday’s hard-fought win over Birmingham, which featured a stunning paid maximum at reserve from Patryk Wojdylo.

But the downside to that result was a crash for skipper Tobiasz Musielak in Heat 6 which leaves him sidelined with a broken collarbone.

And with six of the seven Premiership teams in action on a busy Monday, it means there are no appropriate guest options and the Stars must therefore operate the rider replacement facility.

In other circumstances, an ideal choice of guest may well have been former Ipswich star Scott Nicholls, who no longer races regularly in the Premiership but has been in vintage form at Championship level for Oxford and in a short-term stint with Birmingham.

However, with Ipswich captain Danny King currently on the sidelines with a broken hand, the Witches had already moved to book Nicholls as a guest for this meeting.

The Foxhall club have made a strong start to the season, being beaten only once at Belle Vue when they were without two of their top three, and although Emil Sayfutdinov is statistically yet to hit the heights of 2023 in the UK, he still forms an awesome spearhead with the in-form Jason Doyle in a powerful Ipswich side.

Stars boss Rob Lyon said: “It’s going to be very tough without Tobi. He’s our No.1, and trying to replace a No.1 with only one team racing where no average really fits for him is very tough, and we really have no option other than r/r.

“But that’s speedway, and that’s what we’re faced with. If Patryk could get 17 or 18 again we’ve got a good chance, but you have to bear in mind Ipswich is very different to King’s Lynn!

“Thursday’s performance will give him confidence though to go into meetings like this one with a decent set-up, and hopefully he can kick on from there and really do some damage.”

A busy month of May will continue for the Stars with a home match against Leicester on Thursday before they visit Birmingham next Monday (May 13).

IPSWICH: Emil Sayfutdinov, Dan Thompson, Adam Ellis, Scott Nicholls, Jason Doyle, Keynan Rew, Jordan Jenkins.
KING’S LYNN: Tobiasz Musielak r/r, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Michael Palm Toft, Benjamin Basso, Nicolai Klindt, Patryk Wojdylo, Anders Rowe.