KING’S Lynn completed a National Development Trophy double over Birmingham with an impressive 52-38 home win – despite being reduced to five riders!
The Blueprint Construction Young Stars saw their middle order duo of Ashton Vale and Max Perry both crash out of the meeting at the Adrian Flux Arena, which could have put them under huge pressure against a much more experienced Bulls side.
But the remaining Young Stars riders dug in to get their side over the line, with skipper Jody Scott winning four of his five races and only missing out on a maximum when he came down on the first bend in Heat 13.
Meanwhile 15-year-old Cooper Rushen declared himself fit to race after a string of crashes at Plymouth of Tuesday, completed a major bike rebuild with his father, and then reeled off a stunning 17-point haul at reserve.
Rushen’s colleague Calum Mitchell added a most praiseworthy paid-nine in his first home NDT meeting, whilst Luke Harrison dropped just one point from four rides and Harrison Rogers chipped in with three.
The Young Stars went ahead with a 5-1 in Heat 2 as Mitchell re-passed Eli Meadows for second place, but Vale crashed in Heat 3 and, as another rider carrying damage from Tuesday night, that was effectively the end of his meeting.
Tom Spencer gave the Bulls their first win in Heat 4, but he came to grief in Heat 6 just after being passed for the lead by Scott, before youngsters Rushen and Harrison extended the advantage to eight with a 5-1 over Darryl Ritchings in the next.
But the visitors got back into contention with a 5-1 in Heat 8 and Perry then joined Vale in withdrawing from the meeting after a fall on the first bend of Heat 9.
However, Rushen prevented a Bulls comeback by winning the re-run with Mitchell getting the better of Meadows for third, and the next three races saw the Young Stars all but secure victory.
Scott passed Ritchings on the last lap of Heat 10 to head up a 4-2 before Rushen and Harrison repeated their 5-1 feat over Connor Coles in Heat 11, and Rushen emerged again to win Heat 12 with Mitchell third to make it 43-29.
Scott was disqualified when he came down in a tight first bend in Heat 13, but Harrison won the re-run, before Ritchings ended Rushen’s winning run with a consolation victory for the Bulls in the penultimate race, and then Scott came from the back against Spencer and Ritchings in a shared Heat 15.
Young Stars manager Jason Pipe said: “When we lost Ashton and Max, I thought if we could get up to Heat 10 even a couple of points ahead, I was quite confident in what we had left in the last few races that we could do it.
“I did feel we would pull away later on, which we did, but the victory by 14 points actually surprised me in the end, I thought it was going to be a lot tighter.
“That’s two wins now, we’re top of the league on five points, and we’re feeling quite confident about our chances.
“I think Ashton was still a bit worse for wear after his crash at Plymouth. He’s got a sore neck after he went into the fence in Heat 3, and then he just slid off in his second ride, so he said he couldn’t carry on and the medic ruled him out.
“Max came off in a first bend incident and unfortunately Cooper’s bike hit him and caught his hip, so that’s bruised, but he was walking about and went on the victory parade, so hopefully both lads will be okay and we wish them all the best.
“Special mention must go to Calum, who was my rider of the night. He picked up paid nine and that’s given him a real confidence boost, he absolutely loved it. It helped by putting him at No.7, so he always had a reserve in the races with him, and he’s gone away with a big smile on his face.
“After Plymouth on Tuesday I was expecting a phone call to say Cooper wasn’t fit, but he’s a young healthy boy and after a sleep this morning it was as though nothing had happened. His dad was in the workshop as soon as they got home building a second bike, and it was certainly a relief that he rode and was so up for it!”
The Young Stars are back in action a week on Sunday (May 11) when they visit Leicester, with their next home meeting being the return against the Fox Cubs on June 25.
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY KING'S LYNN 52: Cooper Rushen 17, Jody Scott 12, Luke Harrison 9+2, Calum Mitchell 6+3, Max Perry 5, Harrison Rogers 3, Ashton Vale 0 BIRMINGHAM 38: Darryl Ritchings 10, Tom Spencer 8+1, Connor Coles 7+1, Senna Summers 5, Arran Butcher 4+2, Sam McGurk 3+1, Eli Meadows 1 King's Lynn win aggregate point
