KING’S Lynn are chasing their first away win of the league season when they head to Oxford in a vital ROWE Motor Oil Premiership fixture on Thursday (7.30pm).
The PSH Environmental Stars moved ahead of the Spires on race points difference with their win over Birmingham on Monday, and they will now look to complete a perfect week by repeating their previous success at Cowley.
Back in March, Lynn recorded a convincing 53-37 victory in Oxfordshire in the second leg of their Knockout Cup quarter-final, where Niels-Kristian Iversen starred with 14 points and Chris Harris added 11+1.
The Stars also ran up their biggest win of the season in the reverse league fixture when they won 59-431 at the Adrian Flux Arena in April, so the aggregate point should be the very least of their expectations on Thursday.
With Ben Cook still on the sidelines, Stars have booked Leicester’s Kyle Howarth to guest, and he has recent experience at Cowley after scoring double figures for Glasgow in an away win in the Championship last week.
Meanwhile Young Stars captain Jody Scott, who has extensive experience of the Oxford circuit, comes in at reserve in the absence of the injured Ashton Boughen and has been declared into the Stars’ one-to-seven as was the case with Luke Harrison on Monday. Scott will also race in the home match against Ipswich on Monday.
Oxford have endured a trying season with five of their six points coming in just one day when they secured a double win over Birmingham.
British Grand Prix wild card Charles Wright moves up to No.1 for the Spires, whilst ex-Stars rider Erik Riss has been a major threat at Cowley this season, and the battle between international racers Peter Kildemand and Jan Kvech at reserve could be a significant factor in the overall outcome.
Stars manager Rob Lyon said: “It’s an important match for us on Thursday. We rode well there in the Knockout Cup earlier in the season and won comfortably, so another result like that would be great.
“But any win is fine because we beat them convincingly at home in the first leg, and we’ll be taking things one at a time because we’ve got quite a few big ones coming including Ipswich at home next week.
“It’s an opportunity for Jody, just like it was for Luke on Monday. We’ve got an NDT team and it’s nice to use these boys to give them that experience, and we felt it was the right thing to do.”
Stars fans not making the trip to BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium should note the fixture is being live streamed by BSN at https://watch.britishspeedway.co.uk .
OXFORD: Charles Wright, Maciej Janowski, Craig Cook, Rohan Tungate, Erik Riss, Peter Kildemand, Luke Killeen. KING’S LYNN: Richard Lawson, Kyle Howarth, Nicolai Klindt, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Chris Harris, Jan Kvech, Jody Scott.
