KING’S Lynn Young Stars had three riders unbeaten in a convincing 54-36 win over Leicester at the Adrian Flux Arena.
The Blueprint Construction Young Stars collected all three points from the meeting to maintain their 100 per cent record in the National Development Trophy and move five points clear at the top.
Skipper Jody Scott swept to a five-ride 15-point maximum, fellow heat leader Luke Harrison added 9+3 from four, whilst reserve Cooper Rushen also went through the card with a full 12 from four outings.
With a comfortable victory ensured, manager Jason Pipe was able to rest his big guns in the closing stages of the meeting and also give ever-improving Calum Mitchell an additional ride.
The win was achieved despite the surprise absence of Ashton Vale, whose father informed the club on the afternoon of the meeting that he had quit the sport.
The visitors were unfortunate to lose No.1 Will Cairns, who suffered neck spasms in the pits and was unable to take his final two programmed rides, and this made things more straightforward for the Young Stars in Heats 11, 13 and 15.
Cairns and Ace Pijper had picked up race wins for the Fox Cubs, but the Young Stars were ahead from Heat 2 when Rushen and Mitchell combined for a 5-1, before the sides traded 4-2s with Lynn maintaining a four-point lead.
That was doubled to eight with a 5-1 from Harrison and Rushen in Heat 7 over the Pijper brothers, and Mitchell took an excellent win over Watson in Heat 8.
Cairns’ withdrawal enabled Rushen and Harrison a clear run for a 5-1 in Heat 11, before Scott and Harrison officially wrapped up the victory with maximum points in Heat 13 to also complete their personal full houses.
Ace Pijper picked up a second win for the Fox Cubs in Heat 12 but Lynn then won the remaining races although they were denied a final advantage when Max Perry missed out to Pijper and Springer in Heat 15, although they had no answer for the flying Scott out front.
Pipe said: “It was another good win for us, the riders are all smiling and it puts us in a really good position in the Trophy.
“Jody wanted Heat 15, he really wanted to get a full 15-point maximum for his first max at this level, and he went out and won it well.
“I was able to give Cooper a bit of a rest, he’s getting a lot of rides lately and he’s got several meetings coming up, and it wasn’t as though we needed to put him in – and he still got a full maximum!
“Calum rode well again, he was steady with his seconds and thirds and he won Heat 8 as well, so that was all very positive.
“The track was really good once again and I was really pleased to see a very healthy crowd tonight, it was definitely up on our first meeting and our thanks to everyone for coming along.
“Regarding Ashton, I had a call at 4pm from his father to say he’s not in the right headspace for riding speedway, and he’s quit – ‘that’s him done, finished, so he won’t be there tonight.’
“I had no facility, because you need to give three days’ notice for that for a rider under 18, so I had to bring in an unattached rider, and we used Kenzie Cossey who is a local rider and good friends with Jake Mulford.
“The track caught him out in his first ride but he had three steady rides after that, and he beat one of the Leicester reserves to get a good point, so he enjoyed himself and had a smile on his face throughout.
“I now have to look at options for Ashton’s position and I do have a rider in mind, so we’ll see how that develops.”
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY KING'S LYNN 54: Jody Scott 15, Cooper Rushen 12, Luke Harrison 9+3, Max Perry 9, Calum Mitchell 7+1, Kenzie Cossey 1, Harrison Rogers 1 LEICESTER 36: Ace Pijper 11, Sonny Springer 7+1, Harry Fletcher 5+1, William Cairns 5, Mason Watson 4+1, Stene Pijper 4+1, Max Broadhurst 0 King's Lynn win aggregate point
