KING'S Lynn kept up their excellent late-season form with a 50-40 win over Belle Vue in their penultimate ROWE Motor Oil Premiership fixture.

The PSH Environmental Stars took all three points off the defending champions, and had circumstances this season been slightly different they could well have been in a head-to-head scrap with the Aces for a play-off place.

A home defeat to the Manchester side in March when the Stars were plagued by mechanical problems has made a significant difference in the final analysis, yet on this occasion the engine woe was with the visitors, who suffered a couple of key breakdowns.

That takes nothing away from the Lynn effort with Richard Lawson in blistering form, dropping just one point from five rides, whilst Ben Cook hit double figures at reserve against his former club and again underlined what the Stars had missed when he was out injured for much of the summer.

Lynn made a solid start with 4-2s in the first three races as Niels-Kristian Iversen defeated World title contender Brady Kurtz in Heat 1 whilst Cook and Lawson also took race wins.

But a surprise 5-1 to the Aces in Heat 4 cut the gap back to two points as Jake Mulford followed Dan Bewley home ahead of Luke Harrison and Nicolai Klindt.

The Aces levelled up in Heat 6 when Bewley took his second win, but parity was brief as Cook got the better of his brother Zach in Heat 7 with Klindt third ahead of Jaimon Lidsey who remarkably failed to score.

Heat 9 provided a key moment as Bewley was forced on to borrowed machinery and was an early retirement from the race as Lawson and Chris Harris carded a big 5-1.

And there were more problems for the Aces in Heat 10 as Iversen came past Lidsey to join Jan Kvech for another 5-1 with Lidsey retiring and not taking his final ride.

The visitors still mounted a comeback from ten points down with a 5-1 in Heat11 and a 4-2 in Heat 12 as Kurtz won both races, the second as a tactical substitute with Harris fending off Tate Zischke for second place.

But Kurtz ran a last in Heat 13 as Bewley produced a quality ride for the Aces, passing both Kvech and Cook to hold the lead at four points.

Stars, though, came up with a big finish as they secured the win on the night with a 5-1 in Heat 14 from Lawson and Ben Cook over Zach Cook and Zischke.

There was still the aggregate point to be resolved with the Aces needing a 4-2 to set up a Super Heat or a 5-1 to snatch it in Heat 15, but Lawson came up with a great ride to defeat the visitors' top two, and Iversen added extra insurance with third place over Kurtz.

Manager Rob Lyon said: "When the weather plays its part in track preparation then it's always a bit touch and go with what it's going to be like, but the boys got on with it, and we didn't have a track grade all night which is amazing.

"We managed to get a win and the aggregate point, which is a great performance, and it's just a shame the season is ending so quick for us.

"You know what Belle Vue are about, certainly their top two, and they did a bit of damage and kept them in it for a long period of time, but we had enough firepower to get over the line which is the main thing.

"Even with Nicolai scoring one, which is very uncharacteristic for him, it's been a solid team performance, and the strength in depth theory has been paying off for the last few weeks."

The Stars complete their league season with the visit of another of the title contenders, Sheffield, this coming Monday (September 1).

KING'S LYNN 50: Richard Lawson 13+1, Ben Cook 11+1, Niels-Kristian Iversen 9+1, Chris Harris 7+1, Jan Kvech 7+1, Luke Harrison 2, Nicolai Klindt 1.
BELLE VUE 40: Brady Kurtz 11, Dan Bewley 11, Zach Cook 6, Tate Zischke 5, Norick Blodorn 4+1, Jake Mulford 3+2, Jaimon Lidsey 0.
King's Lynn win the aggregate point