Kings Lynn Stars v Edinburgh Monarchs

Our good start to the season just got better with another all-round solid display earning us a 45-45 draw at King's Lynn.

It could have been even better as we lost points through early falls and a serious engine blow-up for Aaron Summers, but we can still be very happy with our best result for many years at the Norfolk Arena.

It was a bitterly cold night and the crowd seemed a little disappointing. The track looked heavy and grippy although later comments suggested that was a bit misleading, and such problems as the riders had tended to come from bumps.

We hit problems right away in heat 1. Topinka flew from gate 4, but our riders seemed to have settled in to keep Tacey at the back. Unfortunately Ryan lifted leaving the fourth turn, clipped the fence down the straight and fell. The others did well to miss him ? in fact the heat could have been stopped but we were happy to see Derek retaining second spot.

Heat 2 was even worse. Aaron Summers moved smoothly clear with the King?s Lynn riders behind him, and we were just thinking how stylish Aaron was looking when a puff of smoke on the third lap indicated the end of his engine?s life. Andrew couldn?t make headway and we were 9-3 down when we should have been level!

Was it going to be one of those nights? Actually no.

There was plenty happening in heat 3. Firstly Thomas had to switch to Derek?s bike when he hit a problem leaving the pits, but he made the gate anyway while Kevin Doolan was initially at the back! He was soon past both William Lawson and his partner Smith, who then fell to let William into third.

Thomas wasn?t quite as quick as he would have been on his own bike and as he drifted out leaving the second bend on lap four, Doolan was through for an excellent win.

Andrew Tully made such a poor start in heat 2 that it was good to see him zip to the front round the opening corners of heat 4. Rusty Harrison was in second and held off Matthew?s challenge, but at 10-14 things were getting better.

We shared heat 5 behind Doolan with Kozza coming off again, but the strong Topinka/Tacey pair took 5 points from heat 6, Matthew?s challenge ending as he slid off on the last bend. Aaron had been well back on Derek?s bike but took a point.

Immediately we hit back. Thomas was back on his own bike and blasted clear in heat 7, looking very impressive, and William did extremely well to cut under Rusty Harrison to take the second spot. Back to four down.

We should have shared heat 8 with Tacey winning, but having moved into second Derek drifted too far out on the first bend of lap three and tumbled against the fence.

Kozza fell for the third time in heat 9 which assisted us to share that one, and we went into the interval trailing 24-30. On such a cold night an interval was far from welcome.

Heat 10 was going to be a tough one but with Topinka ahead, Thomas and William did extremely well to carve up Tacey and leave him pointless.

Even better, Ryan and Derek gated ahead of Harrison in heat 11 and rode perfectly. Rusty passed Derek at one stage but our skipper did tremendously well to go round him again and clinch the 5-1. That made up for heat 8 and now we were just two down.

Another great start by Thomas in heat 12 took him ahead of Doolan and the home man never looked like catching the flying Swede. Andrew dealt with Simon Lambert and we were level, with a nail-biting three heats to go.

Heat 13 went as well as we could have hoped, another win for Topinka but Ryan riding well in second, and a great effort by Matthew who looked out of it but got up to pip Rusty Harrison on the line.

That was vital because we seemed to have the edge in heat 14. Stars left Smith in with Oliver, and the home riders made the gate!

However with an excellent first corner, William cut under them to lead and we now settled in to watch an enthralling tussle for second between Tully and Oliver.

What a battle it was, Andrew going ahead but Oliver passing, then on the final lap Andrew using that second bend tight turn to get through once more and this time hold it!

So a finisher in the last heat would now give us a draw, but we were hoping for a little better!

It was Topinka and Doolan who made the gate though, and in spite of a thrilling effort by William who almost drew level with Doolan a ouple of times, they got the 5-1 which sent both teams round on the parade truck, honours even.

In all honesty we deserved to win, but the result is still a great one and an indicator of what our exciting young team is capable of.

Kings Lynn Stars v Edinburgh Monarchs

A visit to King?s Lynn has been about as pleasant as a visit to the dentist in recent years - painful, but maybe there?s just a glimmer of hope this year as we head there on Wednesday for our first Premier League match of the season.

We have been fairly consistent over the last four years scoring 33 points twice and 32 points once. Our crowning glory was in 2005 when we scored 41 points and took the bonus! On that occasion we were indebted to Adam Allott who guested for us and scored 12+1 including a six point tactical ride. With King?s Lynn needing a 5-1 in the final race to secure the bonus point it was Adam who shot from the tapes in heat 15 to make sure we didn?t come back empty-handed.

Two of the riders who rode for Edinburgh that night subsequently joined the Stars. Daniel Nermark moved to the Norfolk Arena the following year while Rusty Harrison rides for them this year. On the other hand Matthew Wethers rode for King?s Lynn that night before returning home to us. The only Edinburgh rider who rode in that match still with the club is William Lawson.

Last year we were indebted to Kai Laukkanen who scored 15 points as we lost 60-33. He took a successful 6 point tactical ride and beat all of the home riders. George Stancl fell heavily when he was struck by Trevor Harding but our performance was a lot better than the score suggested.

However enough of this trip down memory drain. What of Wednesday night?s match? Well King?s Lynn has been a bit of a fortress with a home record second to none but last Friday the Premier League was stunned when a patched up Birmingham side went there and beat the Stars 39-55! It was an incredible result for a team carrying two guests and having to use rider replacement for their missing number 1, Kyle Legault. It was at reserve that the Brummies found their ?star? man as Lee Smart rattled up 17+2 from seven rides. While that sort of performance from a visiting rider is unlikely to be a regular feature at the Norfolk track it does show what can be achieved by the right attitude and determination.

Since last Friday King?s Lynn have had two subsequent matches to get that result out of their system and have done so very successfully with a draw at Workington and win at Glasgow last Saturday and Sunday. Now it?s our turn to take them on.

We look to be better prepared than many times in the past on this occasion to at least beat our previous scores. At reserve both Andrew Tully and Aaron Summers have recently sparkled on the King?s Lynn track. Andrew scored 14 points in a British under 21 qualifier there and Andrew Summers rattled up 17 points in a Conference League challenge match. Both saw off the King?s Lynn reserve, Simon Lambert, and looked fast and confident so we look to be well placed in the reserve department.

Matthew Wethers is another consistent performer there having ridden for the Stars for part of the 2005 season while William Lawson and Derek Sneddon have had their moments there too. But the key to our hopes lies with our two top heat leaders, Ryan Fisher and Thomas H Jonasson.

There were a lot of positives to take from the rained-off abandoned match at Redcar last Thursday night. Ryan looked very impressive taking James Grieves from the back to win one of his two races while Thomas Jonasson was quite a sensation looking extremely fast and smooth with five points from his two rides. The big question is - how will they fare on the King?s Lynn circuit?

Both riders may find that the track suits them down to the ground and, if they get the set-up right and quickly suss out the lines, we could be in for one of our better nights there.

The Stars have a formidable top two in Tomas Topinka and Kevin Doolan, as good a top pair as you?ll find in the league, but the back up can be inconsistent as they found out last Friday. Shaun Tacey and Rusty Harrison had a poor meeting against Birmingham but bounced back in great style against both Workington and Glasgow. Indeed Tacey was unbeaten at Glasgow from his four programmed rides although he ran a last in heat 15.

John Oliver at reserve was also impressive. How many reserves will beat Daniel Nermark from the back at Workington this season? John managed that on Saturday on a rain-soaked track. Simon Lambert?s performances at home had been awesome until recently but he seems to have gone off the boil in his last few matches. The remaining Stars? rider is newcomer Kozza Smith whose exciting racing style has made him a popular addition to the team.

On form at home King?s Lynn have been nigh unbeatable at Premier League level. We have to hope they don?t hit the heights on Wednesday. However our own results have made it clear that we too are a team to be reckoned with and the day we fire on all seven cylinders will result in some team suffering badly. Let?s hope it?s in this match. Realistically if we can beat the 41 points scored there two years ago we will have done well but you never know!

The likely line-ups will be:

King?s Lynn: Tomas Topinka, Shaun Tacey, Kevin Doolan, Kozza Smith, Rusty Harrison, John Oliver, Simon Lambert.

Edinburgh: Ryan Fisher, Derek Sneddon, Thomas Jonasson, William Lawson, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers.