KING’S LYNN No.1 Richard Lawson suffered a suspected broken collarbone in their heavy 54-36 defeat at Wolverhampton.

The British ace crashed out of his second ride in what was another bitter blow for the Minors and Brady Stars.

Alex Brady’s men have certainly shown signs of improvement in recent times, including the home draw against Wolves last time out.

But the league leaders had way too much for the Norfolk outfit as the West Midlands’ side continued their own push for top spot.

After conceding a 5-1 in the opening race, the Stars’ reserves looked set to respond with a maximum of their own in Heat Two. While Connor Mountain took the win, Kasper Andersen was passed by Broc Nicol on the entry to lap two.

Lewis Kerr and Erik Riss claimed a share of the spoils in Heat Three before the hosts produced a dominant spell to seize control of the clash.

The Stars conceded four 5-1s in the space of five races – and it was in Heat Five where the Stars’ night took that major turn for the worse.

Lawson was going after in-form home man Ryan Douglas whilst also trying to fend off a hard-charging Nick Morris.

And on lap three, the Wolves man roared under Lawson into third bend, with Lawson tumbling into the air fence and being ruled out the remainder of the meeting.

Kerr and Thomas Jorgensen led 4-2s in Heats Seven and Nine and were unlucky in the two races that followed.

Both Riss and Kerr led out of the final bends of Heats Ten and 11, but Wolves No.1 Sam Masters and then home captain Rory Schlein then produced two fine last gasp manoeuvres to snatch further race victories away.

Riss did record his first race victory of the night in Heat 12 though as he rode smartly to fend off Morris.

And while the league leaders wrapped up a comfortable victory, Jorgensen and Kerr did produce an impressive consolation 5-1 in the last race of the night.

Team manager Alex Brady said: “It’s not a fair reflection on the efforts.

“The lads battled deep but obviously losing Rich in his second ride in Heat Five was really, really tough.

“Trying to plug the gaps with Injury Rider Replacement and Tac Subs and reserve switches is difficult to manage and juggle but the boys gave it everything.

“We dug in, we did everything we could and I’m proud of the efforts.”

The Minors and Brady Stars now prepare for their final home fixture of the season as they face play-off bound Sheffield at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday (September 9, 7.30).

WOLVERHAMPTON 54: Sam Masters 12, Ryan Douglas 11, Rory Schlein 9, Luke Becker 8+2, Nick Morris 5+1, Broc Nicol 5+1, Leon Flint 4+2.

KING’S LYNN 36: Thomas Jorgensen 11, Lewis Kerr 9+1, Erik Riss 7+1, Connor Mountain 5, Ben Barker 2, Kasper Andersen 2, Richard Lawson 0.