KING’S Lynn rounded off the season in style by beating new champions Belle Vue 55-35 and unveiling Frederik Jakobsen as the club’s first signing for 2023.
The Minors & Brady Stars snapped up the Dane on a bargain average of 5.04 at the start of August and despite making quite the impression, he will begin the new campaign on the same figure.
It rounded off a perfect finish with some rip-roaring racing on show throughout, even after the Stars marched into a 12-point lead within four heats.
Number one Richard Lawson stamped his authority with a stylish five-ride paid maximum, while box of tricks Jason Edwards lowered the colours of ex-Grand Prix ace Matej Zagar with the help of Richie Worrall in heat three.
Thomas Jorgensen made light of some mixed starts with a bounty of passes en route to 8+2, while Jakobsen gave the crowd another glimpse of what is to come with 13+1 from his six outings.
“Everything has been really good so far and as I have said before, a huge thank you must go to Alex (Brady, team manager) for bringing me in,” said Jakobsen.
“It was a bit of a risk to take with only a couple of months left in this season but he saw it as an investment for next year as well and I am pleased to sign up for a manager who thinks like that.
“I thank everyone here for making me feel very welcome and I am stoked to be back and working hard to get points for the Stars next year.”
Brady hailed a terrific performance from top to bottom as the Stars made light of being without Josh Pickering and Nicolai Klindt, and he was quick to share out the plaudits between the reserves.
“We did a thoroughly professional job,” said Brady.
“It might have been seen as a bit of a dead rubber but all six of our boys did the job they came to do.
"Belle Vue came here to win too. I know people will draw their own conclusions about the scoreline but there was some terrific racing, some of the best of the season to be honest, and I was really pleased.
“Jason Edwards was my star performer, to get paid-10 from the Rising Star position is something he has been threatening for a long time and I am just so chuffed for him, it will do his confidence the world of good.
"To then announce Freddie and get such a great reaction from the crowd, it made for a fantastic night across the board."
AS IT HAPPENED
The Stars virtually put the match to bed with three 5-1s in the first four races, the highlight being the superb 5-1 from Edwards and Worrall over Zagar in heat three.
Brady Kurtz became Belle Vue’s first winner in heat five when he overhauled Worrall for the victory but Lynn hit straight back with a second maximum from the Lawson-Jorgensen combination.
Edwards added another win in heat eight, this time teaming up with Jorgensen at the expense of Aces reserves Norick Blodorn and Simon Lambert but another 5-1 was denied in heat 10 when Zagar was adjudged to have passed Jorgensen on the line for second place.
Belle Vue pegged things over the closing stages with two more wins for Kurtz and one for Zagar, and the Aces duo fended off the hard-charging Chris Harris in heat 13 with Lawson keeping his unbeaten record.
Lawson duly completed his impressive maximum in the final race, leaving the final margin at 20 points ahead of representing the Stars alongside Worrall and Edwards in the final two rounds of the Premiership Pairs at Leicester tomorrow (Tuesday) and Belle Vue on Thursday.
Leicester hosts round five due to Sheffield’s Owlerton Stadium being unavailable.
KING’S LYNN 55: Richard Lawson 14+1, Frederik Jakobsen 13+1, Thomas Jorgensen 8+2, Jason Edwards 8+2, Richie Worrall 6+3, Chris Harris 6+1, Josh Pickering r/r. BELLE VUE 35: Brady Kurtz 16+1, Matej Zagar 12+1, Simon Lambert 5, Norick Blodorn 2+1, Tom Brennan 0, Jack Smith 0, Robert Lambert r/r.
