KING’S LYNN ended a tough week on a massive high with a dramatic Super Heat victory over Wolverhampton at the Adrina Flux Arena.
The MacInnes Stars and the Wolves fought out a 45-45 draw, taking the meeting into an extra deciding race – and it was the home duo of Artem Laguta and skipper Nicolai Klindt who came out on top.
The same combination had collected a 4-2 in Heat 15 to level the scores, following on from a key win for reserve Kye Thomson in the previous race as the Stars battled to remain in contention, and they got their rewards at the end.
Klindt was in imperious form as he went unbeaten from his first five rides, whilst Laguta ran a last place in his opening outing but then won his next four plus the Super Heat.
Thomas Jorgensen was also back to form in the middle-order, but the Stars do now have a concern over Michael Palm Toft who came to grief in Heat 11 and was withdrawn with an ankle injury.
A close contest throughout started with a good ride by Jorgensen to pass Steve Worrall on the third lap of Heat 1 to prevent a 5-1 to the visitors.
The Stars then went ahead with maximum points of their own in Heat 3 courtesy of Jorgensen and Klindt, who passed Ryan Douglas on successive laps to make their way to the front.
And the same combination secured another 5-1 in Heat 5, this time at the expense of Worrall and Sam Masters with Klindt once again coming from the back.
Wolves hit back in Heat 7 with a 5-1 from Douglas and Luke Becker, and the tense mid-stages of the meeting saw the Stars maintain a narrow two-point lead with Klindt going back-to-back with wins in Heats 8 and 9, whilst Laguta took Heat 10 with Thomson just missing out in a major scrap with Douglas and Becker.
But Palm Toft’s crash in Heat 11 appeared to be a significant turning point, especially as the Stars had been well placed in the race, only for Masters and Worrall to race to a 5-1 in the re-run to put the visitors 34-32 ahead.
The hard-working Thomson lost out to Becker and Zach Cook in Heat 12 behind race leader Klindt, and Laguta quickly made his way to the front in Heat 13 for another 3-3.
The pressure was on in Heat 14 and Thomson delivered his first race win in Stars colours ahead of Cook and Douglas to give the home side a chance as they trailed 41-43 with one to go.
Initially Wolves skipper Masters looked set to win it for his side as he led Heat 15, but Laguta surged his way to the front at the end of the first lap with Klindt holding Becker at bay to level the match at 45-45.
That was one league point each with the second point to be decided in the Super Heat, and the same four riders were nominated for the decider – and this time Laguta established himself in front quickly from Becker, but with the third place all-important due to the 4-3-2-0 scoring, it was Klindt who held off the challenge of Masters and the Stars could celebrate a much-needed result.
Klindt said: “We built on the momentum from Monday tonight. Again, we had a good team talk before the meeting, everyone was fired up and even though we ran a couple of lasts, we were still fighting.
“We didn’t give up, we were determined and that’s a massive difference. The past is what it is, and we can only focus on the present to make the future better.
“I’ve got to say thanks to Luke and the track team. I went to speak to him in the afternoon to see what we could improve and what the team wanted, and what he thought would be the best for us.
“It was good today, the starts were much more like we wanted them, the track was as well and I think that played a big role, not just for myself but for the whole team. We had confidence in what we had to ride on.
“It was great to see a lot of people here tonight, and it means a lot to the whole team to see as many people here as possible. We can hear them when we’re out there.”
The MacInnes Stars are back at home on Monday evening (June 19) when they host in-form Leicester in another Sports Insure Premiership encounter.
KING’S LYNN 45: Nicolai Klindt 15+1, Artem Laguta 12, Kye Thomson 8, Thomas Jorgensen 7+1, Michael Palm Toft 2+1, Jason Edwards 1+1, Frederik Jakobsen r/r. WOLVERHAMPTON 45: Sam Masters 13+1, Zach Cook 10+3, Luke Becker 9+1, Ryan Douglas 5+4, Steve Worrall 6, Leon Flint 2, Rory Schlein r/r. King’s Lynn beat Wolverhampton 6-3 in Super Heat
