KING’S Lynn dramatically got the better of local rivals Ipswich with a terrific 51-39 win at the Adrian Flux Arena to move to within three points of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-off places.

In arguably the most important match of the PSH Environmental Stars’ season so far, they made it three league wins out of three, and four in total, with a terrific comeback success against the Witches.

Stars trailed by four points at the halfway stage but came on strong in the second half of the meeting, inspired by a stunning performance from Czech racer Jan Kvech at reserve as he piled up paid-20 points.

Chris Harris added paid-13, unbeaten in his last three rides, whilst both Richard Lawson and Nicolai Klindt recovered from slow starts to the meeting to provide vital contributions.

And there was a superb paid win in Heat 2 for Young Stars captain Jody Scott, on his home debut at this level, as he defeated Connor Mountain and Jordan Jenkins to team up with Kvech for a 5-1.

Kvech’s only defeat of the entire meeting came at the hands of Emil Sayfutdinov in Heat 1, and the Witches No.1 put his side ahead again by winning Heat 5 by a distance although Harris prevented a 5-1 by passing Danny King on the opening lap.

Jason Doyle won his first race for Ipswich in Heat 4 before being beaten by Kvech in Heat 6, and that was the end of the Australian’s involvement as he aggravated his hip injuries.

But his side still went four points up with a 5-1 in Heat 8 from Jenkins and King as Klindt was forced out of contention on the first bend, and that left the Stars 26-22 down and needing a comeback.

And that comeback was emphatic as Klindt and Harris raced to a 5-1 over Tom Brennan in Heat 9 before Lawson and Kvech repeated the feat over the same rider and Adam Ellis in Heat 10 as suddenly it was the Stars who were four points up.

Kvech then gained a big win over Sayfutdinov in a shared Heat 11 with Klindt taking Heat 12 which also ended in a 3-3 after Scott just missed out to Jenkins.

With tension rising before Heat 13, Lawson stepped up with a great ride to pass King for the lead to again share the race and move Lynn closer to a win.

That was sealed in the next race without the need for a last-heat decider as Harris and Kvech raced away from Jenkins and Brennan, before Harris and Lawson put the icing on the cake with another maximum over King and Ellis in the next.

Stars manager Rob Lyon said: “It was really important that we tried to get this one over the line tonight, and the boys were great.

“Obviously Ipswich had their problems with Jason having to pull out of the meeting, but I think we rode well as a team and just had enough in the tank anyway.

“The problem with r/r for the rider who is fifth in the averages is there isn’t a lot of wriggle room for problems, but if your No.6 is firing like Jan was tonight, it works perfectly and it can actually be stronger in some respects.

“I felt Jody rode well enough for five or six points. He was fast and in good positions and he gave it 100 per cent, and you can’t ask any more than that. To score paid four on his home debut was great.

“There’s always a little bit of something when we race Ipswich and it’s good that the boys could turn them over. I’m really happy for everyone, and it gives us a bit of momentum now.”

Next up for the Stars is a pair of tough away matches at Sheffield (Thursday) and Belle Vue (next Monday), with the next action at the Adrian Flux Arena being the NDT clash for the Young Stars against Leicester next Wednesday (June 25).

KING’S LYNN 51: Jan Kvech 18+2, Chris Harris 12+1, Richard Lawson 9+1, Nicolai Klindt 7+1, Jody Scott 3+1, Niels-Kristian Iversen 2, Ben Cook r/r.
IPSWICH 39: Emil Sayfutdinov 9+1, Danny King 8+2, Tom Brennan 6+1, Jordan Jenkins 6+1, Jason Doyle 5, Adam Ellis 4, Connor Mountain 1.
Ipswich win the aggregate point