KING’S Lynn are off to a winning start in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership after defeating Sheffield 49-41 in a match which boiled up to a thrilling finale at the Adrian Flux Arena.
The PSH Environmental Stars were taken down to a last-heat decider by a Tigers side who refused to be shaken off, and with a four-point advantage it meant skipper Chris Harris and Max Fricke needed to avoid conceding a 5-1 to make sure of the home win.
Fricke made a superb start to dominate the race whilst Harris produced a ride which had his own trademark stamped all over it as he blasted from fourth to second on turn four at the end of the second lap to go past both Jack and Chris Holder.
Harris and Fricke both hit double figures for the Stars but they also had an heroic double act at reserve as youngsters Cooper Rushen and Jody Scott combined for an incredible 17 (paid 20) points between them – a contribution which proved vital, especially in the absence of the injured Paco Castagna.
After the Tigers had taken an opening race 4-2, Rushen and Scott immediately put Lynn ahead with a 5-1 in Heat 2, emerging ahead after a somewhat frantic opening lap and Rushen’s winning time was less than a second off the mark recorded by World No.5 Jack Holder in the first race.
Harris won a shared Heat 3 but there was more drama in the next with Tigers captain Josh Pickering finding himself at the back – but Scott wasn’t content with that, and reeled in Jye Etheridge before executing a perfect pass on the last bend to complete a 5-1 with Jan Kvech.
Remarkably, those were to be Kvech’s only points of a mechanically plagued evening, but the Stars kept the momentum going with two more 4-2s to open up a ten-point advantage.
Heat 5 nearly produced another 5-1 only for Holder to dive inside Ben Cook heading into the final turn, whilst Fricke defeated Pickering in Heat 6 with Scott in third place.
Sheffield, though, weren’t about to collapse, with Leon Flint a surprise winner of Heat 7 ahead of Rushen, who took the scalp of 2012 World Champion Chris Holder, and the Tigers were right back in the contest when former Stars rider Anders Rowe combined with Luke Killeen for a shock 5-1 in Heat 8.
Stars replied with maximum points of their own from Harris and Cook in Heat 9 with Pickering left adrift in third, but after a 3-3 in the next it was back in the melting pot again thanks to Rowe leaping out of the start and being team-ridden home by Jack Holder for maximum points in Heat 11.
Chris Holder then won Heat 12 as Harris dropped his only point of the night, and the big Heat 13 saw Pickering come to the party with a stunning second bend swoop to hit the front over Fricke, whilst Jack Holder overhauled Kvech for third on the last lap.
The pressure was on with the gap down to just two points, and Heat 14 saw 16-year-old Rushen pull off a ride of massive maturity to keep the hard-chasing Leon Flint behind him, whilst Cook’s third place edged Lynn into a 44-40 advantage.
That set things up for the decider and Fricke showed his World class from the start when it mattered most, whilst Harris did what Harris does best, from the back, leaving the Holder brothers almost tangling together as the Stars skipper shot past in spectacular style.
Team manager Rob Lyon said: “It was a bit up and down at times, but we pulled through and it was a great 5-1 in Heat 15 from Bomber and Max.
“The two boys, Cooper and Jody, have been great tonight, and we can see what potential they’ve both got – and it was great to see them getting a 5-1 together in Heat 2 even though it was a bit hairy on the first lap!
“Obviously we were throwing them to the wolves a bit tonight with Paco out and us deciding to run rider replacement, but it paid off okay and it gives them more track time and experience, which they revelled in.
“It’s a great result to get an eight-point win, I’m happy with that.”
With two league points on the board from their opening fixture, the Stars now prepare for the short trip to rivals Ipswich on Bank Holiday Monday (May 4, 2.15pm).
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP KING’S LYNN 49: Chris Harris 12+2, Max Fricke 12, Cooper Rushen 10+1, Jody Scott 7+2, Ben Cook 5+1, Jan Kvech 3, Paco Castagna r/r. SHEFFIELD 41: Chris Holder 10, Jack Holder 8+1, Anders Rowe 7, Leon Flint 6+1, Josh Pickering 6, Luke Killeen 2+1, Jye Etheridge 2.
