The Lions roared back to form last night with a win at Swindon by 47 points to 43. The inclusion of two guests, Brady Kurtz and Richard Lawson, together with a star performance from Nicolai Klindt made all the difference as Leicester picked up their first away points of the season.
Although, it was a familiar story to begin with as Leicester were on the back foot and were trailing the Robins by 8 points after four races but then came a revival that was launched by Kurtz and Klindt who posted the team’s first of their six heat advantages. The pairing repeated the feat again three heats later and together they sewed up the match points in the final heat that was re-run after Jason Doyle was excluded for a fall.
Beforehand, a mid-match flurry of three 5-1’s featuring Klindt, Lawson, Starke and Kurtz tipped the balance Leicester’s way which gave them a lead of six points. Whilst Doyle and Josh Grajczonek reduced the Paul Chapman and Sons Lions lead in Heat 11, the points were shared in the next three heats which left the destination of the match points in the balance.
Leicester held a two point lead going into the decider and pinned their faith in Kurtz and Klindt who were holding second place behind Grajczonek until the race was stopped after Doyle fell. In the re-run Klindt gained his third win of the night and with Grajczonek getting the better of Kurtz for second place.
“We really turned the formbook upside down and I think we shocked Swindon. All seven of my riders chipped in with at least one vital ride apiece and we had great contributions from our two guests Brady Kurtz and Richard Lawson together with a captain’s performance from Nicolai Klindt” said Norrie Allan.
Scorers
Swindon 43 points: Jason Doyle 11+1, Josh Grajczonek 8+1, Rohan Tungate 1+1, Nick Morris 8, Justin Sedgmen 4+1, Stefan Nielsen 6+2 and Charles Wright 5+1
Leicester 47 points: Richard Lawson 6+2, Nicolai Klindt 12+1, Aaron Summers 3, Paul Starke 4+1, Davey Watt 4, Brady Kurtz 17+1 and Josh Auty 1+1
