Leicester hosts the current leaders of the Elite League, the King’s Lynn Stars at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium on Saturday without their number one rider and talisman Jason Doyle.
Whilst the Lions are hoping to become only the second team this season to beat the visitors, Doyle will be bidding for a place in next season’s Grand Prix series at Berwick.
“Jason has a great opportunity to secure a place in next season’s Grand Prix series and we as a club would not wish to stand in his way. It is every rider’s ambition when they start out in the sport to reach the top of their chosen profession and to represent your country in a World Championship competition. Jason in my view is close to realising his dream of rubbing shoulders with the very best and already this season we have seen him beat some of those currently competing in the Grand Prix so he knows that he has the ability to make an impression if he qualifies from the meeting at Berwick on Saturday” explained the Lions team manager Norrie Allan.
In Doyle’s place the Rapid Solicitors Lions will book in a guest rider and King’s Lynn are also missing two riders from the team that has taken them to the top of the Elite League table. Kenneth Bjerre is competing in the same meeting as Doyle at Berwick and Robert Lambert is representing Team GB in a semi-final of the Speedway World Under-21 Team Championship at the Teterow stadium in Germany. The visitors have booked Sam Masters as a guest for Lambert and team manager Rob Lyon has opted to cover for Bjerre’s absence with rider replacement. The big draw-card on Saturday is the appearance of Niels-Kristian Iversen, ranked the third best rider in World Speedway who currently has the highest race average in the Elite League.
“King’s Lynn will present us with an almighty challenge as they are the in-form team of the moment and deserve their lofty position as leaders of the Elite League. Bjerre will be a loss to the team as he is second in their averages but they have enough cover throughout the side to step into his shoes. We have booked in Coventry’s Kenneth Hansen to replace Patrick Hougaard and I am in the process of engaging a guest rider for Jason Doyle. I believe that rider for rider we are a match for them in the main body of the team and the key will be at reserve where they have two of the best pairings in the league on current form so whichever team scores the most in heats 2 and 9 may well be the difference between winning and losing this match” added Allan.
Teams
Leicester: 1. Guest, 2. Simon Stead, 3. Mads Korneliussen, 4. Lasse Bjerre, 5. Kenneth Hansen, 6. Josh Bates and 7. Max Clegg
King’s Lynn: 1. Niels-Kristian Iversen, 2. Nicklas Porsing, 3. Rory Schlein, 4. Sam Masters, 5. Rider Replacement, 6. Lewis Kerr and 7. Lewis Rose
