The Elliott Sponsored Lions raced to a ten point win against the Plymouth Devils on Saturday at Beaumont Park and the result moved Leicester back into second place in the Premier League table.
The victory came at a high cost though when Simon Nielsen crashed in heat 14, bringing down his race partner Jari Mäkinen who fortunately survived the incident without injury but badly damaged his bike which had only just been rebuilt following his crash at Plymouth. Simon was not so lucky and was taken to hospital with a suspected broken femur which was confirmed later in the evening and his absence will prove a huge loss to the Lions.
The 53 points to 43 score-line turned out to be Leicester’s best result at home so far this season and the meeting contained a series of excellent racing, moments of exasperation and a double twist at the very end which sent Lions fans home happy that their team had won and yet sad at the thought of Simon’s injury.
Heat 4 was the first real talking point amongst fans when Jan Graversen was smartly out of the gate followed by Ryan Fisher. Off gate four was Lasse Bjerre who quickly switched inside of the Plymouth rider who fell in first bend bunching and much to the surprise of the Californian he was deemed to be the cause of the stoppage and was excluded. The fifth heat provided a rare sight of Ben Barker finishing third when Kauko Nieminen created a gap on the inside for Mäkinen to slip through and the pair never lost their lead despite the Devils captain making up some ground after passing his team partner, James Holder.
Wind forward to heat 10 and what a gritty piece of riding from Simon Lambert who closed down Todd Kurtz around the third and fourth turns and then passed the Australian on the outside along the home straight for a well-deserved win. Heat 11 personified Barker’s class and zest for winning when he was handed the black and white helmet colours. For much of the race it looked as though Barker would just fall short as Lasse held a commanding position but the Plymouth rider took a high line around the pits turn which gave him a long run down the back straight and picking up speed he caught the Lions rider on the next bend and as they crossed the finishing line Ben snatched a win in a photo finish.
Three races later in the race of the big four, Magnus Karlsson sped past Fisher down the back straight for his second heat win of the night and then came the incident that robbed Leicester of both Simon and Jari. Out came Jan as a reserve replacement for Jari and he won the race with yards to spare which completed a great night’s racing for the likeable Dane.
Finally the twist in the meeting was saved until the very last race when Plymouth needing maximum points to gain a bonus match point had their aspirations lifted when Magnus charged back to the pits with machine problems. The 2-minute time allowance was already ticking away before this moment and the Lions number one had just ten seconds to switch bikes. His exclusion light came on which was a blow to Leicester as Magnus was now starting off on a 15 metre handicap behind two of the league’s best riders. The Plymouth pairing gained the upper hand over Kauko and kept him at bay only for Magnus to make up lost ground. After passing his team mate Magnus set off after the two Plymouth riders and made several determined efforts to find a way past. Then with the finishing line in sight Fisher’s bike stopped only metres away which enabled Magnus to overtake and so too did Kauko to leave Plymouth empty handed.
Scorers
Leicester 53: Magnus Karlsson 11 points, Simon Lambert 4, Kauko Nieminen 11+1, Jari Mäkinen 3+2, Lasse Bjerre 8, Simon Nielsen 5+3 and Jan Graversen 11+1
Plymouth 43: Ben Barker 14 points + 1 bonus, James Holder 3, Cory Gathercole 3, Todd Kurtz 8, Ryan Fisher 10, Nicki Glanz 3+3 and Robert Ksiezak 2
