LEICESTER surged into the top four of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership with an emphatic 52-38 away win at King’s Lynn on Monday.
The Watling JCB Lions continue to build momentum at just the right time of the season, and they blew the Stars away in Norfolk with an outstanding display of fast gating.
Skipper Max Fricke raced to a 12-point maximum with some dominant first bend moves, whilst Luke Becker arguably took top billing with a sensational display of speed, winning his first four races by a distance before missing out on a full house in Heat 15.
By then, though, the Lions’ job was very much done and they have gone fourth in the table as a result, one point clear of Oxford and still with three matches in had on the Spires.
Fricke and Richard Lawson gave Leicester the ideal start with a big 5-1 in the opening race, although that was cancelled out by the Stars’ prolific reserves Patryk Wojdylo and Anders Rowe in the next.
However, a run of Lions race wins followed with Becker and Sam Masters storming from the gate in Heat 3, although Jan Kvech squeezed inside Masters on the second lap to limit the visitors to a 4-2.
Rising Star Sam Hagon was unlucky in Heat 4 having gated on a 5-1 with Ryan Douglas, as he was moved aside by Chris Harris on lap three and then Rowe passed him next time around.
But the Lions were threatening to extend their lead and they did so with another 4-2 in Heat 5, Fricke being well clear of a ding-dong scrap between Kvech and Lawson, which the Stars rider just edged.
It still extended the lead to four points, which was promptly doubled in the next with Douglas and Kerr hitting the front on turn two for a 5-1 over Wojdylo and Adam Ellis, who remarkably endured a scoreless evening.
Becker prevented any joy from the home side’s tactical substitute deployment of Kvech in Heat 7, although the two Stars riders did scramble past Masters for a 3-3, whilst Lawson held the Czech rider at bay for another share in Heat 8.
The hosts appeared to make some headway when Niels-Kristian Iversen and Kvech, taking his third ride in succession, outpaced Douglas and Kerr for a 5-1 in Heat 9 – but the Lions hit straight back in the next through Becker and Masters, with Iversen this time trailing.
Fricke completed a hat-trick of wins in Heat 11 as Lions went ten-up, Lawson relegating Harris to the back with a good move on the outside, and the points were as good as safe when Masters and Kerr raced to a clear 5-1 over Kvech in Heat 12.
Leicester piled on the agony for the Stars with Fricke and Becker winning the next two races, both of which ended in 4-2s, although Harris did pass Douglas for second place in Heat 13.
And the former Lions captain ended the night on a high with some consolation for his team with a 5-1 in Heat 15 to spoil Becker’s maximum, Wojdylo winning the race and Harris re-passing the American off the final bend, not that it was going to spoil the Leicester display.
Leicester manager Stewart Dickson said: “We were very professional and very thorough, and our gating was superb tonight. It’s a great three points for us.
“To be ultra-critical, we also threw away some heat advantages in the first seven or eight races, but credit there also to the King’s Lynn riders for passing us.
“The main thing was that didn’t come back to haunt us, and I did say beforehand these are the sort of meetings where we can take advantage of them not having an out-and-out No.1 because of the situation they’re in.
“I always felt Max Fricke would be pivotal, which proved to be the case, and we even had the luxury of sitting him out of Heat 15.
“We also had really good travelling support tonight, which we really thank for them for, and we can feel something hopefully building with this team.
“But as always with me, it’s feet on the ground and back to work, and we prepare for the next meeting because there is still work to do.”
Lions will now look to keep their excellent momentum going when they face Birmingham at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park on Thursday.
KING’S LYNN 38: Jan Kvech 11+1, Patryk Wojdylo 11, Chris Harris 8+2, Anders Rowe 4+3, Niels-Kristian Iversen 4, Adam Ellis 0, Benjamin Basso r/r.
LEICESTER 52: Luke Becker 13, Max Fricke 12, Richard Lawson 7+1, Ryan Douglas 7+1, Lewis Kerr 7+1, Sam Masters 6+1, Sam Hagon 0.
Leicester win the aggregate point
Photo credit: DEREK LEADER
