LEICESTER captain Max Fricke scored a sensational seven-ride full maximum as his side rounded out the regular league campaign with a 48-42 win over King’s Lynn.
The Watling JCB Lions were given a tough contest by the Stars at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park, and they had to come back from a six-point deficit as the match approached the halfway stage.
Fricke completed an 18-point maximum when he combined with Sam Masters for a 5-1 in Heat 15 over Lynn duo Niels-Kristian Iversen and Chris Harris, a result which not only secured the Lions’ win on the night, but it also tied the aggregate scores meaning a Super Heat was required for the additional league point.
The same four riders were nominated although the visitors had choice of gates, but the outcome was the same as Fricke and Masters sealed the deal away from the tapes to take the Lions into the play-offs on a winning note.
They have finished second in the regular ROWE Motor Oil league table, just two points behind leaders Sheffield, after a brilliant run in the second half of the season, and now they prepare to face Ipswich next week in the play-off semi-finals.
It was far from plain sailing against the Stars as the Lions suffered a host of problems in the early stages.
A clash on the back straight of Heat 1 saw both Richard Lawson and Harris come down, with the Stars guest disqualified, but the next five races saw three more Leicester crashes, the most serious of which saw Craig Cook suffer a dislocated shoulder when he spun and fell on the third bend of Heat 2.
Ryan Douglas in Heat 4 and Lawson in Heat 6 were both disqualified after coming to grief on turn two, which helped Lynn race into a 21-15 lead – and even when Fricke won a tactical substitute ride in Heat 7, Douglas was kept at the back by Iversen in a shared race.
Lawson launched the comeback with a fine ride to pass Lewis Kerr in Heat 8 with Joe Thompson taking a crucial third place over Anders Rowe, before Masters and Luke Becker pulled off an excellent 5-1 in Heat 9, both going past the Czech on the opening lap.
A 4-2 from Fricke and Douglas in Heat 10 put the Lions ahead before the race of the night in Heat 11 saw Douglas, who was below full fitness due to an arm issue, re-pass Harris in a terrific high-speed battle.
Iversen and Simon Lambert brought the Stars back level with a 4-2 in Heat 12 but Lions edged back ahead in the next with Fricke for once missing the start but blasting past Harris on turn four whilst Douglas supplied third place ahead of Kvech.
Becker dominated Heat 14 to take the Lions into the decider two points up, at which point Fricke and Masters took full control with a 5-1 to clinch the match, and then another maximum in the additional race to seal the aggregate.
Lions manager Stewart Dickson said: “King’s Lynn threw a few problems at us tonight and we contributed to our own problems initially at the start of the meeting.
“But it was the sign of a good team as we got it back together and still won the meeting, and I’d rather we had these little problems tonight than this time next week, or at Ipswich on Monday.
“I thought we showed a bit of character to come back to win the meeting and collect the aggregate point even though King’s Lynn had choice of gates.
“We had good backing, it was a good crowd tonight, and we’re going to be ready to go for next week.”
Lions head to Ipswich in the first leg of the play-off semi-final on Monday – team news will follow when the fitness of various riders is confirmed.
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2
LEICESTER 48: Max Fricke 18, Sam Masters 11+1, Luke Becker 7+2, Richard Lawson 5, Ryan Douglas 4, Joe Thompson 3, Craig Cook 0.
KING’S LYNN 42: Lewis Kerr 8+2, Niels-Kristian Iversen 7+1, Chris Harris 6+1, Anders Rowe 6+1, Jan Kvech 5+1, Simon Lambert 5+1, Norick Blodorn 5.
Aggregate scores tied – Leicester win the aggregate point after winning a Super Heat 7-2
