Stars make it three wins on the bounce

King’s Lynn raced to a third Rowe Motor Oil Premiership victory on the trot with a hard-fought effort to see off Belle Vue 51-39.The PSH Environmental Stars looked set for a big win when they got off to a flying start, but the Aces battled back strongly with their top three riders on the night posing a particular threat.But Stars had the better all-round unit with Richard Lawson once again proving to be an outstanding guest, whilst skipper Niels-Kristian Iversen chipped in with important wins and paid wins, and the hosts scored well at reserve once again.Lynn did make the perfect start with back-to-back 5-1s in the opening two races as Lawson and Iversen took the scalp of Dan Bewley in Heat 1, whilst Anders Rowe and Lewis Kerr added another emphatic maximum in the next.Aces hit back with fast starting from Jaimon Lidsey and Ben Cook in Heat 3, leaving no way through for Chris Harris in the early stages, but the Stars quickly rebuilt their lead to six points as Iversen shot from the outside in Heat 4 whilst Rowe moved inside Jake Mulford for third with the visitors’ Rising Star then suffering a puncture.Bewley was a clear winner of a shared Heat 5 in the fastest time of the night, but when Aces boss Mark Lemon deployed him as a tactical substitute in the next race the British GP winner found himself facing a 5-1 again before he rounded Kerr for second place at the start of the last lap.However, the Lidsey/Cook combination brought Belle Vue back into contention with maximum points in Heat 7, Cook charging away from the gate whilst Lidsey made it inside Iversen at the end of the first lap. With the gap down to four, the Stars immediately set about extending it, and they did so with Lawson and Rowe quickly getting the better of Norick Blodorn on the opening two turns of Heat 8 to make it 28-20. Bad luck then struck both sides in successive races with Harris pulling out of second place for the Stars in Heat 9, handing Belle Vue a 4-2 as Bewley took the win, but then a close moment on the back straight in the next saw Lawson and Lidsey make contact, with Lidsey forced to come to a halt as Harris joined Lawson for a 5-1.But just as Lynn were beginning to think the aggregate point could be a possibility, having been beaten by 16 points in Manchester, the Aces hit straight back with a surprise 5-1 in Heat 11 as Norick Blodorn gated with team-mate Bewley whilst Iversen and Kerr lost too much ground in the early stages.And the visitors still had hopes of snatching an unlikely away win when Lidsey took control of Heat 12 which was shared, leaving the scores at 42-36. But Heat 13 was a cracker and it went in the Stars’ favour as Lawson and Iversen squeezed out Bewley into the first turn, and as the Dane took the advantage Lawson fended off Bewley and Cook until the very last bend when Bewley cut through on the inside for second place.Lynn’s 4-2 still took them to the brink of victory, and that was secured in Heat 14 as Kerr and guest Drew Kemp followed him the impressive Cook for a 3-3 which also resolved the aggregate point in the Aces’ favour. There was still another fine race to enjoy in Heat 15 as Lawson made it five wins on the night and he was joined by Iversen for the Stars’ fifth 5-1 after a great scrap with Lidsey, the home rider making it back around the outside for second place.Manager Rob Lyon said: “It was a great team effort again, every single rider played their part, and that’s what you need to win speedway meetings. “Richard led from the front, the others followed, and 51 points is a great result.“The reserves have been going good for the last two or three weeks, Anders has had a good season all-round to be honest, and Lewi has come in and pulled in some good points for us, so we have a solid reserve pairing.“Niels was still rolling back the years in Heat 15 with a terrific ride against Jaimon Lidsey, and it was like going back ten years.”King’s Lynn 51: Richard Lawson 16, Niels-Kristian Iversen 11+2, Anders Rowe 7+2, Chris Harris 7+1, Lewis Kerr 6+1, Drew Kemp 4+2, Benjamin Basso r/r. Belle Vue 39: Dan Bewley 14, Jaimon Lidsey 11+1, Ben Cook 9+1, Norick Blodorn 3+1, Antti Vuolas 2, Jake Mulford 0, Brady Kurtz r/r.Belle Vue win the aggregate point.Tonight, the Stars are back in action when they host the Sheffield Tigers in their penultimate meeting of the season.