As I left the Adrian Flux Arena on Monday evening, it was both a sobering experience and a stark reminder of what it is like to be a King’s Lynn Stars fan.
Only a couple of weeks ago, we were riding on the crest of a wave, having beaten Ipswich narrowly in the league against all the odds and then drawing at Foxhall to secure ourselves a place in the Knockout Cup final.
Fast forward two weeks, and it almost felt like the wheels had come off and we were back to square one again.
Unfortunately, the Gods were against me and I was unable to attend the KO Cup final due to a family holiday, but as I sat watching the Butlin’s redcoats perform, I was also glued to a seven-inch phone screen watching the Stars underperform.
Leicester Lions had proved to be the form side of late, and we knew that at least a 10-point lead would be needed to take to Leicester for the second leg if we stood a chance of lifting our first silverware since 2009.
The Lions have a knack for mastering the King’s Lynn circuit and managed to secure a draw, which almost sealed our fate.
If our fans have learnt anything, though, it’s not to underestimate this team.
Still, we went to Leicester with the confidence that we could do to them what we had done to Ipswich.
Alas, it wasn’t to be, and we succumbed to a 30-point defeat, which sealed our fate and the wait for silverware rumbles on.
I am sure many will point to some baffling refereeing decisions, but ultimately this wasn’t the catalyst of our defeat.
Fast forward to Monday evening, and ironically, it was the Leicester Lions that were the visitors again.
It was a night of despair, hampered by difficult conditions to prepare a racetrack, the Stars just weren’t at the races.
You cannot dress it up in any other way, it just wasn’t good enough.
We were outgated, outwitted and thoroughly outperformed by a high-class Lions septet.
Having lost the KO Cup final, our play-off aspirations were also now being extinguished as we faced a painful final few weeks of the season.
We still face our final few meetings of the season, and it is now imperative to ride with passion and pride.
I’m sure nobody will be hurting more than the riders, but the fans deserve for the season to end with some cheer.
We still have a busy month of speedway to come as we next travel to Birmingham next Monday before facing them at home four days later.
This is an opportunity for the riders to pick up five big points and prove that we are still a force to be reckoned with.
We all expect a reaction to this past week.
It may be a tough time supporting the Stars at the moment, but the Young Stars are on the verge of something very special next week.
Having returned to the third tier of British Speedway for the first time since 2016, Jason Pipe and his band of merry men have taken the National Development Trophy by storm and could secure the trophy at home to the Plymouth Centurion next Wednesday.
First off, it is a visit to Kent Eagles on Sunday, on what is a technical track, and looking at weather updates, it could be a hot and uncomfortable afternoon.
Every rider has had special moments this season, and it is testament to them that they find themselves in this position, and also an opportunity to take all three points from the meeting at Kent.
I will be going down for my first visit to the Iwade circuit (hopefully, Andrew knows the postcode for this by now,) hoping to cheer them one step closer to the trophy.
Jason is in a very bullish mood and will be going there for the win, so hopefully we can celebrate a title in front of the home fans the following Wednesday evening.
If you can get yourselves to Kent to support the boys, I would encourage you to attend to help them over the line.
If not, make the Adrian Flux Arena a noisy place when they return next Wednesday, hopefully, we will see some more faces in the crowd; they deserve this.
It was another indifferent SGP in Riga, Latvia on Saturday for both Robert and Jan.
Robert has at least manoeuvred himself into a tie for the final qualification place for the series in 2026 after securing 10 points.
His form in the Polish League has taken an upturn, and hopefully, moving into the final two rounds of the series, he can perform as he did in 2024.
If he can start making some starts, then it is possible he could pick up his second SGP victory.
For Jan, another difficult night, as he picked up three points, which leaves him adrift of that qualifying position.
He does have the comfort of travelling to Holsted, Denmark on Saturday, where the top four earn a place in the SGP Series for 2026, and I’m sure we all send our best wishes to Jan and hope he can make the final four.
All we can do is carry on supporting and cheering the boys on, and give all we have and hope it is reciprocated on track.
Better days are coming, we have to believe. Up the Stars!
