All change at the Adrian Flux Arena as Klindt returns

This week, it was the turn of Chris Abbs to give his views in the new weekly Tapes Up column in Your Local Paper.So we have a change to the King’s Lynn line-up already with Vadim Tarasenko informing the club early last week that he can no longer commit to racing in the UK.It’s a shame as he showed some promise in his first two meetings for the club but after a disastrous third match at Sheffield, he was gone, no doubt with some kind of input from his Polish Extraliga club who haven’t started the season well.But every cloud has a silver lining and in his place returns Nicolai Klindt, right, following his release from Oxford.Many Stars fans would have been disappointed that Klindt didn’t return for 2024 having been one of the few bright spots from last season so to have him back on board will be a popular outcome. The Stars produced a much more positive and encouraging performance last Thursday at Oxford, pushing the Spires all the way but just running out of steam towards the latter stages having led for much of the contest.Along with the narrow defeat at Leicester in the opening fixture of the season, it feels like two bonus points are there for the taking when we race the return matches at the Adrian Flux Arena. Last night should have seen what already feels like a must-win home meeting for Lynn against the Birmingham Brummies.The midlands outfit raced to their first victory of the season on Monday against Belle Vue in front of the Eurosport cameras so their season is up and running and they will have been no pushovers. Hopefully, the circuit was more to the home riders’ liking after a narrow defeat to the Aces three weeks ago.We need a win to give everyone a lift and prevent us from being marooned at the bottom of the table. If the team all ride to their capabilities then that first victory should be on the board as you read this.Bank Holiday Monday sees the first local derby of the campaign as the Stars head across the border into enemy territory to take on the Ipswich Witches. They currently sit on top of the Premiership table and possess the top-end might of Emil Sayfutdinov and Jason Doyle while Dan Thompson has arguably been the most impressive Rising Star so far.It’s another big task for Lynn but it’s a circuit that most of the team know well and are happy on so we go there without fear and look for a positive result. n The first Speedway Grand Prix of the season took place in Croatia last Saturday and was won by Australian Jack Holder. To many, he looks the most likely competitor to break Bartosz Zmarzlik’s dominance over the world title and to that end, Holder made the perfect start to his campaign.On a night when track conditions seemed to change more than once, experienced campaigners Jason Doyle and Freddie Lindgren completed the rostrum with Zmarzlik fourth.Norfolk boy Robert Lambert finished fifth on the night and was comfortably the best Brit on show.The aim for Robert this year must be to win his first Grand Prix and find his way onto the series rostrum, he has made a good start and a bit more consistency this year should make that achievable.The second round is in Warsaw in a couple of weeks, another strong showing on a track that should suit him will put Robert in good stead for the rest of the season.And you never know, he might appear in the King’s Lynn 1-7 at some point like he did last season. Here’s hoping.The Pride of the East podcast continues to go from strength to strength.This week we welcome former Stars rider Chris Mills onto the show as our special guest while Gary Hinchliffe is our Fan of the Week.All episodes of the podcast are available to listen to for free on Spotify and Amazon or via the Sport Social Podcast Network website.We can also be found on Facebook and X and would love to hear from any fans who would like to be involved in the show going forward.