‘It’s a chance to go and have some fun’

Testimonial man Niels-Kristian Iversen admits he’s delighted to be bringing several of the sport’s top stars to the Adrian Flux Arena for his benefit meeting this Sunday (3pm).Iversen, whose British career dates back well over two decades with a significant part of that time spent in Stars colours, has the honour of kicking off the new season with the first meeting to be staged in the UK this year.And top of the rider list is Lynn legend Robert Lambert, who came through the ranks at his local club from the age of 15 and is now World No.2 with a genuine shot at challenging for the top prize in 2025.Lambert does not race regularly in the UK at this stage of his career and his appearance on Sunday – along with the likes of fellow Grand Prix stars Fredrik Lindgren, Jason Doyle and Lynn’s own Jan Kvech – is sure to be hugely popular.Iversen said: “I rode with Robert for a good few years at King’s Lynn, I was there when he just came onto the scene, and I thought it would be really interesting for the fans to see him.“It’s also good for him to come back and see some old faces, so he agreed to do it and obviously I’m really pleased about that.“We also have the rest of the boys who are in the current line-up for this year, and it’s a good chance for them to get run in on the track and just go and have some fun.” Iversen’s main association with King’s Lynn commenced in 2011 when the club stepped back up to top-flight racing after dominating the second tier. Subsequent years saw him compete in 100 GPs, winning five of them and finishing as World No.3 in 2013, and he also helped Denmark to four World Cup triumphs.But the 42-year-old actually started his British career at Lynn a decade earlier, and he then took in spells with Newport, Oxford, Peterborough and Wolverhampton before heading back to Norfolk.Iversen said: “I came over in 2001 when I was still doing an apprenticeship in Denmark, so I did a few meetings at the end of 2001 for King’s Lynn. “I came in and I was quite inexperienced, and then I came back in 2003 to race full-time with Newport. It doesn’t feel like long ago, but then again when I think back, definitely a lot of time has passed and a lot of years!”The Testimonial meeting will be staged as a four-team tournament featuring King’s Lynn and three of those former clubs who currently find themselves with nowhere to race.Newport folded in 2012 with the Hayley Stadium subsequently demolished; whilst both Peterborough and Wolves ceased operations at the end of 2023 due to decisions taken by their landlords. Hopes remain that both can be revived in the future. Iversen said: “That was the idea behind it, these teams are not running at the moment because of no available tracks, and it’s not a good situation for these clubs.“But I thought maybe I could bring them back for at least a day, and then it could bring a bit of attention to these teams, and hopefully their fans will appreciate it as well and maybe come and visit.”TEAMS: KING’S LYNN: Robert Lambert, Jan Kvech, Chris Harris, Ashton Boughen. WOLVERHAMPTON: Fredrik Lindgren, Sam Masters, Jonas Jeppesen, Ryan Douglas. PETERBOROUGH: Nicolai Klindt, Ben Cook, Danny King, Peter Kildemand. NEWPORT: Jason Doyle, Tom Brennan, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Anders Rowe.