In our weekly YLP speedway column Tape’s Up, Andrew Howell discusses the Lynn Stars…
The Stars bounced back from a disappointing home defeat to Leicester with a 47-43 win at Birmingham on Monday evening.
Though the chase for the play-offs was effectively extinguished with the defeat to Leicester, it’s important for the fans that the season wasn’t just left to drift away.
The win at Birmingham was spearheaded by local racer Lewis Kerr, guesting for Ben Cook, who top scored with an impressive 14+1 and he was well supported by Richard Lawson who scored 10+3.
It was the duo of Kerr and Lawson who put the Stars into a four-point lead going into the final heat courtesy of a 5-1 in heat 14. Lawson then sealed the win on the night with a tapes to flag victory in heat 15.
The win was marred by an injury to Stars skipper Nicolai Klindt who crashed out of heat nine and had to withdraw from the rest of the meeting. Thankfully it looks like the likeable Dane escaped with bumps and bruises and won’t miss any meetings.
The Stars return to action on Thursday evening as they face Birmingham in the return fixture. A home win and a bonus point would be a welcome way to start a busy run of fixtures,
The following Monday (18th), the Stars are at home to Oxford before heading to Ipswich on Thursday (21st) in what is sure to be a hard-fought local derby against a Witches side still smarting from their Knockout Cup semi-final elimination.
Thursday’s home meeting should see a welcome return to the side for Ben Cook, who suffered a serious wrist injury in the home meeting against Leicester in April. The Aussie had just started to find some form after a slow start to the season and the Stars have struggled to effectively cover his absence at times.
Cook made a return to the side at the end of June but had to pull out of the meeting at Birmingham due to on-going issues with his wrist.
However, Cook continued to race in Poland so was effectively deemed to be withholding his services from British speedway and was banned for 28 days.
It’s a complex situation with tracks in Poland tending to be slicker and smoother which allowed the Aussie to race with less side effects than riding on grippier and bumpy tracks in the UK.
It would also be good to see the team put in a series of strong performances from now to end the season and see riders make a claim for a team position in 2026.
I’m sure Rob Lyon has already started planning for next season, though big decisions facing the sport in the winter will limit what deals he can get done early.
YOUNG STARS SEAL TITLE
On Sunday, the Young Stars sealed the National Development Trophy title in fine style with a 59-31 away win at the Kent Eagles.
The Eagles were the only side who could still mathematically catch the Young Stars and needed to win to keep their title dreams alive.
However, the Young Stars put on a ruthless display to end their hosts’ dreams.
On a sunny afternoon in front of a healthy crowd, the tone for the day was set by Young Stars captain Jody Scott who raced to a dominant victory and set a new track record in the process. The South Creake-based rider was excellent all afternoon, scoring 14 points and only defeated once by Ben Morley in heat 11.
Scott was well supported by Cooper Rushen and guest Jordy Loftus who both raced to 11+1 paid maximums and Luke Harrison who scored 11+1 from five rides.
They, in turn, were supported by the solid engine room of Max Perry (5+2) and Ashton Vale (5) in an emphatic team display.
The meeting looked to be in the balance after only four heats with the Young Stars holding a narrow 13-11 lead. But two 5-1’s and two 4-2’s in the next four heats saw that gap grow 31-17 and the meeting was effectively over as a contest, and it was just a matter of time before the celebrations could begin.
However, we had to wait until heat 12 to officially seal the title and it was 15-year-old sensation Cooper Rushen and guest Jordy Loftus who did so in style.
Loftus made a great start and he was followed closely by Kent guest Daryl Ritchings. Rushen, however, was not to be denied, chasing Ritchings hard all race and pulling off a spectacular outside pass on the final lap to seal the title and claim the traditional celebratory bumps on his return to the pits gate.
The Young Stars finish their National Development Trophy campaign with a home fixture against the Plymouth Centurions on Wednesday evening where they will be presented with the trophy, and it would be great to see a big crowd to help celebrate their success.
The title is also a richly deserved reward for team manager Jason Pipe, who put together an excellent team full of young and exciting riders. I’m hopeful that the Young Stars will return to the track again in 2026 to defend their title.
