Never a dull moment in the world of speedway

Nathan Bunting pens his thoughts in the latest Tape’s Up column in Your Local PaperSometimes in life, headlines just write themselves. The old adage that a day can be a long time in speedway couldn’t be much closer to the truth.Little did we know a few days later, King’s Lynn would be back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.Last Thursday started so positively as Birmingham roared into town, but we overcame some meeting wobbles and secured our first win in 2024.The star of the show was Patryk Wojdylo, a rider who suddenly introduced himself onto the scene, and almost instantly made himself a King’s Lynn hero. His paid maximum showed everything we needed, power, pace and a determination to never be beaten.We have to send our best wishes to captain, Tobiasz Musielak, after a nasty crash during heat 6, which ended his race and meeting prematurely due to a broken collarbone. Get well soon Tobi, we need you back.This was no more evident than in our bank holiday, derby day trip to Ipswich Witches. A meeting which started in warm conditions, soon deteriorated into a farce.We enjoyed five okay heats, followed by nothing more than processional riding as they rushed the meeting through to heat 10, and a result. The powers that be deemed that rider safety is only applicable after 10 heats!I don’t blame Ipswich for this, as it has been on show too many times in this sport, and at £23 a meeting, and a four-hour round trip, it isn’t value for money and nor will it entice new fans for what was effectively a 10-minute meeting. Our next home meeting was due to be this week against Leicester Lions, but we soon found out this had been called off due to rider availability.This was hastily followed by an SCB statement, outlining their disapproval and the incident would be investigated. Our name is dragged through the mud again, but this is necessary after late additions to the Polish fixtures on a British race night. The process of postponing this meeting was already in full swing before the injury to Tobi, as both Patryk and him were being called back to Poland to ride in Individual meetings.Speedway needs to continue improving its image, and how can we justify this by sending out weakened sides, affecting crowd levels and ruining business plans?Buster is a shrewd businessman, he knows what is best for the club, and we respect that. I am sure there is more to come, but the backlash being received on social media shows a level of misunderstanding.The Stars’ next meeting will now be away to Birmingham Brummies on Monday, May 13, where we will be desperately seeking an away win and our first bonus points victory of the season.The next action at the Adrian Flux Arena will see our bogey side, Sheffield Tigers, roll into town, and our former skipper Josh Pickering, as we seek another victory.n It was encouraging to see Robert Lambert perform so well in Croatia and he sits fifth in the current standings, but for a couple of poor last rides, he could well have been in with a chance of that elusive final win.It’s only a matter of time before Robert wins a Grand Prix, I am sure of that.I rate him as one of the most consistent riders on the continent, and when lady luck finally shines down on him, we will be there to rejoice.Another former Star, Kai Huckenbeck, also showed his potential with a 6th place finish, and I was personally delighted to see him in the final stages, a rider who on his day is a match for anybody on the world scene.I had the pleasure of meeting up with Pride of the East: Kings Lynn Stars Podcasts first guest on Monday during my trip to Ipswich, a certain Emmerson Fairweather.A guy still full of life and talking about British Speedway. He was a pleasure to be around.The guests we have lined up are also striking.Already booked, we have Lance King and Tom P Madsen, but I have also been in contact with Darcy Ward and Andy Campbell. I can’t wait to delve into the history of King’s Lynn with these guys.Please check out our back catalogue on Spotify and Amazon or via the Sport Social Podcast Network website.By the time you read this, our new episode will have been released, and it will be a lively affair.We can also be found on Facebook and X.