Stars begin Premiership season in the Midlands

King’s Lynn race into action for the first time in 2024 when they visit Leicester in the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership tonight (7.30pm).The PSH Environmental Stars have made multiple changes over the winter in the expectation of mounting a serious play-off challenge.The first test is the trip to the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park, and the two sides will see plenty of each other in the early weeks as the return fixture is back at the Adrian Flux Arena next Thursday (March 28).New skipper Tobaisz Musielak makes his debut for the Stars at No.1, and he is one of five new faces in the side compared to the line-up which completed the 2023 season.Musielak and Niels-Kristian Iversen form the opening race combination with Michael Palm Toft and Benjamin Basso teaming up in the middle order, with Vadim Tarasenko racing at No.5.The Stars also hope to score well at reserve, and whilst Patryk Wojdylo will be racing at the East Midlands venue for the first time, Rising Star Anders Rowe is a former Leicester rider having spent time with the Lions at Championship level two years ago.The home side have also made major changes after narrowly missing out on the play-offs last season, but they are still led by top Australian star Max Fricke.They have recruited three riders from Wolverhampton – Sam Masters, Luke Becker and Ryan Douglas – after the sad closure of the Monmore outfit, whilst former Stars racer Richard Lawson completes a powerful top five.King’s Lynn Operations Manager Dale Allitt said: “It’s difficult to know what to expect, because none of us have ridden yet as Leicester got called off last week.“It’s straight into league action, but we’ll certainly be going there to try and get some points, that’s the name of the game, and we’ll be confident.“I know people are saying it’s an early start, but in fact although we have fixed race nights it’s actually a really congested fixture list, and we don’t have that many ways to go if matches are called off.“You’ve got to get the matches in, and it’s the same for everybody. Riders have practiced all over the world, so I think any gremlins will hopefully already be sorted out.“I’m not bothered about what other people do. We know our job, we know what we’ve got to do, and we will concentrate on being the best we can.”Leicester: Max Fricke, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.King’s Lynn: Tobiasz Musielak, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Michael Palm Toft, Benjamin Basso, Vadim Tarasenko, Patryk Wojdylo, Anders Rowe.