Tape’s Up: The ups and downs of the Stars

As the dust settles on the 2024 season, now seems a good time to reflect on a season of ups and downs for the Stars.When the season started, I was feeling the most optimistic about the Stars line-up than I have been for many a season.On paper, the side looked exciting and full of promise and the return of Rob Lyon as team manager was a big boost to the club.The season started with narrow defeats to Leicester and Belle Vue, and it was only the third meeting into the season when the injury curse started to raise its ugly head.Already heading to Sheffield without the injured Niels-Kristian Iversen and Ben Basso, the Stars fell to a heavy defeat in South Yorkshire and were then hit by the news that Vadim Tarasenko quit the club after a nightmare evening of falls and mechanical failures.He was soon replaced by Nicolai Klindt who had been released by Oxford, but the very next home meeting against Birmingham saw what many fans regard as the single most significant moment of the season.A heat 6 crash saw Tobiasz Musielak withdrawn from the meeting with a broken collarbone, and little did most Stars fans know at the time, that would be the last time we’d see him in Stars colours. His absence was a bitter blow and left the Stars needing to rely on guests for the remainder of the season. Further injuries to Klindt, Basso, Iversen and Patryk Wojdylo at various times only rubbed more salt into the wounds. In the end, all the turmoil with rider availability and injuries became too much to overcome to sustain a push for a play-off place.However, despite all these issues, the season certainly wasn’t one of just doom and gloom.The Stars finished the season with ten league victories which is as many as they managed in the 2022 and 2023 seasons combined. There were also some memorable team performances and some terrific racing served up by a consistent track surface that offers promise for seasons ahead.Three home wins over reigning champions Sheffield firmly ended their 17-match unbeaten run they had over us. In the final week of the season, the Stars powered to home victories over Belle Vue, Sheffield, and Leicester, three of the four teams in the play-offs. The signing of Jan Kvech has proved to be an inspiration. From this season’s team, he’d be the first name on my team sheet for next season and I know fans from other clubs have already cast admiring glances.But with the Czech rider having strong King’s Lynn connections in his backroom team through manager Filip Sitera and former Stars legend Tomas Topinka acting as a mentor, I’m confident they’ll advise him to stay with the Stars. Niels-Kristian Iversen also rolled back the years with some fantastic displays, especially at the tail end of the season and Anders Rowe was quite rightly voted the Pride of the East rider of the season as he continued his development in the rising star position.All in all, it will go down as one of those “if only” seasons as things could have turned out so differently.But there is plenty to look forward to as the Stars build for the 2025 season and I’m already counting down to next March.As the chequered flag falls on the 2024 season, fans up and down the country invariably start looking at who they would like to ride in their teams for 2025. I’m no exception to that so for just a bit of fun, I’ve put together two teams who I’d like to see for the Stars next year.To keep things consistent, I’ve used the 40-point team-building average from 2024.The first team I’ve put together is made up of who I think could be realistic targets for the club and addresses some of the issues the team faced in 2024.It’s based on predominately British-based riders or riders who have a track record of taking racing in the UK seriously. It’s also built with strength in depth in mind after all the troubles we had attracting an out-and-out Number 1 after Tobiasz Musielak’s departure.Its strength is that there should always be a high-calibre rider at reserve and in Lawson, Basso, Klindt and Kvech, riders who are all capable of stepping up into heat leader roles, especially at home.Chris Harris is a rider I’ve always admired and would love to see him in the Stars colours one day. Starting at reserve should also be a real trump card home and way.Richard Lawson (7.03); 2. Niels-Kristian Iversen (6.73); 3. Nicolai Klindt (6.59); 4. Ben Basso (6.89); 5. Jan Kvech (6.52); 6. Chris Harris (6.21); 7. Jordan Jenkins (Rising Star) Total team average: 39.97.The second team I’ve put together is totally in the realms of fantasy speedway, but this is the one time all fans can dream.The team is led by the British Grand Prix duo of Dan Bewley and Robert Lambert to form a potent spearhead.The engine room of the team is made up of three of the most promising prospects in the sport in Jan Kvech, Tom Brennan and Ben Cook. All three would be excellent performers home and away.At reserve, it would see the return of Stars rider of the season Anders Rowe and prodigious local talent Ashton Boughen as the Rising Star.Dan Bewley (8.56); 2. Tom Brennan (6.28); 3. Ben Cook (6.86); 4. Jan Kvech (6.52); 5. Robert Lambert (7.61); 6. Anders Rowe (3.71); 7. Ashton Boughen (Rising Star)Total team average: 39.54. As much as I’d love to see this line up in 2025, realistically we’ve probably got more chance of Lionel Messi lining up for the Linnets next season than seeing this team take to the track.The rider I would most like to see in Stars colours next season is of course Robert Lambert, right, who has truly blossomed into a world-class rider.He finally sealed his first-ever Grand Prix win at Vojens last Saturday to break his duck and the victory moved him into second position with a 10-point advantage over Freddie Lindgren going into the last round at Torun.A silver medal would be just reward for a magnificent season at GP level and his form all over Europe has been exceptional.In the Polish playoffs, Robert scored a 13+2 paid maximum as Torun took a 12-point lead to Lublin for the second leg.Unfortunately for Robert, Torun fell to a 59-31 defeat to the title favourites in the return leg, but he again top scored with 15 points from six rides and beat the likes of Zmarzlik (twice), Holder, Kubera and Lindgren on their home track.His signing for the Stars in 2025 would be a massive boost for everyone connected to the club but with his current schedule and success, I sadly can’t see a return to full-time UK speedway any time soon.However, whatever side the Stars do field in 2025, I’m just hoping we’re blessed with a little more good luck than we have seen in previous seasons.And then maybe, just maybe we could be talking about the return of silverware to the club once again. Being able to dream is all part of the fun of being a fan of any sport.