Speedway: King's Lynn lose 48-42 at home to Belle Vue
The return fixture's next week
King's Lynn went down to a 48-42 defeat against Belle Vue in their home opener.
With three races to go, the Stars had a four-point advantage, but the meeting turned against them in Heats 13 and 14 as the Aces staged a dramatic turnaround.
Five of the seven Stars riders won at least one race – with Benjamin Basso and Rising Star Anders Rowe both taking the flag twice – but none of them were able to reach double figures.
That was in contrast with the Aces where the in-form Brady Kurtz dropped just one point from five rides.
He was backed up by Dan Bewley with paid-12 and impressive displays in the middle order from Ben Cook and Jaimon Lidsey.
King's Lynn manager Rob Lyon said: “I think the lack of bike time showed tonight. They were just that little bit sharper, and we didn’t adapt to the conditions. Fair play to Belle Vue, they rode it well and took their chances.
“Ben had a solid meeting and under normal circumstances he’d have been in Heat 15, but I just felt he’d had a bad one in 14 and I felt I wanted the big guns out with the experience to try and get something out of it, but it wasn’t to be.
“There are a few issues to sort out after a couple of meetings, but it’s early days yet. It’s a fine line between getting it right and getting it wrong, but it will work itself out over a period of time.
“I do feel we could have done with a couple of meetings before we met Belle Vue. If we’d had Birmingham and Leicester early doors I think we would have been sitting quite nicely, but that’s the way it goes and you can’t help the weather.”
The Stars now prepare to hit the road next week with the return fixture at Belle Vue on Monday (April 15) followed by a trip to champions Sheffield next Thursday (April 18).