KING’S LYNN go into Thursday night’s derby with Ipswich at the Adrian Flux Arena buoyed by a battling display at Belle Vue on Monday.
The Stars are still without Tobiasz Musielak and, with only struggling Birmingham not in action on Thursday, continue to operate rider-replacement for their injured number one.
Dane Benjamin Basso returns after missing the 42-48 defeat by the Aces because he was competing in the GP qualifying rounds.
Ipswich, who beat the Stars at Foxhall earlier this month in a rain-curtailed meeting that ended 37-23 after 10 heats, have Tom Brennan guesting for the injured Danny King.
The two club’s fortunes could hardly be more different, Ipswich second having lost only once in eight outings while Lynn’s only victory in seven came against fellow strugglers Birmingham – one of only two home fixtures raced due to numerous postponements.
They have also been handed a two point penalty by the Speedway Control Bureau following an investigation into the postponement of the Leicester’s scheduled visit.
Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “We are on a long winning streak home and away in the league against our local rivals and we know how important it is to beat King’s Lynn for everyone at the club but also we are looking to walk away with three points.
“We saw on Monday that the Stars are strong at reserve but we have been strong from one to seven during our recent run.”
A prior personal commitment means that Stars’ boss Rob Lyon will not be in the pits on Thursday but he is confident that, in his absence, they can take the fight to the Witches.
He said: “I was really pleased with the way the boys took it to Belle Vue. Hopefully, we can build on that and get a good result against Ipswich.
“It’s always nice to put one over the local rivals but for me it’s just another two league points up for grabs and we desperately need them..”
King’s Lynn: Tobiasz Musielak R/R, Benjamin Basso, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Michael Palm Toft, Nicolai Klindt, Patryk Wojdylo, Anders Rowe.
Ipswich: Emil Sayfutdinov, Dan Thompson, Adam Ellis, Tom Brennan, Jason Doyle, Keynan Rew, Jordan Jenkins.
Words by George Dodds.
Images by Taylor Lanning.