Kings Lynn Stars just about held on for a vital 46-44 victory over Peterborough Panthers in a nervy Elite League clash.

Grand Prix star Kenneth Bjerre raced clear in the opening race of the night to defeat in-form Niels-Kristian Iversen in a 3-3, before Mateusz Szczepaniak defeated Norbert Kosciuch to give the Stars a 4-2 in heat 2.

New-boy Ulrich Ostergaard then held off Linus Sundstrom superbly to instigate a 2nd Kings Lynn heat advantage in heat 3, before Szczepaniak and Daniel Nermark doubled the hosts’ advantage through a heat 4 maximum.

Victories for Mads Korneliussen and Krzysztof Buczkowski saw the next two races end level, before Sundstrom dived underneath Nermark to give the visitors a 4-2 of their own.

The impressive Buczkowski bagged another pair of victories in the next two races – although both resulted in only 3-3s – before Sundstrom and Michael Jepsen Jensen linked-up for a massive 5-1 over Iversen to move the Panthers within 2 points in heat 10.

Danish hotshot Jepsen Jensen then drew Peterborough level through a heat 12 victory – but the away side were not ahead for long, as Iversen restored the 2 point Stars advantage despite a sublime ride from Bjerre to beat Nermark to 2nd place.

A level outcome to the penultimate race of the night set up a nervy last heat decider, and Bjerre was the man who took the lead for the chasing Panthers down the back straight in that heat 15. However, Kings Lynn men Korneliussen and Iversen comfortably kept Jepsen Jensen at bay at the back, meaning they held on for a 46-44 home victory.

For Kings Lynn, it was a solid home win in what was a very tough meeting. Skipper Mads Korneliussen (13) performed extremely well, as did Daniel Nermark at the tough number 5 position. Number one Niels-Kristian Iversen (9+1) was not on the top of his game, but did score well, whilst Ulrich Ostergaard (7+2) stepped up as a surprise performer to help cover the absence of Maciej Janowski. At reserve, the contribution of Mateusz Szczepaniak (6+2) was crucial, whilst Kevin Wolbert (2+1) also picked up a couple of decent points. The Stars did miss Janowski, meaning they were pushed very close, but in the end they just had enough in the tank.

It was also an excellent performance from Peterborough, who were very unlucky not to get more than a point. Kenneth Bjerre (13) performed expertly on what was his home track last season, whilst Linus Sundstrom (9+1) and Michael Jepsen Jensen (7) performed solidly in the middle order. Krzysztof Buczkowski (9) added 3 valuable wins despite being incredibly inconsistent, whilst Norbert Kosciuch (6+2) impressed again at reserve. However, Jason Bunyan (0) made no impact on his debut, and with Olly Allen missing through injury, the Panthers fell just short.

SCORES

Kings Lynn Stars – 46

1. Niels-Kristian Iversen 2, 2, 1, 3, 1* = 9+1
2. Ulrich Ostergaard 1*, 3, 1*, 2, 0 = 7+2
3.Maciej Janowski R/R
4. Mads Korneliussen 1, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2 = 13
5. Daniel Nermark 3, 2, 1*, 2, 1 = 9+1
6. Kevin Wolbert 1, 0, 1*, 0 = 2+1
7. Mateusz Szczepaniak 3, 2*, 0, 1*, 0 = 6+2

Peterborough Panthers – 44

1. Kenneth Bjerre 3, 2, 3, 2, 3 = 13
2.Olly Allen R/R
3. Michael Jepsen Jensen 0, 1, 3, 3, 0 = 7
4. Linus Sundström 2, 3, 2*, 2 = 9+1
5. Krzysztof Buczkowski, 0, 3, 3, 3, 0 = 9
6. Jason Bunyan 0, 0, 0, 0 = 0
7. Norbert Kosciuch 2, 1, 1*, 0, 0, 1, 1* = 6+2

source: www.speedwayupdates.proboards.com
Images Copyright Jeff Davies (www.jeffdavies.luxpics.com)