STOKE Easy Rider Potters put up a spirited display despite going down to a 56-35 defeat against the King’s Lynn Young Stars at the Adrian Flux Arena on Friday night.
The Potters were up against it before the meeting had even begun after Lee Payne had been taken ill leaving the Potters to use rider replacement to cover for his absence.
The Potters went behind in heat two with Ryan Kinsley getting the better of Ryan MacDonald after Layne Cupitt (King’s Lynn) and Robert Parker (Stoke) had both fallen and been disqualified to give the Young Stars a 3-2 heat advantage. The Young Stars extended their lead in heat three with a maximum 5-1 heat advantage from Shane Hazelden and Scott Campos over Ryan Terry-Daley and Danny Phillips. King’s Lynn piled on the pressure with a further 5-1 in heat six from James Cockle and Josh Bailey over Robert Parker and Chris Widman as the Young Stars lead 22-13.
Two further heats win for the Young Stars a 4-2 and then a 5-1 left the Potters trailing 37-22 after ten heats before Jon Armstrong was nominated as a tactical ride in heat eleven, but home rider Tom Stokes got the better of the Potters skipper with Widman third for a Stoke 5-3 heat win.
The Young Stars sealed their victory with a couple of 4-2 race wins and a 5-1 before skipper Armstrong gained a little consolation taking victory in heat fifteen.
Potters team manager Malcolm Vasey commented after the meeting saying “It was a disappointing result for us but under the circumstances the team did quite well on the whole. It was a huge loss to us already having Shaun (Tedham) missing but then Lee (Payne) was also taken ill during the morning and that made our task all the more difficult if not impossible. We now have to put this behind us and turn our attentions to tomorrow night against Cradley.”
KING’S LYNN 56: James Cockle 13, Tom Stokes 11+2, Shane Hazelden 11, Scott Campos 8+3, Josh Bailey 6+2, Ryan Kinsley 6+1, Layne Cupitt 1 STOKE 35: Jon Armstrong 16, Danny Phillips 8, Chris Widman 4+2, Ryan MacDonald 3+1, Ryan Terry-Daley 3, Robert Parker 1, Lee Payne r/r National League points: King’s Lynn 3 Stoke 0