King's Lynn Stars

King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when King's Lynn failed to have a team competing in the British league system.[1]

King's Lynn Stars
Club information
Track addressAdrian Flux Arena
Saddlebow Road
King's Lynn
Norfolk
CountryEngland
Founded1965
Team managerAlex Brady
Team captainNicolai Klindt
LeagueSGB Premiership
Websitewww.kingslynn-speedway.com
Club facts
ColoursBlue, White, Gold
Track size342 metres (374 yd)
Track record time57.55 secs
Track record date11 September 2018
Track record holderRobert Lambert
Current team
Rider CMA
England Robert Lambert
England Simon Lambert
Denmark Michael Palm Toft
DenmarkNikolai Klindt
Denmark Thomas Jørgensen
Denmark Emil Breum
England Anders Rowe
Major team honours
Knockout Cup Winners1977, 2000
Premier League Champions2006, 2009
Div 2 KO Cup Winners2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Premier Trophy Winners2006, 2007, 2009
Young Shield Winners2005
Spring Gold Cup1973
Gauntlet Gold Cup1980
Inter League Knockout Cup1978, 1980
SGB Premiership Pairs2017
Midland Development League Champions2015

History

1966–1995

Kings Lynn Stars team photo 1976

The team's inaugural season was the 1966 British League season, where they finished 16th. They managed to finish in third place during the 1972 and 1973 seasons with their strongest riders being Terry Betts and Malcolm Simmons.[2]

The first silverware won by the team was the Knockout Cup in 1977. They won the final by the small margin of two points on aggregate, thanks largely to Michael Lee and Betts.[3] The team continued to compete in the highest division until the end of the 1995 season but failed to finish any higher than 4th place.[4]

The team has operated with a few different nicknames, including: the Knights; Silver Machine (as an additional nickname to the Knights) and the Stars. The team colours were originally green and yellow, taken directly from the Norwich Stars but in 1994 the green was replaced with blue, to match the blue and yellow of the King's Lynn official town crest. During their time as the Knights, silver and black became the prominent colours, but since reviving the Stars nickname they returned to using blue and yellow.

1997–2004

In 1997, the team returned to league action following one year out, they joined the Elite League and were known as the King's Lynn Knights. During the 2000 Elite League speedway season the team finished runner-up behind Eastbourne Eagles and won the Knockout Cup for the second time. The Australian pairing of Leigh Adams and Jason Crump topped the league averages.[5] A junior side were introduced in 1998 and competed under various names in the following seasons, including the Starlets, Braves, Kids and Young Stars.

In 2002, the club became the Silver Machine for one season before reverting to their traditional name of the Stars and joining the second division. After two more seasons in the Premier League they entered the 2005 season which was the start of some very successful years.

2005–2010

After winning the Knockout Cup in 2005 the finished top of the Premier League table in 2006 but were the first such team not automatically crowned champions because it was the first season that the Premier League used the play-off system to decide the championship. However, the Stars beat the Sheffield Tigers in the play off final to be crowned champions. King's Lynn Stars also won the 2006 Premier Trophy and the 2006 Premier League Knockout Cup completing the treble for the year.[6] In 2007 the Stars once again won the Premier Trophy and Premier League Knock-out Cup. They also finished top of the Premier League table but that year the Stars were beaten by the Sheffield Tigers in the play-off semi-final. Rye House were ultimately crowned Premier League champions. In 2008 the Stars were eliminated from the Premier Trophy and the Premier League Knockout Cup, but eventually finished third in the league. They then participated in the play-off promotion battle, where they lost on aggregate to Edinburgh in the final. In 2009, for the second time in three years, the Stars won the treble: the first club ever to achieve this feat twice. The Stars were crowned league champions on 16 September 2009 but then lost on aggregate to the Edinburgh Monarchs in the promotion play-off final. The Stars also won the Premier Trophy on 30 September beating the Edinburgh Monarchs 99–92 on aggregate over two legs and in October the Stars won the Knock-Out Cup, beating the same Edinburgh Monarchs again on aggregate over two legs. In total from 2005 to 2009 they won four knockout cups and two league titles.

2011–present

The 2011 season saw King's Lynn move up to the Elite League, marking a return to the top flight of speedway for the Stars.[7] Only Kozza Smith, Olly Allen and Tomas Topinka were kept on the squad, with the rest of the team brought in from other Elite squads. The Stars proved very competitive home and away and finished third in the League and qualified for the playoffs, where they lost to the Poole Pirates in the semi-finals. They continued to compete in the Elite League and finished 2nd in 2014.

During the SGB Premiership 2018 the club just failed to win the highest league title, to have won it would have been the first time in the club's history. They topped the regular season table but lost in the play off final to Poole Pirates.[8]

In June 2023, the club signed former world champion Artem Laguta for his first season in British speedway.[9]

Team performances in Speedway's First Division from 2013 to 2019[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

Teams no longer participating in the league are not included on the graph. When a team's figure rises from zero, that indicates having moved up to the Premiership after the previous season

Season summary (1st team)

Extended content
Year and league Position Notes
1966 British League season16th
1967 British League season19th
1968 British League season18th
1969 British League season9th
1970 British League season12th
1971 British League season13th
1972 British League season3rd
1973 British League season3rd
1974 British League season5th
1975 British League season12th
1976 British League season14th
1977 British League season6thKnockout Cup winners
1978 British League season13th
1979 British League season4th
1980 British League season7th
1981 British League season14th
1982 British League season14th
1983 British League season8th
1984 British League season6th
1985 British League season11th
1986 British League season11th
1987 British League season12th
1988 British League season9th
1989 British League season9th
1990 British League season9th
1991 British League season8th
1992 British League season9th
1993 British League season9th
1994 British League season5th
1995 Premier League speedway season19th
1997 Elite League speedway season5thKnights
1998 Elite League speedway season9thKnights
1999 Elite League speedway season3rdKnights
2000 Elite League speedway season2ndKnights, Knockout Cup winners
2001 Elite League speedway season6thKnights
2002 Elite League speedway season9thSilver Machine
2003 Premier League speedway season6th
2004 Premier League speedway season7th
2005 Premier League speedway season4thKnockout Cup winners
2006 Premier League speedway season1stChampions & Knockout Cup winner
2007 Premier League speedway season1stPO semi final & Knockout Cup winner
2008 Premier League speedway season3rd
2009 Premier League speedway season1stChampions & Knockout Cup winner
2010 Premier League speedway season7th
2011 Elite League speedway season3rd
2012 Elite League speedway season7th
2013 Elite League speedway season5th
2014 Elite League speedway season2ndPO semi final
2015 Elite League speedway season5th
2016 Elite League speedway season6th
SGB Premiership 20177th
SGB Premiership 20181stlost PO final
SGB Premiership 20196th
SGB Premiership 20216th
SGB Premiership 20225th
SGB Premiership 20237th

Season summary (Junior team)

Riders previous seasons

Extended content
1976 and a birthday cake for Terry Betts

1976 team

2011 team

2012 team
For the 2012 season, the Bjerre brothers returned to their parent club, Peterborough Panthers and the Stars and declined to renew with Olly Allen, who also joined the Panthers. The Stars picked up the highly rated young German, Kevin Woelbert who had shown great form when riding at Lynn with Edinburgh in the Premier League. Also the season sees the return of former Premier League favourite Daniel Nermark. To round out the starting 7 the Stars signed David Howe to double up and Polish flyer Maciej Janowski.

2013 team

2014 team

2015 team

2016 team

2017 team

2018 team

2019 team

2021 team

2022 team[17]

Other team honours

  • Inter League Knock-out Cup Winners – 1978, 1980

Individual honours

References

  1. Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). Homes of British Speedway. ISBN 0-7524-2210-3
  2. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  4. "British League Tables - British League Era (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  5. "Eastbourne". wwosbackup. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  6. Bamford, Robert (1 March 2007). Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2007. NPI Media Group. ISBN 978-0-7524-4250-1.
  7. "STARS SET TO BUILD FAST - British Speedway Official Website". www.speedwaygb.co.uk. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  8. "FORD CONFIRMS CLUB FOR SALE". Poole Speedway. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  9. "LAGUTA SET FOR STARS". British Speedway. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  10. "Elite League 2013 Table". British Speedway.
  11. "Elite League 2014 Table". British Speedway.
  12. "Elite League 2015 Table". British Speedway.
  13. "Elite League 2016 Table". British Speedway.
  14. "Premiership 2017 Table". British Speedway.
  15. "2018 Premiership Table". British Speedway.
  16. "Premiership 2019 Table". British Speedway.
  17. "2022 KIng's LYNN STARS - King's Lynn Speedway - the Home of the Stars".
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