TROY Batchelor raced to a paid maximum against his former club as Swindon pulled off a hard-fought 50-40 win over King’s Lynn at the Abbey.

The CFS Filtration Robins took three league points and also prevented the Stars from gaining any consolation as Batchelor combined with skipper Jason Doyle for a 5-1 over the visitors’ big guns Craig Cook and Robert Lambert in Heat 15.

Doyle himself was unbeaten apart from a disqualification when he tangled with Lambert in Heat 13, whilst recent recruits Rasmus Jensen and Ellis Perks both showed what they have added to the Robins’ side.

Jensen produced a super opening ride in Heat 3 of what was an entertaining contest when he went from third to first, passing Thomas Jorgensen and then Ty Proctor on the outside.

Batchelor briefly lowered the track record only for the mark to be further reduced by Lambert in Heat 5, but Batchelor then produced the racing highlight of the meeting with a brilliant ride to get the better of Proctor on the last lap of Heat 7 having earlier cleared Jorgensen.

The Stars gained a surprise 5-1 in Heat 8 with Jensen having to back off on the last bend when Michael Palm Toft appeared to hit trouble, and that cut Swindon’s lead to two points at the halfway stage.

Cook won a fierce scrap with Jensen in Heat 9 but Robins enjoyed a stroke of fortune in the next as Proctor ground to a halt allowing Paul Starke through for a 4-2.

But the big turning point was Heat 11 as Perks conjured a super start from gate three to move clear of Lambert, and was protected throughout by Batchelor for a terrific Swindon 5-1.

Robins looked set to wrap up victory in Heat 13 only for Doyle to pick up unwanted grip and bring down Lambert on turn two as they battled for second place – although Batchelor prevented major damage with an emphatic win in the re-run.

Perks was to the fore again in Heat 14 with a match-clinching second place, having led tactical substitute Lambert for a lap and then kept ahead of Jorgensen.

A shared heat in the finale would have been enough for King’s Lynn to take a league point, but Batchelor and Doyle bolted from the gate and closed the meeting out with a clear maximum.

Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “It was a bit nip-and-tuck, and in the races where we thought we’d do alright, we didn’t, so we had to go back to Plan B!

“But we got the job done in the end, and Troy had a fantastic night. You can see when we get the track right that we can get the best out of him, and long may that continue.

“It’s time for us to push on now. The two new signings have added to the team, we’re getting points from them and it was a fantastic ride from Ellis to beat Robert Lambert, and then lead him for another lap.

“Obviously Adam (Ellis) had a blip tonight, but you can’t fault him. He’s had a fantastic start to the season, and he’s just struggling with engines at the moment.”

Rossiter also confirmed Polish star Tobiasz Musielak is expected back in action for the Robins’ next fixture, which is a trip to Ipswich next Thursday (June 13).

PREMIERSHIP
SWINDON 50: Troy Batchelor 14+1, Rasmus Jensen 11, Jason Doyle 10+2, Ellis Perks 8+1, Adam Ellis 4+1, Paul Starke 3+1, Tobiasz Musielak r/r.
KING'S LYNN 40: Robert Lambert 11, Nico Covatti 9+2, Craig Cook 7+1, Ty Proctor 6, Thomas Jorgensen 5+2, Michael Palm Toft 2+1, Simon Lambert 0.