Berwick 46 King's Lynn 49King's Lynn leapfrogged Birmingham at the Premier League summit with a priceless away win in the Borders at the weekend.The treble-chasing Stars bounced back from heavy Bank Holiday league defeats to move two points clear of their title rivals with two meetings in hand.

Berwick 46 King's Lynn 49

King's Lynn leapfrogged Birmingham at the Premier League summit with a priceless away win in the Borders at the weekend.

The treble-chasing Stars bounced back from heavy Bank Holiday league defeats to move two points clear of their title rivals with two meetings in hand.

Rob Lyon's men will expect to extend that lead against bottom club Newport at the Norfolk Arena on Wednesday.

Birmingham's weekend trip to Glasgow was washed out but the Midlands outfit must now rely on Lynn slipping up with only three regular fixtures left for the Brummies - including a re-scheduled Saddlebow clash.

Lynn looked on course for a big Berwick win until Michal Makovsky and tactical racer Stan Burza anchored a controversial 7-1 in heat 13 after Darcy Ward appeared to be clipped entering turn one.

Stars old boy Chris Mills and Emiliano Sanchez squared the penultimate tour after a failed away protest to avoid a tense finale.

Mills justified his guest booking for Linus Eklof with a huge paid 14 return from reserve - allied to solid bottom end support from Jan Graversen (paid six).

Ward trapped in front of Makovsky in the opener before Graversen pounced after Tamas Sike ran wide on the final lap behind Mills.

Chris Schramm and Josef Franc collided in the next but the Czech defied a damaged left hand to ease past Sanchez in the re-run. Berwick skipper Paul Clews fired around Schramm on the last bend to delight the partisan home crowd.

Clews repeated the trick to stun Ward in heat five after Franc trundled to a halt with engine failure - easing past the Aussie teenager down the back straight and then winding it on to pinch Graversen's flag.

Topinka's heat six win moved Lynn eight clear, with Makovsky unable to make any impression on his compatriot, while Tero Aarnio looked seriously under power on his second bike after blowing an engine in the opener.

Sanchez and Mills posted another maximum but Franc landed a tactical success in heat nine. Lynn hit back with Schramm and Ward dictating the next two in a perfect start to the second half.

Bandits team boss Dave Peet played another tactical card in heat 13 with Burza's aggressive line from the gate relegating Ward to last. Despite a post-race protest from the Stars' management team, Burza's tactical victory was allowed to stand. Lynn squared the next after Franchetti was disqualified for clipping the apex around the bottom bend and temporarily leaving the track surface.

Schramm took a heavy tumble in the finale when he lifted exiting turn two, leaving the outgunned Ward to defer to Makovsky and Franc in the re-run. Schramm was able to watch the action from the pits after his shattered race helmet took the full impact of the crash.

Bandits: Makovsky 11+1, Aarnio 1, Clews 8+1, Franc 15, Burza 8+1, Sike 2, Francetti 1+1.

Stars: Ward 8+1, Schramm 9, Sanchez 8, Topinka 8, Mills 11+3, Graversen 5+1.