LAMBERT RULED OUT OF STARS RETURN

Great Britain racer Robert Lambert admits rule changes in Poland dashed any hopes of a return to King’s Lynn for 2021.

The European champion goes into his first full season as an FIM Speedway Grand Prix regular this year and will also compete for PGE Ekstraliga side Torun and Bauhaus Elitserien club Lejonen.

With PGE Ekstraliga stars only permitted to race in one other national league, this ruled out a UK comeback for Lambert.

“With this rule coming in, it put the nail in the coffin,” he said. “Before that rule came in, I had signed in Sweden and Poland and everything was sorted.

“I was in talks over the phone and had pretty much agreed I would be racing in Britain. But then this rule came out. That changed things a little bit and I had to make the decision as to what would be the best way forward.”

While Lambert could have opted to race in Britain over Sweden, he admits the move did not make sense financially.

He said: “Financially, it wouldn’t have worked to do Poland, the GPs and race in Britain. The cost of it would have outweighed what I would get back.

“Having a setup in England and a setup in Poland with bikes and mechanics is expensive. If I have one base in Poland, it works out more economical for me.

“It also means I don’t have too much travelling and stress. Not having that helped me this season and I think this move is a natural progression after last year. It has been a hard decision, but after everything that went on with this pandemic, it just brought this move forward a couple of years.”

Despite his departure from the Stars, Lambert insists he will never forget King’s Lynn’s role in his ascent to the sport’s biggest stage.

He said: “For sure I will never forget the people; where I originated from, or how I progressed to where I am now. If I’m at home and there is a meeting on at King’s Lynn, I will definitely pop in, see everybody and hopefully get a warm welcome.”

Stars boss Dale Allitt hopes to see Lambert return to his boyhood club in the future and insists he will always be welcome at the Adrian Flux Arena.

“We'll miss Robert, of course we will,” he said. “But he's one of our own and always will be. We are sure we'll see him back in Stars colours at some stage in the future, and we'll be following his progress on TV and in the media.

“He started with our National League team at 15 and has developed into a world-class rider, and we're looking forward to seeing him on the Grand Prix stage this year.

“We are hoping to welcome him back so Stars fans can celebrate his European title, and he will be a welcome visitor anytime he can get here.

“Now it's time for the rest of the team and everyone at the club to look ahead to the 2021 season in the spring and summer months when the Stars take to the track again.”