King's Lynn played host to a dramatic night of action as Swedish star Freddie Lindgren emerged victorious in the Grand Prix qualifier at the Adrian Flux Arena.

A number of the sport's top stars descended on Norfolk to begin their quest to reach the 2017 Grand Prix series. And it was Wolves ace Lindgren who stormed to a sensational win, notching 13 points from his five rides to come out on top against a strong field.

The Swedish star was delighted to move one step closer to a regular return to the World Championship stage with a classy performance.

'I just focused on winning races and trying to get the points to get through,' Lindgren said.

'I felt I had some good wins early on in the meeting which set me up nicely, and to go on to win the meeting was a bonus.

'I ride both Gorican and Lonigo okay, so it really doesn't matter which semi-final I'm drawn into, I'll go there with the same professional attitude as tonight and try to make it through.

'It's quite a long time until the next round, so in the meantime I'll be working hard to keep scoring plenty of points for my clubs.'

Former world number two Krzysztof Kasprzak, who dropped his only points when he fell in heat seven, defeated ex-Stars man Kenneth Bjerre in a run-off for second place.

They were joined in the all-important top seven by Hans Andersen, Joonas Kylmakorpi, Sam Masters and Brady Kurtz.

However, there was heartache for home favourite Robert Lambert as he fell agonisingly short on eight points. He was denied in unfortunate fashion as he encountered bike troubles when leading on the final lap of heat 12 before losing out in a run-off with fellow Brit Craig Cook in the battle for the reserve spot.

The 18-year-old could, nonetheless, take plenty of encouragement from his first ever appearance in the Grand Prix qualifiers, despite his misfortune.

Meanwhile, Stars favourite Kai Huckenbeck progressed from his qualifier in Terenzano, Italy.

He battled to nine points from five rides before defeating Jurica Pavlic in a run-off for the all-important seventh place.

Leading placings (Lynn) 1 Freddie Lindgren 13 points 2 Krzysztof Kasprzak 12 (after run-off) 3 Kenneth Bjerre 12 4 Hans Andersen 11 5 Joonas Kylmakorpi 10 6 Sam Masters 10 7 Brady Kurtz 9 8 Craig Cook 8

Others: Robert Lambert 8, Ricky Wells 7, Matej Kus 6, Jason Garrity 5, Bradley Wilson-Dean 3, Lewis Kerr 2 (res), Lasse Fredrikssen 2, Alexandre Dubrana 2, Gabriel Dubernard 0.

Qualifiers: Lindgren, Kasprzak, Bjerre, Andersen, Kylmakorpi, Masters and Kurtz all qualify for the Grand Prix Qualification semi-finals. Craig Cook qualifies as reserve after a run-off.