Not even a hefty 9+1 point haul from skipper Niels-Kristian Iversen could save the King's Lynn Stars from another heavy 55-35 defeat when they visited the Belle Vue Aces last night.

The evening started promisingly for Rob Lyon's squad when Nicklas Porsing, teaming up with Iversen, claimed an emphatic 5-1 in the first race of the night to snatch an early lead for the Stars.

But the jubilation didn't last as the Rentruck Aces quickly renewed their affinity for their home shale and soon regained a foothold on the meeting, chipping away at their opponents heat after heat.

Frustratingly for the Norfolk outfit they could only pursue the opportunity to utilise the tactical ride, to go for double points, in heat 11 after running up the required 10-point deficit ten heats in.

On the decision to nominate Kenneth Bjerre for the job, team manager Rob Lyon said: 'It was the last throw of the dice, the last race we could do it really. It was either Kenneth or Vaclav (Milik).

'I thought we'd at least be able to get a point out of tonight. We began really brightly but the boys struggled, big time. Fair play to Belle Vue though, they were the much better side on the night.

'The track started out a little bit different to how it normally is here. There was a bit more grip on the gates but in the second half of the meeting especially the home boys pulled it away from us. That's the story, what can I say? It's not good enough on our part. We have got a lot of work to do if we are to get to the play- offs, which we're hoping to do as we currently sit third in the table.

'But our away form has been very average this year, apart from two particular meetings, and that needs to improve dramatically if we want to have an impact at the business end of the season.'

Belle Vue Aces: Scott Nicholls 13 (5); Max Fricke 10+1 (5); Matej Zagar 8+2 (4); Josh Grajczonek 7+1 (4); Steve Worrall 7+1 (4); Craig Cook 6 (4); Stefan Nielsen 4+2 (4)

King's Lynn Stars: Niels-Kristian Iversen 9+1 (5); Lewis Kerr 5+1 (5); Nicklas Porsing 5 (4); Kenneth Bjerre 5 (4); Kyle Howarth 5 (4); Vaclav Milik 4 (5); Ashley Morris 2 (3)