KING'S LYNN 56, BIRMINGHAM 38: King's Lynn Stars suffered no opening night nerves as top flight speedway roared back into town at the Norfolk Arena.

The home side put visiting Birmingham Brummies firmly in their place as the two new Elite League sides blew away the cobwebs in the first leg of the Elevation Trophy.

Niels-Kristian Iversen top scored for the Stars with a paid 12 haul and he received solid support from fellow Dane Kenneth Bjerre and Norwich- based rider Olly Allen, with the Brummies relying far too heavily on Polish World Cup star Krzysztof Kasprzak with 14 points.

The opening heat was shared but Lynn soon got into top gear with two consecutive 5-1 maximums to seal an eight point advantage after only three heats. Iversen's first outing of the evening saw a memorable last to first burst from the stylish Dane and with Filip Sitera pushing ex-Star Daniel Nermark all the way things were looking good for the confident hosts.

Visiting team manager Graham Drury acted quickly in an attempt to stop the rot with the introduction of Kasprzak on a tactical ride in heat five but surprise package Mads Korneliussen repelled the Pole with a superb swoop around the outside to share the race spoils.

Young English hope Danny King produced a classy ride to defeat the marauding Iversen but any visiting momentum was quickly extinguished by old hand Tomas Topinka who partnered Sitera to another maximum in heat eight.

Bjerre then combined with the experienced Czech in the 10th to virtually seal the win and then with fellow countryman Iversen in the showpiece 13th heat, with the latter slicing through the field to join his partner at the front to seal yet another maximum haul.

Kasprzak never gave in all evening – a point he proved in the final race of the evening as he pipped Iversen on the finish line leaving his team trailing by 18 points on the night.

The Stars travel to the Perry Bar tonight (7.45pm) in the second leg.

• King's Lynn Stars: K Bjerre 8, T Topinka 7 + 2 bonus, O Allen 8 + 1, M Korneliussen 9+1, N Iversen 11 +1, L Bjerre 4 + 3, F Sitera 8+1.

• Birmingham Brummies: K Kasprzak 14, A Drmyl 1, B Barker 4, D King 8, D Nermark 6, T Pijper 3, Js Wright 2 +1.