FRICKE SEALS STARS SWITCH
King’s Lynn boss Rob Lyon is delighted to end the Stars’ search for a true top gun after bringing Speedway GP racer Max Fricke to the Adrian Flux Arena for the 2026 British Premiership season.
Fricke makes the move after leading Leicester to back-to-back Premiership Grand Finals, finishing second in both 2024 and 2025, as well as winning the Knockout Cup this season.
On top of finishing eighth in the 2025 Speedway GP series, Fricke topped the Premiership average charts on 9.89.
After picking a strength-in-depth side for this year, Lyon believes Fricke adds some scoring power for 2026. He said: “We had been thinking about potentially staying as we were because it was obvious to anyone that without injuries this year, we would have been comfortably in the mix.
“But then when the rules were being discussed, we weren’t convinced that we would have enough points for a very strong reserve to go with the same type of formula. It was clearly evident with a reduced points limit that it wasn’t going to be possible.
“Once we were aware that Max was available, it was a no-brainer to make contact and see if we could do something, and that was the thought process behind it.
“King’s Lynn have been without a recognised number one really on a permanent basis since 2019, so why not? We realise it takes up a lot of points, but we feel we have enough excitement in the rest of the team to cope with it.
“Max actually used to come to King’s Lynn a bit because he rode in Denmark when he first came over, and he stayed with Mads Korneliussen for a while. I had some long conversations with his father about joining us when he was leaving Edinburgh, and he ended up going to Belle Vue, so you could say this is about 11 years in the making!
“I’m excited to work with him. He’s a nice guy, very professional and level-headed, and hopefully he can bang some points in for us like he has done for Leicester and others over the years.”
Elsewhere, former Aussie champion Sam Masters takes over as Leicester captain from Fricke as he races his third straight season at the club, bidding to reach a third successive Grand Final and end the Lions’ wait for a top-flight title in 2026.
The former Wolverhampton star said: “I don’t like switching clubs too much. I feel pretty settled and when you feel like that, there’s no point in leaving! I’ve enjoyed the last two years at Leicester, and although two second places are hard to take, they have shown how successful we’ve been. There have been plenty of other teams below us in those two seasons!
“When you’re winning, like we have been, it has been fun, and although it was always going to be hard to leave Wolves after so long, (Leicester team manager) Stewart (Dickson) and everyone at the club have made me feel more than welcome, and I’m grateful that they want me to stay.
“It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t fit Max in because we had a lot of good team-rides, and we were a pretty good pairing in heats 13 and 15, so we’ll miss him, plus he was a good captain.
“It’s big boots for me to fill as captain, but it’s something I’ve done before. I can only do my best and I’m already looking forward to it.
“I’m back home at the moment looking to prepare and get as fit as I can, ready for another big season, and it was good to hear that the league itself is under control and we can look forward to next year.”
