THERE was no case of unlucky number 13 for Swindon Robins as the SGB Premiership leaders extended their winning run with victory at home to King’s Lynn Stars last night.

However, the meeting proved to be the toughest in a long while for Alun Rossiter’s troops, with the seven-point success the first time they have failed to win by more than 10 points in more than a month.

Starting problems, engine failures and costly falls all hampered the Robins progress but they still powered over the winning line with a race to spare at the Abbey Stadium.

Team manager Rossiter said: “It was OK but it wasn’t our cleanest performance, we had a few things go wrong and few decisions with the starts, which rankled me.

“We were a bit tetchy tonight and I don’t know what the matter was. There were a few tempers flaring and I don’t know why. I was a bit on edge as well, which didn’t help matters.

“In the end, we won it comfortably but it wasn’t as smooth as it could have been.

“Silly little things were going wrong and we need to make sure we go away and address them and get them right.”

Skipper Jason Doyle led the scoring charts with an unbeaten 12-point haul from four rides, while David Bellego recovered from two no-scores first up to finish with three wins in a row for nine points.

Tobiasz Musielak scored 8+1 during his first outing as a heat leader, Nick Morris notched up eight, while Adam Ellis recorded 6+1 after moving up to the main body of the team from reserve.

Rossiter added: “For some strange reason, Tobiasz didn’t look as quick as he usually does but he still got a few points.

“Adam stepped up really well. There were a couple of mistakes that he knew about and we spoke about so he knows what to do next time.”

Swindon skipper Doyle gave his side a winning start to the night, swooping wide to pass Robert Lambert after the King’s Lynn number one took a tight line out of the gate before Bradley Wilson-Dean made it two home wins from two as the next heat was shared.

Musielak continued the Robins’ winning start in heat three, although he had to do it the hard way after Bellego was excluded before Tomas H Jonasson ended that run in the next race after getting the better of Morris in duel into the first bend.

King’s Lynn doubled their win tally in race five thanks to a stunning start and the visitors’ first heat advantage saw the overall scores levelled up at 15-15.

Swindon needed to make their move and did so in the very next contest, recording the first maximum of the night thanks to a superb start from Doyle and Ellis’ excellent fending off of Jonasson.

A bizarre race unfolded in heat seven as only two men finished. Wilson-Dean failed to get off the line but luckily Morris stormed to the front and King's Lynn's hopes of a shared heat fell flat when Michael Palm Toft retired too.

The Stars kept Swindon honest as Thomas Jorgensen triumphed in the eighth race but the home side banked up another important maximum in the next. Bellego battled with Josh Auty all the way around the first lap but he eventually relented to let Musielak past too before the race was ended early when Jonasson crashed heavily.

Swindon took another heat advantage in the next as Doyle claimed his third win in a row to move his troops 34-25 in front after 10 races.

Jorgensen triumphed in a shared heat 11 before Swindon had a shocker of a race in the next as Palm Toft led home Auty in an emphatic Stars maximum.

The hosts looked like they would get the perfect response in the next as Doyle led Morris out of the gates but the latter got out of shape on lap two, allowing Jonasson to dive in for second.

However, any disappointment they felt was quickly quelled by Bellego, who romped clear off the line to win the penultimate race, with the shared heat enough to hand the Robins the overall spoils and the Frenchman make it back-to-back victories as the last finished honours even.

SWINDON ROBINS 48 KING’S LYNN STARS 41

SWINDON: Jason Doyle 12 (3-3-3-3), Adam Ellis 6+1 (1-2’-2-1), Tobiasz Musielak 8+1 (3-2-2’-1), David Bellego 9 (FX-R-3-3-3), Nick Morris 8 (2-3-2-1-0), Bradley Wilson-Dean 4+1 (3-R-1’-FX-F), James Sarjeant (G) 1+1 (0-1’-0).

KING'S LYNN: Robert Lambert 5 (2-3-0-0), Thomas Jorgensen 8 (0-1-3-3-1), Michael Palm Toft 9 (2-R-2-3-2), Kai Huckenbeck 4+2 (1’-2-0-1’), Tomas H Jonasson 6 (3-1-F-2), Josh Auty 5+1 (2-0-1-2’), Tero Aarnio (G) 4+1 (1’-R-1-2).