SWINDON Robins slipped to a third defeat in the space of four days as they were upset at home by the Leicester Lions tonight.

Just a day after suffering a second successive loss at the hands of reigning champions Poole Pirates, Alun Rossiter’s side were left licking their wounds once again as Leicester, inspired by the heroics of guest Brady Kurtz, claimed their first away victory of the season at the Abbey Stadium.

Jason Doyle and Josh Grajczonek slammed down the gauntlet in heat one as they dominated Nicolai Klindt and Leicester’s guesting number one Richard Lawson to get the home side off to a rip-roaring start.

Justin Sedgmen did well to cling tightly after his bike was kicked up into the air in heat three, which allowed former Robin Aaron Summers to streak away to cross the line first and make sure of a second successive 3-3 draw, with the scores at 11-7.

The same bump in the track that caused Sedgmen bother seemingly caught out Charles Wright in the early stages of the fourth race of the night but the Swindon reserve recovered and found a gap to pass Paul Starke to take second behind Nick Morris and rack up the home side’s second maximum of the night.

But the Lions roared back in heat five, with guest Kurtz, a member of the Poole side that had twice beaten the Robins in recent days, and Klindt slamming the door shut on Grajczonek and Nielsen in a dominant 5-1 triumph.

Another Leicester win followed in heat six as Lawson held off the valiant challenge of Nick Morris but Doyle and Sedgmen served up a stirring display in the next race to restore Swindon’s breathing space at the vital time with a maximum against Starke and Summers.

At that point, the Robins’ Tungate was forced to withdraw from the meeting with a recurrence of the shoulder injury he picked up during a clash with the King’s Lynn Stars last month and Rossiter’s men instantly had their lead trimmed back to just two points, with Klindt – another former Swindon man – and Kurtz thrashing Morris and Wright to make it 25-23.

Another Leicester maximum followed as the in-form Kurtz won from the gate after being sent out in place of Auty, with Starke also helping the Lions duo dispatch Nielsen and Grajczonek 5-1, putting the visitors ahead for the first time in the meeting.

The Lions’ rampage continued with a third successive maximum in the 10th, Klindt and Lawson stamping their authority all over Wright and Sedgmen, making it 33-27 to Leicester and leaving the Robins in desperate need of some inspiration.

Fortunately for the hosts, Grajczonek and Doyle were able to provide exactly that in heat 11, with the former leading home from the gate whilst the latter superbly chased down Davey Watt to secure a home 5-1.

Then, in heat 12, Nielsen came to the fore and became the first Swindon rider to beat Kurtz as he crossed the line first to keep the two teams within touching distance and the two teams remained on tenterhooks as the 13th and 14th races of the night were also drawn, to set up a grandstand finish, with just two points in it.

With everything riding on the final heat, Doyle threw caution to the wind to attempt to haul himself from fourth place but came off his bike and slid into the barriers, earning a disqualification for his troubles.

That meant that whatever Grajczonek did in the re-run, Swindon’s goose was cooked, with the Robins number two finishing second as Klindt finished things off for the Lions.

SWINDON ROBINS: Jason Doyle (11+1), Josh Grajczonek (8+1), Rohan Tungate (1+1), Nick Morris (8), Justin Sedgmen (4+1), Charles Wright (6+2), Stefan Nielsen (5+1).

LEICESTER LIONS: Richard Lawson (6+2), Nicolai Klindt (12+1), Aaron Summers (3), Paul Starke (4+1), Davey Watt (4), Brady Kurtz (17+1), Josh Auty (1+1).