SWINDON Robins returned to the top of the Elite League table tonight but their three-year wait for a victory at the Adrian Flux Arena goes on after they were held to a dramatic 45-45 draw by the King’s Lynn Stars.

A solid team display from Alun Rossiter troops looked to have them on track for a first win at their Norfolk rivals since 2013 but after a tight and tense encounter, the visitors stormed to a stunning 5-1 maximum in heat 15 to seal a thrilling stalemate.

After injuring his ankle whilst riding in Poland at the weekend, Robins skipper Jason Doyle passed a last-gasp fitness test and was declared fit to ride, with the Swindon number one taking second place in the opening heat of the night whilst Charles Wright held off the challenge of Mads Korneliussen to ensure the spoils were shared.

Justin Sedgmen picked up there he left off during the Robins’ home victory over the Stars seven days previous – the Aussie racked up a stunning 17+1 score – by dominating from the gate in heat two whilst Stefan Nielsen held off the challenge of former Swindon man Lewis Rose to seal a 5-1 triumph for the visitors.

Ex-Robins captain Troy Batchelor sealed his first heat win at King’s Lynn’s home track since returning to the Stars in heat three, with he and Robert Lambert beating Josh Grajczonek and Rohan Tungate 4-2, and the home side tied things up at 12-12 overall with another victory in the fourth race of the night, with Rose taking full advantage of a stuttering start from Nick Morris.

After a consummate ride, Wright looked on the money in heat five but home skipper Korneliussen used all his track knowledge to pass the Swindon number two on the final lap, and with Carl Wilkinson getting the better of Sedgmen, put the hosts ahead for the first time on the night.

Despite smoke pouring from his bike as he crossed the line, Doyle took the chequered flag at heat six whilst Grajconzek saw off Kai Huckenbeck to make it 18-18 but in the seventh Iversen was untouchable whilst Batchelor’s technical issues weren’t enough to prevent him from nicking third-place ahead of Tungate and edging the Stars back in front.

But back came the Robins with another maximum in heat nine, with an aggressive start from Wright paying dividends and allowing him to lead the way whilst Sedgmen roared into second place to leave Rose and Huckenbeck eating their dust and making it 25-23 to Swindon.

Smelling blood, Robins chief Rossiter sent out Sedgmen in place on Nielsen in the ninth race of the meeting but despite looking good in second behind Morris, he suffered a breakdown and was left to drift out of the running as the heat was drawn.

The Stars looked on course for a maximum in heat 10, with Lambert storming away from the chasing pack, but Batchelor drifted off the racing line to allow Doyle to steal second and limit the damage to a 4-2 loss, tying things up at 30-30 with five races to go.

After two fourth-placed finishes, Tungate looked on course to turn his night around as he led heat 11 but GP ace Iversen made a stirring pass to steal the win and maintain parity but Sedgmen came to the fore once again and streaked past Rose to rack up a 4-2 win in heat 12 with the help of Nielsen.

A sublime piece of passing from Iversen saw the Dane go from fourth to first in heat 13, racing past Grajczonek and Doyle to take the win but with Batchelor left trailing, there remained just two points in it as the visitors led 40-38.

Tungate’s vital late recovery continued as he won heat 14 to ensure that the Robins would be taking something back to Wiltshire but that was to be a two-point haul as a storming performance from Lambert in heat 15 saw him first bump Morris out of the running before finding a way past Doyle to seal second-place behind Iversen in a grandstand finish.