Sheffield Tigers v Belle Vue Aces

SHEFFIELD edged out champions Belle Vue 48-42 in an excellent start to the new Premiership season at Owlerton.

The Roses clash proved to be a fascinating, topsy-turvy affair with the Aces twice taking the lead, only for the Tigers to hit back with two big 5-1s in Heats 9 and 11 to go eight points up.

Brady Kurtz and Jaimon Lidsey halved the gap with a maximum of their own for the visitors in Heat 12, but two Sheffield 4-2s followed with wins for Tobiasz Musielak and Lewis Kerr to secure the league points with a race to spare.

Musielak top-scored for the hosts with 12+1 with Jack Holder (9+1) unbeaten from his first three rides, whilst Kurtz struck 12 from six outings for the Aces including three race wins.

Sheffield boss Simon Stead said: “It’s always nice to get the first one over and done with and get it out of the way – and it’s always even nicer when you manage to open with a win.

“They were tricky conditions out there but I thought everyone applied themselves really well, both the home and away team.

“All in all, I think the result was probably a fair result and I don’t think they’ll be unhappy either.”