Leicester Lions v Belle Vue Aces

Report

MAX Fricke scored a 15-point maximum against his old club as Leicester defeated Sports Insure Premiership leaders Belle Vue 52-38 to keep up their good run.

Fricke broke the track record at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park in Heat 1 and wrapped up his full house with a stunning Heat 15 ride to pass both Brady Kurtz and Dan Bewley.

In-form Lions second-string Justin Sedgmen added a paid maximum with 9+3 from four rides, combining with Fricke for 5-1s in all three of their races together, whilst Bewley top-scored for the Aces with 12 from six rides.

Leicester boss Stewart Dickson said: “All the credit goes to the riders. 52-38 never flattered us, and to beat a team of Belle Vue’s calibre by 14 points is very, very pleasing.

“And I still think there’s more to come from this team. Jake (Allen) had a difficult night with engines and I think Drew (Kemp) will settle in once he gets more meetings and we’ll have a really good reserve pairing.

“Justin has gone about his business on a 4.44 average, and that’s looking very good business for us, and as for Max I don’t know if you’ll ever see a better Heat 15 than that anywhere in Britain. It was a fantastic performance from him all night.”

Aces reserve Norick Blodorn (5) said: “It was much more of a challenge for us this time around because, as the weeks have gone on, Leicester have really got dialled into their track.

“At the beginning of the season it was pretty new to everyone, after all the changes they made in winter, but they’ve adapted and were super quick on the night and we struggled to match that.

“We’ve been in some very good form recently and tonight was maybe a bit of a reality check to bring us back down to earth. It just proves we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

LEICESTER 52: Max Fricke 15, Justin Sedgmen 9+3, Chris Harris 8+1, Richard Lawson 8, Nick Morris 6, Drew Kemp 4+1, Jake Allen 2+1.
BELLE VUE 38: Dan Bewley 12, Brady Kurtz 6+2, Jaimon Lidsey 6+1, Norick Blodorn 5, Charles Wright 4+2, Tom Brennan 3, Jake Mulford 2+1.

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Photo credit: PHIL McGLYNN