Belle Vue Aces v Ipswich Witches

BELLE VUE kept the ball rolling at the top of the Sports Insure Premiership with a hard-fought 49-41 win over Ipswich in Manchester.

The Aces took all three points from the meeting but were made to work for their win in an eventful contest with the points only being secured in the penultimate race.

There was also drama in Heat 13 when Grand Prix stars Jason Doyle and Dan Bewley clashed, with the Ipswich No.1 being disqualified when the home man went down at the start of the last lap.

Charles Wright and Tom Brennan then raced to a 5-1 over tactical substitute Emil Sayfutdinov to clinch the points, before a consolation maximum to the Witches in the finale.

Brennan clocked up 10+4 at reserve for the Aces, whilst Sayfudtinov led the Witches’ scoring with 13+1.

Bewley said: “This was a brilliant result for the boys. I threw a few points away, but I think the secret to the strength of this team is the fact that we can compensate for those who have an off night.

“Ipswich put up a good fight, maybe even more than we were expecting initially, but they are a good team on paper, and they were out to prove a point tonight, so we had to work very hard.

“There were a few close calls and some controversial decisions, but we overcame all of the challenges on the night, and it was real team effort from everyone to win.”

Ipswich stand-in boss Chris Louis said: “I felt for the lads a bit because they hung in until Heat 12 and then it got away from us a little bit.

“We looked like we were bringing it back in Heat 13 with Jason and Emil, but the decision went against Jason. To be fair it was the decision I expected from the ref, that isn’t me saying it was the right decision, I thought Dan went down a bit softly and I feel Jason’s frustration.

“We have seen it so many times the other way round and he keeps getting excluded when he is taken off. I fully understand and appreciate why he was so frustrated after that.”