Belle Vue Aces v Oxford Spires

Report

BELLE Vue overcame the early withdrawal of British Champion Dan Bewley to record a 53-37 win over Oxford in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.

Bewley won his opening ride at the National Speedway Stadium but then took no further part due to a back injury – with his team-mates still reeling off a succession of race wins in his absence.

Skipper Brady Kurtz collected a 14+1 paid maximum including a brilliant Heat 15 where he came from the back, whilst Jaimon Lidsey (16) was only denied a full house in that final race.

The visitors were limited to two race wins from Francis Gusts and guest Dan Thompson, with former Aces rider Charles Wright top-scoring on nine.

Aces manager Mark Lemon said: “It was a bit of a worry in the morning. I had a couple of phone calls that made me pull my hair out.

“Jaimon had an issue with traffic in Poland, he and his family were coming over and they missed their flight. Then Norick (Blodorn) was struggling with injury, he was not too keen on racing. So he did an amazing job to perform like he did.

“To then lose Dan after one race after jarring his back, he was in considerable pain, I was wondering what next. But these boys rallied. The resolve they showed with grit and determination was outstanding. “
Wright said: “It’s a shame that we lost as a team, but I was pleased with my own performance.

“If you don’t have the speed around this track, you will soon be overtaken. But I picked the right motor tonight. It was hard in my first one, but I then got it dialled in.

“It was a shame I couldn’t hold on in the last race in Heat 15. I just missed a rut on the final lap and I ended up getting overtaken. But overall I was satisfied with my night.”

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1
BELLE VUE 53: Jaimon Lidsey 16, Brady Kurtz 14+1, Norick Blodorn 8, Zach Cook 7+1, Tate Zischke 3+1, Dan Bewley 3, Jake Mulford 2+1.
OXFORD 37: Charles Wright 9+1, Dan Thompson 7+2, Rohan Tungate 6, Maciej Janowski 4+2, Francis Gusts 4, Luke Killeen 4, Erik Riss 3+2.

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Photo credit: IAN CHARLES