PREVIEW: BELLE VUE v LEICESTER (ROWE Motor Oil Prem)

BELLE Vue and Leicester clash at the National Speedway Stadium tonight (Monday) with points up for grabs in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.

The Aces suffered defeat at Ipswich in their league opener but did establish an eight-point lead over Sheffield in the KO Cup from their only home fixture so far, whilst the Lions won their first league match against King’s Lynn last month before losing to Ipswich in the Cup.

Former Aces captain Max Fricke is the headline opponent for the home riders, whilst the Lions include others who have performed well at the NSS in the past.

Belle Vue CEO Mark Lemon said: “In recent times we’ve always found our first home team matches difficult, especially against Sheffield, so it was satisfying for us to kick the 2024 campaign off to a good start.

“This will be Leicester’s first away match of the season and one which we are really looking forward to, with the return of former favourite Max Fricke to Manchester.

“Plus, with a whole host of former Wolverhampton riders like Sam Masters and Ryan Douglas, who ride our track very well, it makes for a very strong-looking Lions outfit.”

Leicester boss Stewart Dickson said: “I think it would be fair to say it’s been a slow start by us, so I’m looking for an improved performance.

“It’s our first match away from home and we’ll go there and look to keep it as close as possible – it would be great to cause an upset, but I know how good they can be around their own track!

“Getting the set-up on the day is the important thing there, you’ve got to have the speed, and the plan is to go there and give a really good account of ourselves.”

BELLE VUE: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Jaimon Lidsey, Ben Cook, Dan Bewley, Connor Mountain, Connor Bailey.
LEICESTER: Max Fricke, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.
SCB Referee: Phil Griffin

*LIVE STREAMING: https://watch.britishspeedway.co.uk