BELLE VUE again had to come from behind at home before overcoming newcomers Northampton 53-37 in an entertaining Bank Holiday Monday encounter at the National Speedway Stadium.
The ATPI Aces made it two wins out of two in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership, coming from 13-17 down after five races to take control from midway through, although the visitors were hampered by the loss of Matej Zagar after a crash in his second ride.
The Foxes put in a fast-gating display in the early stages, and another ex-Aces star Jaimon Lidsey showed he hadn’t forgotten his way around the NSS when he held off the challenge of skipper Brady Kurtz to win Heat 1.
Aces cancelled out a 4-2 concession there with an equivalent result in Heat 2 as Tate Zischke neatly switched inside early leader Kye Thomson with Will Cairns holding third place.
But two more former Belle Vue riders, Zagar and Jye Etheridge, jumped out of the start in Heat 3 and it took a strong move from Zach Cook at the start of the last lap to move inside Zagar and at least split the pairing.
Then in Heat 4 it was Northampton riders into the first bend ahead again, and whilst Dan Bewley managed to make his way past Thomson, Foxes skipper Nicolai Klindt was already well away to put his side four points ahead.
Lidsey made it again in a shared Heat 5, just squeezing around Cook on turn two, but the Aces were back on terms with the first 5-1 of the day in an excellent Heat 6 with Kurtz clamping Klindt into the first bend enabling Norick Blodorn to sweep around the outside ahead of some perfect team-riding to keep the Dane at bay.
The visitors then suffered a major blow in Heat 7 when Zagar, who had forced Zischke to the back on lap one, lost control on the fourth bend and came off the bike spectacularly, forcing his withdrawal with an ankle injury.
The re-run went emphatically in the Aces’ favour with Bewley hitting the front whilst Zischke switched inside Etheridge on the second lap to complete a second successive 5-1.
Blodorn won Heat 8 but all the action was in the race for third place between the two Rising Stars as Cairns overtook Luke Harrison before fending off a strong return challenge and making it to the line for a point.
The Foxes introduced Lidsey for a tactical substitute ride in Heat 9 but that move was thwarted by a terrific ride by Aces guest Leon Flint, who used the outside to good effect to defeat the visitors’ duo, before Kurtz and Blodorn extended the margin to ten points with Zagar absent from Heat 10.
Bewley then turned up the heat in an epic Heat 11 battle which saw him go from third to first, with the Foxes having initially held a 5-1 with Lidsey team-riding with Troy Batchelor until the Aces man surged through on the inside.
The visitors staged a comeback with a 5-1 from Klindt and Thomson in Heat 12, and they also looked set to break the Kurtz/Bewley combination in Heat 13 until Klindt suffered a puncture on the last bend as Bewley made it round his rival for a 5-1.
Cook mathematically secured an Aces victory with a win in Heat 14 as Zischke just missed out on the line as he looked to pass Etheridge, but Kurtz and Bewley did finish off in style as they fended off the challenge of Lidsey to complete the meeting with a 5-1 in Heat 15.
Manager Mark Lemon said: “We know with Bank Holidays they can throw curve balls, so that’s a challenge, but one nice thing about our team is we don’t panic.
“We get our heads down and work through it, and it comes good in the end. A 16-point win is great, and it could possibly have been a 20-plus win.
“It’s really good to see Northampton Foxes in British Speedway, and they put on a brave fight today.
“I don’t think the scoreline flattered us, I think it was a pretty gritty performance, but we were all disappointed not to see Matej continue because he’s great to watch around here, and we wish him well.”
Next up for the ATPI Aces is a big week on the road with trips to King’s Lynn next Monday (May 11) and Ipswich next Thursday (May 14).
BELLE VUE 53: Brady Kurtz 13+1, Dan Bewley 12+2, Norick Blodorn 8+1, Zach Cook 7, Tate Zischke 6+1, Leon Flint 5+1, Will Cairns 2.
NORTHAMPTON 37: Jaimon Lidsey 11, Nicolai Klindt 9+1, Jye Etheridge 6, Kye Thomson 5+1, Troy Batchelor 5+1, Matej Zagar 1, Luke Harrison 0.