NEW signing Jason Doyle scored a 12-point maximum on his debut as Belle Vue swept to an emphatic 61-29 win over Leicester at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday.
The ATPI Aces fired out a warning to the rest of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership as they dismantled the Lions right from the off, with the most complete team performance imaginable.
Doyle, replacing the injured Dan Bewley, slotted in perfectly with four wins out of four, and there was also a successful comeback for Peter Kildemand who was unbeaten in three of his four outings.
The Aces won 13 of the 15 races and recorded six 5-1s, including five in the first seven races as they effectively put the match to bed by the halfway stage.
By contrast, the Lions endured a disastrous night with their only successes coming from Ryan Douglas and Kyle Howarth – but their fortunes were summed up by Douglas crashing out of Heat 11 and then suffering mechanical trouble in the next race.
None of that takes anything away from the Aces, who were off to a flyer when skipper Brady Kurtz and Norick Blodorn charged away from Douglas and Dan Thompson for a 5-1 in Heat 1.
Howarth briefly stemmed the flow as he kept out a hard-charging Tate Zischke in Heat 2, but Zach Cook hit the front in the next with Kildemand blasting through on the inside – and then youngster Will Cairns once again took the scalp of Lions skipper Sam Masters, teaming up with Doyle for another 5-1 to make it 18-6.
Leicester gained some respite with a 5-1 from Douglas and Thompson in Heat 5, forcing out Cook in the early stages, but their hopes of a comeback were short-lived with Blodorn making a neat move in Heat 6 to overcome Masters and team up again with Kurtz.
Doyle made it two out of two in Heat 7 as Zischke got the better of Drew Kemp and Nick Morris to make it 29-13 whilst Blodorn maintained his unbeaten run by taking the win from a shared Heat 8.
Aces then recorded a run of 4-2s, starting with a spectacular effort by Kildemand to win Heat 9 from the back as he rounded Masters in fine style whilst Cook held third place, whilst Kurtz showed his own pace with his Heat 10 effort although Blodorn’s efforts to compete another 5-1 were frustrated by Kemp who just snatched second place.
Doyle led Heat 11 but Douglas crashed heavily on turn two in his efforts to pass, whilst in the re-run Doyle and Zischke were split by Thompson as the score moved on to 44-22.
The Lions brought Douglas into Heat 12 for a tactical substitute ride but he found himself in a battle with Cairns for third place with his machine eventually expiring as Kildemand took the win over Howarth.
But Douglas was straight back in the action in Heat 13, this time depriving Kurtz of his maximum by splitting the Aces pairing as Doyle continued his winning ways, with the Aces captain just unable to find a way through.
A 60+ score for the dominant hosts was still on the cards when Cook and Zischke romped to a 5-1 in Heat 14, and although the Aces left Doyle out of Heat 15, Kurtz and Blodorn took their side over that mark with a final 4-2, split on this occasion by Thompson who was the pick of the visiting riders.
Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon said: “Jason had some pretty big boots to fill coming in for Dan, but he’s done a great job. We know he’s a stalwart of British speedway, and he’s proved it again tonight.
“But it was a team effort by all the boys, and there were some really good signs from one through to seven, which is key.
“How can you not be happy with that performance? Bringing Jason in he’s just fitted in like a glove, and it’s just all systems go, and very professional.
“I felt a little bit sorry for Leicester – not too much! – but obviously things just didn’t go for them tonight, and sometimes you just have nights like that when things don’t happen.
“But more of the result was because our boys were really on song.”
Next up for the ATPI Aces is a home clash with Ipswich at the National Speedway Stadium next Monday (June 22).
BELLE VUE 61: Brady Kurtz 12+1, Jason Doyle 12, Norick Blodorn 10+1, Peter Kildemand 9+1, Tate Zischke 7+2, Zach Cook 7, Will Cairns 4+2.
LEICESTER 29: Dan Thompson 9+1, Kyle Howarth 5, Ryan Douglas 5, Joe Thompson 3+1, Sam Masters 3, Drew Kemp 3, Nick Morris 1.