BRILLIANT Belle Vue are celebrating their third league title in five years after sealing the 2026 ROWE Motor Oil Premiership crown with an emphatic Grand Final victory over Sheffield.
In front of a packed house at the National Speedway Stadium, the ATPI Aces defeated the Tigers 53-37 on the night in the second leg to clinch a 100-80 aggregate victory.
The Aces are firmly established as the most successful club of the modern era with CEO Mark Lemon having overseen a succession of play-off campaigns and now a trio of league titles.
Skipper Brady Kurtz and popular German racer Norick Blodorn have been part of all three Grand Final triumphs, but their latest victory was extra special as it enabled the Aces to celebrate in front of their home crowd.
Injured duo Peter Kildemand and Dan Bewley were both present on a memorable occasion in which the Aces recovered from a tricky start to seize control of proceedings.
Leading by four points heading into the meeting they were clear favourites, but the first two races did suggest Sheffield were going to present a challenge.
Kurtz ran a rare last place in Heat 1 with Blordorn preventing damage by taking an excellent win, but Tigers reserves Luke Killeen and Jye Etheridge then slammed in a 5-1 in Heat 2 to level the aggregate scores.
At this stage the riders were getting accustomed to grippy conditions following heavy rain in the previous 24 hours, and if the Aces were looking for a response they found it immediately.
Nicolai Klindt proved the perfect guest for Kildemand, and he and Zach Cook restored order by racing to a 5-1 in Heat 3 over 2012 World Champion Chris Holder.
The lively Killeen threatened to pull off a shock win in Heat 4 until Jason Doyle made his way through on the inside, and the next two races saw the Aces take full charge.
Klindt made the start in Heat 5 whilst Cook roared around the outside to join him for a 5-1 with Tigers guest Max Fricke at the back, and then a brilliant cutback from Blodorn in Heat 6 saw him get the better of Josh Pickering with Kurtz resuming his winning ways up front.
All of a sudden the Aces were 12 points to the good on aggregate, and it got better with a 4-2 from Doyle and Tate Zischke in Heat 7 with Holder working hard to split the pair.
Blodorn controlled Heat 8 as the Aces kept on winning races, before the best action of the night followed in Heat 9 as Klindt and Pickering passed and re-passed on several occasions before Klindt superbly made it around the outside off the final bend.
Kurtz and Blodorn combined for maximum points over Holder in Heat 10 to take Aces to the brink of mathematical victory, although they were briefly delayed in the next race when Fricke put a win on the board for the visitors as he edged out Doyle in a good early battle.
But only a miracle could then have changed the outcome, and the title was sealed in Heat 12 as Klindt kept up his unbeaten performance with a race win over Holder, with the scoreline meaning the crown was officially heading back to Manchester.
There was still some competitive action to come as Kurtz and Doyle produced a party piece by going either side of Pickering on the first lap for a 5-1 in Heat 13, and Cook collected his trademark win in Heat 14 although Zischke suffered mechanical trouble.
The Tigers enjoyed a small consolation with a 5-1 from Pickering and Fricke in Heat 15 which ended Blodorn’s unbeaten run, but the job had long since been done by the triumphant Aces.
Lemon said: “It’s been a magic night. The fans have waited 54 years for this moment, to win a league championship at home, and I’m delighted that they didn’t go home disappointed!
“The support we’ve had has been amazing from the fans and the sponsors, and it’s just been a really good year.
“Some years you win it and it’s by a little bit of luck and chance, but I think this year there’s no excuses for anybody – we were the best team.
“It takes a long time to get here, and the hard work goes well and truly in prior to the season, but credit to our team.
“We lost Dan Bewley weeks into the season which was a big blow, but we brought in Jason Doyle who has been tremendous, a great leader, and then obviously our captain Brady Kurtz has been outstanding, he rallies the troops and really settles the camp.
“All of our riders in our one to seven have improved, down to Will (Cairns) who has been a revelation as Rising Star, it’s just been a fantastic season.”
BELLE VUE 53: Nicolai Klindt 11+1, Jason Doyle 11, Norick Blodorn 10+2, Zach Cook 10+1, Brady Kurtz 8+1, Tate Zischke 3+1, Will Cairns 0.
SHEFFIELD 37: Josh Pickering 8+1, Luke Killeen 7+2, Max Fricke 6+2, Chris Holder 6, Anders Rowe 5, Jye Etheridge 3+2, Leon Flint 2.
Belle Vue win 100-80 on aggregate
Belle Vue are 2026 ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Champions