PREMIERSHIP leaders Belle Vue look to extend their advantage at the top of the table when they face King’s Lynn at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday (7.30pm).
The ATPI Aces are seven points clear and they can put that margin into double figures with a win against the Stars, who themselves are battling for a play-off place.
Aces boss Mark Lemon has spoken of the need to keep the pressure on, and the desire of all concerned to finish top before the title deciders kick in during the autumn.
And whilst home form has been exemplary so far in 2026, the challenge posed by the Stars could well be stronger than that of recent opponents.
The Norfolk side scored 37 points at the NSS on their previous visit in June, that being the best performance of any visiting side since the Aces really clicked into gear during the summer months.
Their form has been inconsistent, to the frustration of manager Rob Lyon, but they are very capable on their night, as shown by their surprise win at Sheffield recently.
And being led by former Aces skipper Max Fricke at No.1, along with recent Belle Vue rider Ben Cook in the middle order, they have team members very capable of scoring big – along with three other riders who will be competing in the upcoming British Final and will therefore be looking to make the most of the track time.
Not for the first time this season, the Aces have injury problems to contend with, as two of their regulars are ruled out.
Tate Zischke serves out the final days of his mandatory concussion ban after a crash at Workington last weekend, whilst Peter Kildemand has failed a fitness test after suffering rib damage in Denmark last Wednesday.
Ipswich’s Jason Edwards, who is also a British Finalist, stands in at reserve whilst a guest or rider replacement will cover for Kildemand.
Any win for Belle Vue will be enough to give them the aggregate point as this is the return fixture from their impressive 50-40 victory at the Adrian Flux Arena recently.
Lemon said: “Obviously the first job in any season is to make the play-offs and I think it’s fair to say we have as good as done that now.
“What’s important now is that we keep pushing on, because I want us to finish top of the table – we deserve that for what we’ve done so far, and without wanting to count any chickens at this stage, what would be really nice would be to have the decisive leg of the Grand Final at home.
“There is still work to do before we get to that stage, and this will be an interesting meeting because King’s Lynn have riders who know their way around our track.
“We are confident of course, but never over-confident, and we need to keep the ball rolling and the momentum up as we head towards the play-offs.”
Tickets and hospitality for the meeting are available from https://www.bellevue-speedway.com/tickets whilst anyone unable to attend can follow the live stream at https://www.bvtv.live/ . BVTV will also be conducting the British Final draw during the meeting, and this will be featured on the screens around the stadium.
BELLE VUE: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Peter Kildemand (Guest or R/R), Zach Cook, Jason Doyle, Jason Edwards, Will Cairns.
KING’S LYNN: Max Fricke, Cooper Rushen, Chris Harris, Ben Cook, Jan Kvech, Jordan Jenkins, Jody Scott.