THE scene is set for a bumper Bank Holiday Monday at Belle Vue with a Knockout Cup clash between the ATPI Aces and the Wolverhampton Wolves on April 10, tapes up at 12pm.
The disappointment of losing to local rivals Sheffield in March sees the Belle Vue boys in the hunt for redemption in their traditional Easter double with the Midlands outfit.
But solid individual performances from the ATPI Aces in the recent Peter Craven Memorial – in front of a huge crowd – demonstrated the true potential of the Class of 2023.
They are determined to push on and have taken advantage of the break in team competition to regroup in the hopes of bringing home their first victory as defending champions.
A slight shift in the Belle Vue averages sees Tom Brennan advance into the main body of the team with Jaimon Lidsey taking his place at No.6 in the reserve berth.
They also find themselves a man short following news that Jake Mulford is out for the mandatory 12-day rest period after suffering a concussion at Redcar last week; Anders Rowe will guest at No.7.
The Parrys International Wolves meanwhile have started their season very strongly in league competition with an emphatic win over King’s Lynn at Monmore Green last week.
And they too have made a short-term change to their line-up after Luke Becker suffered a broken ankle in Slovakia, with Scott Nicholls coming into the team on a 28-day temporary contract.
Aces CEO Mark Lemon said: “We always say that results elsewhere around the country have no impact on the meeting at hand, but we would be fools not to be paying attention to what our rivals are doing.
“We can’t ignore the fact that the Wolves put in a very strong offensive against King’s Lynn at Monmore Green and they’ve always been tough opponents in Manchester.
“I’ve no doubt they will be visiting us with a sense of confidence, but at the same time we have a point to prove and the boys have been working very hard behind the scenes ahead of this meeting.
“They understand what needs to be done in what is already a very competitive KO Cup competition”.
It’s a busy week ahead for the ATPI Aces with trips to Wolves, Ipswich, Peterborough, and Leicester in the coming 10 days, before they return home on April 24 against the Peterborough Panthers.
Meeting tickets, race day parking and hospitality are now available to pre-book online at bellevue-speedway.com.
BELLE VUE V WOLVERHAMPTON – MONDAY, APRIL 10 @ 12PM
WOLVERHAMPTON V BELLE VUE – MONDAY, APRIL 10 @ 8PM
Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces: Dan Bewley 8.95, Norick Blodorn 5.33, Tom Brennan 5.74, Charles Wright 6.55, Brady Kurtz (C) 8.22, Jaimon Lidsey 5.16, Anders Rowe (G); TM: Mark Lemon
Wolverhampton ‘Parrys International’ Wolves: Sam Masters 8.00, Steve Worrall 6.13, Rory Schlein 7.14, Ryan Douglas 6.31, Scott Nicholls 5.28, Zach Cook 4.00, Leon Flint (RS); TM: Peter Adams
Image: Eddie Garvey