IT’S a bumper weekend of away fixtures for the Belle Vue ‘Cool Running’ Colts as they prepare to face Leicester and Mildenhall on Saturday and Sunday respectively in NDL competition.
Manchester’s finest will first make the trip to the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena on June 3 before heading south to West Row on June 4 as they continue their climb up the league table.
A solid 52-38 win for the Cool Running Colts over the Fen Tigers last week put them back at the top of the National League standings, tied with Workington on 7 points.
But these upcoming matches will be stern tests of their abilities, with the Lion Cubs the reigning NDL Champions and Mildenhall the 2021 Champions and club bosses are expecting sparks to fly.
Belle Vue are expected to be at full strength for both these crucial fixtures, as is Mildenhall who welcome back their skipper Lee Complin into their side on Sunday.
Leicester, meanwhile, are without Dan Thompson and Vinnie Foord, who are absent with a concussion and wrist injury respectively, with Adam Roynon and Kai Ward stepping in as the respective guests.
Colts co-boss Steve Williams said: “It’s always more of a challenge when you’re the visitors because you’re going up against a team that rides their track every week, and ride it well.
“This will be a tough test for the boys, not only because they are strong opposition but also because we have two huge away meetings back-to-back.
“But the boys are really keyed up for these meetings. I would even say excited to a degree because we do anticipate two very close, action-packed matches.
“Leicester are the defending NDL champions but they do have a couple of changes on the night while we’re at full strength, so this could be something for us to capitalise on.
“That said, I’m certain they will do everything they can to put a stop to our efforts so we will need to bring our best game if we want to be successful against them.
“Mildenhall, likewise, will be another challenging meeting. They are back to full strength but we have a very good record around West Row and a lot of our boys love to race there.
“We have put ourselves in an excellent position for the aggregate bonus point after our home win against the Fen Tigers, but we’re not going there targeting anything less than the full haul.
“There’s five points on offer for us this weekend. We know both Leicester and Mildenhall will do everything they can to stop us but we have every intention of getting as many points as we can.”
The Cool Running Colts journey to Leicester on Saturday, June 3 and Mildenhall on Sunday, June 4 and return to action at the National Speedway Stadium on Friday, July 7 against Kent.
LEICESTER V BELLE VUE – SATURDAY, JUNE 3 @ 7PM [NDL]
Leicester ‘Watling JCB’ Lion Cubs: Adam Roynon (G) 9.73, Ashton Boughen 4.95, Max Perry 5.67, Tom Spencer 5.26, Joe Thompson (C) 9.11, Kai Ward (G) 3.85, Max James 3.00; TM: Dave Howard
Belle Vue ‘Cool Running’ Colts: Sam Hagon 8.63, Matt Marson 5.50, Jack Smith (C) 8.24, Freddy Hodder 6.10, James Pearson 8.21, Paul Bowen 4.56, Luke Muff 3.67; TM: Steve Williams & Graham Goodwin
MILDENHALL V BELLE VUE – SUNDAY, JUNE 4 @ 3PM [NDL]
Mildenhall ‘Manchettes’ Fen Tigers: Alfie Bowtell 9.60, Arran Butcher 6.53, Ben Trigger 5.88, George Congreve 6.25, Lee Complin (C) 7.27, William Richardson 3.00, Josh Warren 3.75; TM: Jason Gardner
Belle Vue ‘Cool Running’ Colts: Sam Hagon 8.63, Matt Marson 5.50, Jack Smith (C) 8.24, Freddy Hodder 6.10, James Pearson 8.21, Paul Bowen 4.56, Luke Muff 3.67; TM: Steve Williams & Graham Goodwin
Image: Ian Charles