REIGNING Premiership Champions Belle Vue rounded off their league fixtures with a massive 61-29 win over the Leicester Lions to all but seal top spot in the table.
The ATPI Aces knew they had to steal all three league points to give themselves the best opportunity of finishing first, and they set to work almost immediately to that effect.
After just missing out at King’s Lynn on Thursday, the response from all the riders was a strong as it’s ever been, so much so that they recovered the 14-point aggregate deficit by Heat 6.
The Watling JCB Lions found themselves without two key figures the morning of the meeting with both Craig Cook and Richard Lawson pulling out after crashing at Redcar 24 hours earlier.
And though guest racer Chris Harris proved to be one of their saving graces, not even the wealth of experience of Max Fricke could prevent the Lions from slipping further and further behind.
By Heat 13 the win on the night was well as truly sealed and a massive 5-1 from Brady Kurtz and Dan Bewley ensured the aggregate point came to Manchester as well.
Their win moves Belle Vue onto 44 points after completing their 24 league fixtures, with their Play Off Semi-Final home date now confirmed for Monday, September 18 at 7:30pm.
Captain Brady Kurtz topped the scores for the ATPI Aces with 13+1 while Dan Bewley and Jaimon Lidsey delivered 12 points each and, even with a broken finger, Charles Wright added 7+3.
Wright said: “This was a brilliant result for us. It was so crucial not only for us to get the win over Leicester but that aggregate point was a must, and going into it 14 points was a lot to overhaul.
“But we not only achieved that, we went onto win by 18 on aggregate which is phenomenal and sends a very clear message to the other clubs before the Play Offs.
“It’s been a tough 24 hours for myself, but very rewarding too. Winning the Championship Riders Individual at Redcar on Sunday was very special and the result at Belle Vue was the icing on the cake.
“I had a couple of knocks in the CLRC meeting and I think I actually broke my finger, so I’ll get it x-rayed and see what’s going on but I’ve got a few days off now to recuperate.
“We’ve had a brilliant year so far but we’ve still got work to do to finish it off, so we’ll need to make sure to keep ourselves fit and fresh ready for the semi-finals.”
The ATPI Aces commence the defence of their title in the Play Off Semi-Finals starting in Manchester on Monday, September 18 at 7:30pm with the away leg set to be confirmed.
The Cool Running Colts, meanwhile, complete their final home fixture ahead of the NDL Play Offs on Friday, September 8 at 7:30pm, and travel to Berwick on Saturday, September 16.
Ticket information for the Premiership Play Offs will be communicated soon. NDL meeting tickets, race day programmes and south stand parking are available to pre-book at bellevue-speedway.com/events.
RESULT – BELLE VUE V LEICESTER – MONDAY, AUGUST 28 @12:00PM
Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces: Brady Kurtz 13+1, Dan Bewley 12, Jaimon Lidsey 12, Charles Wright 7+3, Norick Blodorn 7, Tom Brennan 5+1, Connor Bailey 5
Leicester ‘Watling JCB’ Lions: Max Fricke 10, Chris Harris 8, Richie Worrall 6+1, Drew Kemp 4, Jake Allen 1+1, Justin Sedgmen 0, Craig Cook r/r
Belle Vue Win 99-81 On Aggregate
Image: Ian Charles