A dramatic finale to a thrilling night of racing saw the Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces battle back from a 16-point aggregate deficit to claim all three league points from the Oxford Spires.
After a challenging night at Sandy Lane, team boss Mark Lemon declared he wanted to see a “gritty response” from his riders when the action resumed at the National Speedway Stadium.
And the ATPI Aces set about demonstrating such a response almost immediately with a handful of heat advantages to take the lead on the night, much to the delight of supporters.
But the OXS Spires were not about to let their lead go without a fight and responded quickly to the threat by levelling the scores as the meeting approached the half-way stage.
Heat 3 saw former Ace Charles Wright place one of his tough moves for evening on Aces number 3 Jaimon Lidsey who the latter clattered into the safety fence and excluded by meeting referee, he was able to walk away and continue the meeting.
With a renewed sense of vigour in the second half of the evening, the ATPI Aces wrapped up the result on the night with time to spare, which only left the matter of the bonus point.
A sensational ride from Dan Bewley and Brady Kurtz in Heat 13 put team mates Ben Cook and Antti Vuolas in a prime position in the next race to secure the aggregate scores.
And though it wasn’t the heat advantage they were after, it did force the OXS Spires into a last heat decider for the bonus, with the two Belle Vue top guns once again delivering.
Both Bewley and Kurtz topped the scores for the home team with 13+1 while Norick Blodorn followed up with 7+2 and Ben Cook added 7+1.
Kurtz said: “It was a really cool meeting but challenging, nonetheless. One minute we were in front, then behind, then in front again, it certainly wasn’t easy.
“They have a lot of class riders in their team so beating them is never easy. We really wanted that aggregate bonus point, especially after last Thursday I think we redeemed ourselves.
“It was a real team effort to get this result. Everybody chipped in and did their bit, and that’s what we really need to be doing as we get closer to the play offs.
“Every point is vital, and when you’ve got six really solid teams looking for four spots in the play offs it’s only going to get even more competitive.”
The ATPI Aces are on the road this coming week, first with a visit to Leicester on Thursday, July 25 and then Birmingham next Monday, July 29 for a face off against the Brummies.
The next action in Manchester arrives on Friday, August 2 when the Belle Vue Colts pick up their campaign against the Oxford Chargers.
The meeting curtain-raiser sees the British Youth Championship round , which kicks off at 6pm on August 2 with the main NDL action picking up from 7:30pm.
Meeting tickets, race day programmes and south stand parking are now available to pre-book online at bellevue-speedway.com/events.
RESULT – BELLE VUE V OXFORD – MONDAY, JULY 22 @ 7:30PM [P2]
Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces 54: Brady Kurtz 13+1, Dan Bewley 13+1, Norick Blodorn 7+2, Ben Cook 7+1, Jaimon Lidsey 6+1, Antti Voulas 6, Jake Mulford 2+1
Oxford ‘OXS’ Spires 36: Rohan Tungate 10, Maciej Janowski 7+1, Charles Wright 7+1, Chris Harris 7, Erik Riss 2, Ashton Boughen 2, Luke Killeen 1+1
Aggregate Score: Belle Vue 91-89 Oxford
Image: ©Belle Vue Speedway