THE Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces kicked off their league campaign with a tough battle with the Ipswich Witches, with Manchester’s finest falling shot 51-39 at Foxhall.
The opposition found themselves slightly underpower after 2017 world champions Jason Doyle was ruled out of the meeting due to personal reasons.
But that didn’t stop them from throwing down the gauntlet to the ATPI Aces in their league season opener, with both sides going hell for leather right from the get-go.
The Tru7 Group Witches have always been tough customers on home turf, but they had plenty to think about as the former Premiership Champions got to work at Foxhall.
Reserve Connor Mountain certainly proved his worth on the night, being a shock dark horse to the opposition after scoring 7 points in his ATPI Aces debut.
World No.7 Dan Bewley made good on his promise to right the wrongs of the past around the Suffolk track, scoring an impressive 9 points from five rides.
But it was the skipper Brady Kurtz who led the way for the ATPI Aces ion the scores, bagging 13 points from his five appearances, with Emil Sayfutdinov ruining his flawless run in Heat 13.
Mountain said: “I don’t want to get too carried away, but I think that’s the best I’ve ever scored around Ipswich, and I’m very proud of that!
“It’s not only our first away match, but our first match as a team and it’s always a tough one to break the ice, especially when you’re away from home.
“Overall, everyone had a decent night especially Brady and Dan, and I think as the night went on and we got dialled in, we only got better.
“I think we can be pleased with this result. Obviously we wanted to win but at the same time, we’re only down by 12 on aggregate and that puts us in a great position for the return leg.
“On a personal note, I did double what I was expected to do and I’m so pleased to have started my Belle Vue journey so strongly. This is a great building block moving forward.
“This is only the first step in a long and competitive season, and I think once we get more meetings under our belts we’ll be able to show exactly how strong we are and what we’re capable of.”
The Speedway season in Manchester continues on Good Friday, March 29 when the Cool Running Colts face Leicester in their first NDL league action of the season.
The ATPI Aces, meanwhile, hope to get their league campaign underway when they visit Ipswich on Thursday, March 21 before heading home to Manchester on Easter Monday, April 1.
Meeting tickets, race day programmes and south stand parking are now available for both home meetings, along with race day hospitality on Easter Monday, at bellevue-speedway.com.
RESULT - IPSWICH V BELLE VUE – THURSDAY, MARCH 21 @ 7:30PM
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches 51: Emil Sayfutdinov 12+1, Danny King 11+2, Adam Ellis 7+1, Scott Nicholls 7, Dan Thompson 6+1, Keynan Rew 4+1, Jordan Jenkins 4+1.
Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces 39: Brady Kurtz 13, Dan Bewley 9, Connor Mountain 7, Norick Blodorn 5+1, Jaimon Lidsey 4, Connor Bailey 1+1, Ben Cook 0.
Image: ©Belle Vue Speedway