BELLE Vue stage their only home ROWE Motor Oil Premiership fixture of July when they welcome newcomers Northampton to the National Speedway Stadium on Monday (July 13, 7.30pm).
The ATPI Aces have a formidable record in Manchester this term, tasting victory on each occasion in the league.
And after winning at Northampton on Thursday night, Belle Vue have a golden opportunity to add another three points to their tally and extend their lead to eight points at the top of the standings.
Whilst July is a quieter month for the Aces, their rivals are all in action on a more regular basis with home fixtures in hand.
Belle Vue team manager Mark Lemon feels his riders have put themselves in a strong position - but that is something he feels will be much clearer in a few weeks’ time.
“We’ve had six home matches, Northampton will be our seventh, so we’re a few in front of everyone else,” Lemon said.
“We’ve got a good team together and everyone knows the place well, so we are full of confidence as a unit, but we will never under-estimate our opposition.
“Of course we want to win all of our home matches which is something we’ve managed to do so far and away we’ve got a couple of wins and aggregate points as well which is pretty crucial.
“Other teams are going to start catching up with July being a quieter month for ourselves so we’ll have a bit of a clearer indication at the end of this month I feel.
“But right now, we seem to be travelling quite well, we’re winning our home matches and we’re definitely a top two team, which bodes well for our first aim which is to make the play-offs once again.”
The ATPI Aces have Rising Star William Cairns back in the side after competing in SGP2 in Sweden on Friday, where he scored eight championship points, but there are injury problems elsewhere.
Peter Kildemand has been ruled out with shoulder damage after a crash at Plymouth on Saturday. Former Aces star Ben Cook comes in as a guest, and will team up with brother Zach in the middle order.
Meanwhile Jason Doyle will also miss the meeting with rib damage suffered in a crash whilst practicing for Saturday’s Grand Prix of Sweden in Malilla. The Aces will either bring in a second guest or operate the rider replacement facility.
Skipper Brady Kurtz finished fourth in the GP, one place behind his main title rival Bartosz Zmarzlik who now leads by five points with four rounds remaining. Doyle is 13 points off the top seven after racing through the pain barrier but not reaching the Last Chance Qualifier in a meeting won by Denmark’s Anders Thomsen ahead of Robert Lambert.
Northampton include two former Aces league title winners in their line-up in Jaimon Lidsey and Matej Zagar who always provide plenty of entertainment around the National Speedway Stadium.
Tickets and hospitality for the meeting are available from https://www.bellevue-speedway.com/tickets .
BELLE VUE: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Ben Cook, Zach Cook, Jason Doyle (Guest or R/R), Tate Zischke, William Cairns.
NORTHAMPTON: Jaimon Lidsey, Kye Thomson, Matej Zagar, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Nicolai Klindt, Troy Batchelor, Luke Harrison.