THE stage is set for a mouth-watering clash across the Pennines on Thursday, April 4 when the winner of Belle Vue’s Knockout Cup Quarter Final with Sheffield will be decided.
The ATPI Aces lead the reigning league champions 49-41 on aggregate, with the winner set to advance to the semi-finals and face King’s Lynn in early June.
Monday’s meeting was touch-and-go after persistent rain around Manchester threatened the first leg, but the worst passed by the National Speedway Stadium and the action got underway.
This will only be the third time that Belle Vue have taken to the shale as a team, but already positives are emerging concerning their potential, as well as a few surprise packages.
Club No.3 Jaimon Lidsey said: “I don’t believe that Monday’s result was a fluke. Sheffield have a great team, there’s no denying that, but we also have a great team as well.
“Ben [Cook] and Connor [Mountain] have settled in very quickly and the vibe in the camp is really good, really positive and I believe that showed on Monday.
“We’ve had some great meetings at Owlerton. It’s the place that Belle Vue won the league title in 2022 so there’s some great memories for the club at that place.
“Past performances won’t have any effect on how we go this time out, but to be taking a lead to Sheffield is already a boost for the boys.
“The confidence is up having beaten them, and that’s something we need to build on. We know they won’t want to lose at home and we’ll need to work hard to protect our advantage.”
The ATPI Aces to Owlerton Stadium on Thursday, April 4 for the return leg of their KOC Quarter Final with the Sheffield Tigers, with the aggregate winner advancing to the semi-finals.
Then, the Premiership big guns return home to the National Speedway Stadium on Monday, April 8 for another tasty league battle, this time against the Leicester Lions, tapes up at 7:30pm.
Meeting tickets, race day programmes and south stand parking are now available to pre-book, along with race day hospitality, at bellevue-speedway.com.
SHEFFIELD V BELLE VUE – THURSDAY, APRIL 4 @ 7:30PM [PKOC]
Sheffield ‘Tru7 Group’ Tigers: Jack Holder 8.91, Kyle Howarth (C) 5.41, Chris Holder 7.16, Josh Pickering 6.78, Tai Woffinden 8.26, Jason Edwards 3.00, Dan Gilkes RS; TM: Simon Stead
Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces: Brady Kurtz (C) 8.58, Norick Blodorn 5.88, Jaimon Lidsey 7.86, Ben Cook 5.94, Dan Bewley 8.13, Connor Mountain 4.42, Connor Bailey RS; TM: Mark Lemon
Aggregate Scores: Sheffield 41-49 Belle Vue
Image: ©Belle Vue Speedway