A mixed night for Belle Vue saw the ATPI Aces leave Leicester’s Pidcock Motorcycles Arena on the wrong side of a 53-37 loss, while still laying claim to the bonus aggregate point.
After a tough start to their evening, the visitors from Manchester kept their hosts honest throughout the night.
A succession of races saw the advantages swing from one side to the other, but the home team took advantage of their home track advantage to remain dominant.
At the half way stage, the scores stood at just 24-18 with the ATPI Aces continuing to breathe down the necks of their rivals.
A succession of stalemates saw the gap maintained at 10 points in favour of the Watling JCB Lions, with Belle Vue continuing their valiant fight to recover.
But by the latter stages of the night, it was clear that the home team would emerge victorious, while the visitors would reap the benefit of their efforts in Manchester.
Jaimon Lidsey led the way for Belle Vue with 12+1 from six rides, Dan Bewley followed up with 6 points and Norick Blodorn added 5+1.
Aces reserve Connor Mountain said: “I’d agree it was something of a mixed night for us. A few of the boys struggled but at least we didn’t come away empty handed.
“Every meeting we go into, we intend to win it but Leicester were a very tough team and we expected them to put up a challenge after the Manchester leg.
“Thankfully, they didn’t get as much rain as was initially forecast but because they were expecting more than they got, the track was packed down quite hard and slick as a result.
“But it was the same for both sides and they have had ample time to get dialled in. Of course we’re disappointed to lose on the night but we can at least be pleased with the bonus point.”
The ATPI Aces return home to the National Speedway Stadium on Monday, April 22 for the return leg of their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership clash against Ipswich, 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.
RESULT - LEICESTER V BELLE VUE - THURSDAY, APRIL 18 @7:30PM
Leicester ‘Watling JCB’ Lions 53: Max Fricke 15, Sam Masters 10+1, Ryan Douglas 9+1, Richard Lawson 5, Drew Kemp 5, Joe Thompson 5, Luke Becker 4+1.
Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces 37: Jaimon Lidsey 12+1, Dan Bewley 6, Norick Blodorn 5+1, Brady Kurtz 5, Ben Cook 5, Connor Mountain 4+2, Connor Bailey 0.
Aggregate Score: Leicester 86-88 Belle Vue
Image: ©Belle Vue Speedway