BELLE VUE will have to wait to confirm top spot in the Premiership table after being edged out 47-43 in a pulsating contest at Sheffield on Monday.
After the disappointment of seeing the midday home clash with the Tigers washed out by a torrential downpour, the ATPI Aces performed strongly at Owlerton and were leading the match with three races remaining.
Two successive Sheffield 5-1s won it for the home side but it was still an encouraging night when compared to previous visits this season when the Aces had been under-strength.
And it will give them hope that should the sides meet again in the play-offs, they are more than capable of putting in a strong display at the South Yorkshire venue.
The Aces provided nine of the 15 race wins and had two riders unbeaten after their opening three outings as Jason Doyle reeled off three wins, whilst newly crowned German Champion Norick Blodorn was also hugely impressive, winning Heats 1 and 8 and combining with skipper Brady Kurtz for a 5-1 in Heat 5.
Blodorn kicked things off with a fine move to pass Anders Rowe in Heat 1 whilst Kurtz finished third ahead of fellow World Cup winner Max Fricke, and Tate Zischke gave the Aces a second race win in Heat 2 as he took control in the early stages after Luke Killeen had initially looked set to lead.
Sheffield held a 5-1 position in Heat 3 but Peter Kildemand chased down Leon Flint to move into second place, before Doyle fended off the early challenge of Jye Etheridge to win a shared Heat 4.
The Aces enjoyed a great result from Heat 5 with Kurtz and Blodorn gating to a 5-1 over Chris Holder and Flint, and Doyle defeated Fricke in the next race to maintain a four-point advantage.
But the Tigers levelled with a surprise 5-1 in Heat 7 as key reserve Killeen teamed up with Josh Pickering, who held off the early challenge of Kildemand with the Dane falling on the second lap.
Aces immediately went back ahead with consecutive 4-2s, first with a good move by Blodorn to get the better of Killeen and Rowe with the Sheffield Rising Star coming to grief as Will Cairns took third, whist Doyle made it a hat-trick of wins in Heat 9 backed up by Zischke passing Flint for third place.
The home side were on a 4-2 in Heat 10 before Kildemand retrieved third place from Rowe to protect a 3-3, but the gap did reduce to two points as Pickering and Etheridge hit the front in Heat 11 with Kurtz splitting them before the end of the first lap.
An exciting opening two laps of Heat 12 saw Kildemand first move inside Holder and then get past Killeen next time around, with the unlucky Zischke coming to grief on the last lap.
Aces led 37-35 with three races remaining but the match began to turn in Heat 13 when Pickering and Fricke made the start and were not to be caught by Kurtz or Doyle as they recorded a 5-1.
The visitors’ chances receded at the start of Heat 14 when Zach Cook was disqualified for touching the tapes, with the home reserves sealing the win for their side as Killeen came in to replace Flint and teamed up with Etheridge for maximum points once again.
But with the aggregate point in mind, Heat 15 still provided a useful result for the Aces as Kurtz got the better of Pickering in a fierce battle, whilst Doyle supplied third place to reduce the final margin to four points.
Blodorn said: “It’s disappointing because we had such a good start to the meeting, but when I compare the result to the last couple of years when we came here, we always got smashed pretty bad.
“We just lost it in the end, which is a bit unfortunate, but I think we still did a pretty decent job, and it was a solid night for me apart from the last one.
“I was unbeaten by the opponents before that, so I’ll definitely take that as progress for me. The season is going well in general and I’m feeling a bit more comfortable on bike as well.
“It’s been a great season for Belle Vue, because nobody really knew what to expect when we lost Dan (Bewley), but bringing in Jason has been a really good move. We just need to keep continuing what we’re doing and I think we should be fine.
“I’d basically won the German title two weeks ago because it’s now a five-round series, but obviously it’s pretty nice.
“German speedway has struggled quite a lot but with me winning the championship, Kai Huckenbeck second and Kevin Wolbert third we have pretty good top-end line-up and it’s the third time I’ve won it, so I’ll take that… two more to go until I catch Egon Muller!”
Whilst a date for the re-arranged home match against the Tigers is awaited, the Aces are back on the road next week as they visit Leicester on Monday (September 7) and then Ipswich on Thursday September 10.
SHEFFIELD 47: Josh Pickering 11+2, Luke Killeen 9+1, Chris Holder 7+1, Max Fricke 7+1, Jye Etheridge 7+1, Anders Rowe 5+1, Leon Flint 1.
BELLE VUE 43: Brady Kurtz 10, Jason Doyle 10, Norick Blodorn 8+1, Peter Kildemand 6+1, Tate Zischke 4, Zach Cook 3, Will Cairns 2.