BELLE VUE boss Mark Lemon was delighted with the “workmanlike” win at Oxford to go top of the league.
The ATPI Aces delivered a battling display to take a 48-42 victory in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
Oxford made the stronger start and led by four points after four races but the Manchester side gradually pulled level and produced a powerhouse finale to seal the deal.
Belle Vue are now leading the table with just six weeks left of the regular season.
Lemon said: “The coin toss was again pretty vital and Oxford had the better gates early on. We didn’t realise gate four was going to be that bad.
“But knew it was going to turn around for us as the night went on.
“For the reserves, the points didn’t reflect on how hard they rode. Jake (Mulford) was feeling under the weather. On top of his injury, he was a bit ill. But rolled his sleeves up and had a go which was good of him.
“Tate (Zisckhe) was always in the thick of it. His Heat 2 win was very important as was guest Paco Castagna’s victory in Heat 8. He did the job that Norick (Blodorn) would have done.
“Everyone did their bit. Zach (Cook) came good with two big wins and Jaimon (Lidsey) was solid throughout.
“Then, of course, our big top two of Dan (Bewley) and Brady (Kurtz) delivered the big finish in brilliant style. It was a workmanlike win.
“It’s a good start to having three meetings away in succession. We’ll tackle one at a time and see where that leaves us.”
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2
OXFORD 42: Charles Wright 10+1, Kyle Howarth 8+1, Rohan Tungate 7, Mitch McDiarmid 6+2, Maciej Janowski 5+1, Victor Palovaara 3+1, Luke Killeen 3+1.
BELLE VUE 48: Dan Bewley 13+1, Brady Kurtz 10, Jaimon Lidsey 9, Zach Cook 6, Paco Castagna 5, Tate Zischke 4, Jake Mulford 1.
Belle Vue win the aggregate point.
Image by Liam Cockwell.