ACES GO TOP OF TABLE

ANOTHER thrilling night of action at the National Speedway Stadium ended with Belle Vue going top of the Premiership after gaining maximum points over King’s Lynn on Monday night.

Despite being understrength, with Tobiasz Musielak injured and Ben Basso on international duty, the visitors displayed great tenacity to keep the ATPI Aces honest throughout.

In fact, in only the second race of the night they cancelled out the hosts’ first 5-1 in Heat 1 to level the scores and set the tone for what became a challenging evening.

Just when it looked like the ATPI Aces had got their grip on the win the Stars responded with some big performances, in particular former Belle Vue racer Michael Palm Toft.

But he alone couldn’t work a miracle that would save King’s Lynn from defeat, and again it was Ben Cook who stood out as one of the team’s key performers.

He topped the scores with a fantastic 12+1 while birthday boy Dan Bewley followed suit with 11, dropping just one point, and the skipper Brady Kurtz added 8+2.

German U-21 Champion Norick Blodorn, who featured as the wild card in the Landshut Grand Prix at weekend, said: “I think we were a little surprised at how strong King’s Lynn were.

“You can never underestimate anyone in Speedway, though, and they were determined to get something out of tonight and they proved that in the first few races.

“But I think once we settled in and got into our rhythm we managed to hold them off and it’s another great win for the team, and we went top of the table as well.

“I didn’t actually know that a win would take us above Ipswich and it’s great to be in this position at this point in the season, but there’s still a long way to go yet.

“There’s a lot of work for us to do and a lot more points for us to earn before this year’s play offs, but right now we’re taking things one day at a time and just enjoying ourselves.”

The Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces head out on the road to Oxford this Thursday, May 23 for the exciting conclusion to their clash with the Oxford Spires; tapes up at 7:30pm.

They are back at home on Monday, May 27 for another Bank Holiday bash against the reigning Premiership champions Sheffield, tapes up at 12pm.

Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces 48: Ben Cook 12+1, Dan Bewley 11, Brady Kurtz 8+2, Norick Blodorn 7+1, Jaimon Lidsey 7+1, Connor Bailey 2, Connor Mountain 1.

King’s Lynn ‘PSH Environmental’ Stars: Michael Palm Toft 11+1, Niels-Kristian Iversen 10, Anders Rowe 7+1, Patryk Wojdylo 7, Nicolai Klindt 4+1, Richard Lawson 3+2, Tobiasz Musielak r/r

Aggregate Score: Belle Vue 96-84 King’s Lynn

Photo credit: Ian Charles