FRUSTRATION FOR ACES

BELLE Vue CEO Mark Lemon has acknowledged the frustration of supporters after Monday’s abandonment against Sheffield, which saw the visitors win 25-35 over the ATPI Aces.

Early indications had been that the National Speedway Stadium would skirt the worst of the Bank Holiday weather, and the club made every effort to deliver an exciting afternoon’s racing.

With captain Brady Kurtz sidelined with tendon injuries, the home team tracked Rider Replacement at No.1 with all of his team mates eligible to take his rides.

An early morning downpour made conditions challenging from the off, with both sides battling with the circuit in the early heats as each tried to gain the early advantage.

A deadlock ensued with both teams on equal footing, until a 5-1 in favour of Sheffield saw the opposition take the lead in Heat 5 and leaving the ATPI Aces to play catch up.

Intermittent showers brought proceedings to a halt while track work was carried out, with Belle Vue responding in Heat 9 with a 5-1 of their own to claw them back to within a back 10-point deficit.

But the Tru7 Group Tigers immediately bit back with their own 5-1 to re-establish their advantage before another deluge brough the action to a stop.

A lengthy delay ensued where track staff fought valiantly to bring the circuit back into racing condition, but the hard work was left without reward when the meeting referee inspected the track and called proceedings to a close for the day.

Team boss Mark Lemon shared in the fans’ frustration, saying: “The weather for speedway this season has been testing on many of an occasion so we can all feed bitter frustration at the way the day panned out. If we can be guilty of anything, it’s trying too hard to see the meeting reach a heat 15 conclusion. 

“All indications after Heat 10 suggested the weather had cleared up and that no further rain was forecast, the sun shone just 10 minutes after the last downpour whilst the track was undergoing remedial works and the forecast indicated that all showers had passed.

“I feel I’ve spent my entire season to date looking at weather forecasts and I don’t think we’ve got many wrong. Sometime your luck runs out and things don’t always go your way and that was today. 

“There was plenty of speculation that it was risky to begin with, but the showers were intermittent and when the sun did come out it was a beautiful and warm day.

“Our fans showed their patience as we tried our hardest to complete 15 heats. Sometimes you just must accept defeat that things don’t go always go your way, today was one of those days.

Premiership action takes a break from Manchester as the 2024 Attis Insurance British Final comes to the National Speedway Stadium on Saturday, June 8.

Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces: Ben Cook 7, Jaimon Lidsey 6+1, Norick Blodorn 6, Connor Mountain 4, Dan Bewley 2+1, Connor Bailey 0, Brady Kurtz r/r.

Sheffield ‘Tru7 Group’ Tigers: Chris Holder 7+1, Tai Woffinden 7, Tom Brennan 5+1, Jack Holder 5, Kyle Howarth 4+3, Jason Edwards 4, Dan Gilkes 3.

Abandoned after Heat 10 (Rain) – Result stands.

Photo credit: Ian Charles