Photo by Ian Charles: Ben Woodhull (Red)l Tom Woolley (White) and Luke Woodhull (Blue) Belle Vue Cool Running Colts v Buxton Hitmen, Travel Plus National League, 31 May 2017

Words: Hayley Bromley
Images: Ian Charles

Another electric performance by the Belle Vue Colts on home soil puts them seven points clear of second-placed Eastbourne in the race for the National League title after a hefty win over Buxton.

The two sides drew on all their experience of the National Speedway Stadium as they battled for honours, but the overall score of 62-28 couldn’t do full justice to the excitement of the racing.

Club No.8 Ben Woodhull, substituting for injury victim Rob Shuttleworth, was a man on a mission to impress on his home debut and his 7+1 from four appearances far exceeded all expectations.

Dan Bewley produced another typically fiery performance that not only earned him a faultless 15-point maximum but also shaved nearly half a second off the track record he smashed on Friday.

Team manager Graham Goodwin praised the growing sense of confidence amongst his riders as the key to their dominance at home, and was amazed to see them hit the 60-point mark yet again.

He said: “We just can’t stop them at the minute! We don’t have to encourage them to produce such big performances like this. Their confidence is so high they just tackle every challenge head on.

“We’ve got a bit more of a break in our fixtures coming up but to be in the position we’re in, seven points clear, ahead of that is much better than being miles outside of those top four places.

“With Rob still out injured we saw this meeting as a great opportunity to give our No.8 rider Ben Woodhull the opportunity to get some competitive laps in and he really proved what he can do.

“The rest of the team were just flying. I have to admit, we were concerned that Max Clegg and Matt Williamson, who knows this track, would potentially go through the card unbeaten here tonight.

“We honestly thought their top end would give us a hard time but as it turned out, it was our guys who gave their whole team a very hard time; they want to win races and that’s what they’re doing.”

Premiership action returns to Manchester on June 9 when former Grand Final rivals Belle Vue and Poole come together in an almighty clash of the titans. Tickets available at www.bellevueaces.co<http://www.bellevueaces.co/>.

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