Belle Vue begin the first of their Play Off warm-up sessions at Swindon on Thursday night as the Rentruck Aces target double honours in their pursuit of glory in the 2017 Knock Out Cup.
It comes after the Robins scraped victory in the first leg of their semi-final with Poole on Monday, with their upcoming bout with the Mancunians a potential dress rehearsal for this year’s final.
And it marks the first time in weeks that the Rentruck Aces have taken up arms as an almost-full septet after Max Fricke recently declared himself fit to race after suffering a neck injury 5 weeks ago.
Dan Bewley remains sidelined after picking up a strained hip flexor in the Rentruck Aces’ bank holiday clash with Wolverhampton. He will be replaced by Jye Etheridge on the night.
Belle Vue will tackle their semi-final with Wolverhampton on September 18 at the NSS and club asset Steve Worrall believes that any track time in the interim could prove valuable to their cause.
He said: “It’s coming down to crunch time in the league, but this is only our semi-final match in the Knock Out Cup so there’s still plenty of racing to be done before the winter months set in.
“Swindon is a track we’re known to ride well, though I’m certain they will be feeling pretty pleased with themselves after their Play Off semi against Poole so we’ll need to be on our guard.
“Jason Doyle is on fire and he knows the Abbey like the back of his hand, and from top to bottom the Robins are a really solid outfit but we’re quietly confident we can match them like for like.
“We’ve got a commendable record on the road this year and having Max back in the team means we’re rolling close to full strength and more that capable of getting the job done.”
September 16 brings the Premiership Riders’ Individual to Manchester where every top flight club will be represented by their best riders as they aim to be crowned king of the Premiership.
Words: Hayley Bromley,Images: Ian Charles
Tickets for this and the Rentruck Aces’ play off semi-final on September 18 are available online at www.bellevueaces.co and at the stadium ticket office on race night
