REIGNING Premiership Champions Belle Vue moved nine points clear of Wolverhampton at the top of the league standings after a huge 57-33 win at the National Speedway Stadium.
A late change to the line-ups saw Jake Mulford ruled out of the meeting after breaking his ankle at the weekend, with Belle Vue Colts captain Jack Smith stepping in as a guest replacement.
In the first few races it was the visiting Wolves who were putting the pressure on the ATPI Aces as they made moves to take control of the meeting after just three races.
But true to form, the home team set to work in turning their fortunes around with a well-placed 5-1 from Jaimon Lidsey and Charles Wright in Heat 5 to return the lead to them.
One of the biggest cheers of the night was reserved for Smith, who teamed up with Norick Blodorn in Heat 8 to secure an emphatic 5-1 over Steve Worrall and Leon Flint.
The energy in the stadium, and from his team mates, at that point was palpable and from there Belle Vue’s confidence only grew as the night went on.
It was then business as usual for the ATPI Aces as they methodically extended their lead further and further until there was little to no chance of a Wolves recovery.
Premiership Pairs champion Brady Kurtz topped the score charts with 13+1, while his fellow Pairs champion Dan Bewley complimented him with 11+1 and Norick Blodorn added 9+1.
Kurtz said: “Track conditions maybe caught us out a bit early on but I think we got dialled in as usual and got another great result so things have been going good for us.
“It’s a shame about Jake [Mulford] because he was really starting to show some good progress which was great to see, but Jack did a great job for us and stepped up when we needed him to.
“Wolves have always been a bit of a bogey team for us so to win so emphatically was very impressive from all the boys and we’ve put ourselves in a great position for next week.
“We definitely have what it takes to win at Monmore Green and that’s what we want to do, but we have to also take the opportunity we’ve created to secure the bonus aggregate point.”
The Belle Vue ‘Cool Running’ Colts resume their home NDL campaign this Friday, July 7 when they face the Kent Royals at the National Speedway Stadium, tapes up at 7:30pm.
The ATPI Aces head to Wolverhampton next Monday, July 10 to face the Wolves at Monmore Green.
