BELLE Vue take a 14-point lead into the second leg of their Premiership Semi-Final with Ipswich after dominating the opposition 38-52 at Foxhall on Thursday night.
A dramatic turnaround for the ATPI Aces saw them bounce back from a 6-point deficit after just two races to taking the lead in proceedings by Heat 8.
The loss of Max Fricke threw doubt on the Mancunians’ ability to hold their own against the TruMix Witches on home shale, but they were swift in their ability to silence their doubters.
Guest No.1 Craig Cook, starring for his former club on a temporary basis, put his two cents into the night while Norick Blodorn proved a shock spoiler against the home team.
Their victory at Foxhall puts the ATPI Aces in a strong position going into their home leg at the National Speedway Stadium on October 3, but there is still a job to be done on Monday night.
Club captain Brady Kurtz said: “We were hoping to keep things close at Ipswich, but we never expected we would come away with a 14-point lead that’s for sure.
“There were places where we had a little bit of luck, that’s for sure, but we’re certainly not complaining about it and we’ve more than done our job at Foxhall.
“The whole team has been fantastic tonight and Cookie [Craig Cook] has been a great substitute for Max [Fricke] but it will till all come down to Monday’s result.
“We fully expect Ipswich to fight back in the second leg and we’re not taking anything for granted. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and stay strong at home.
“Their form at home has been unreal all season and this result is proof that anything can happen so we need to keep our heads down, stay focused and finish this off in Manchester.”
The ATPI Aces are expecting a large crowd when they host the return leg of their premiership Semi-Final at the National Speedway Stadium this coming Monday, October 3, tapes up at 7:30pm.
Meeting tickets, race day programmes, stadium parking and hospitality are now available to reserve at bellevue-speedway.com.
