Belle Vue will commence their Premiership campaign at Poole on Wednesday, April 11 after Monday’s home meeting against King’s Lynn was postponed due to an inclement forecast.
But with things looking brighter at Wimborne Road, it is welcome news to the Rentruck Aces who have not ridden as a team since their Charity Shield heartbreak against Swindon in March.
The Mancunians will be without captain Steve Worrall, who is due to undergo surgery to plate the badly broken leg which he suffered as a result of an horrific crash at Scunthorpe last Friday.
Richard Lawson comes in as a guest replacement at No.3, while temporary signing Paul Starke, an ex-Poole Pirate, makes his Belle Vue debut at his former Dorset hunting ground in the No.2 spot.
Dan Bewley is looking forward to getting the season back on track, saying: “The weather has caused quite a few headaches recently and everyone is anxious to get back to racing.
“It’s a big meeting for both teams. It’s one of the first Premiership fixtures this season and everyone wants to get off to a good start, so there’s no doubt Poole will be pulling some big punches.
“The advantage we have is that we’ve already got a couple of meetings under our belt. For us, it’s a case of getting ourselves dialled back in and picking up where we left off at Wimborne Road.
“Steve will be missed quite a lot. He was in tremendous form but Mark [Lemon] has brought in a great guest in Richard Lawson as cover so I think we’ve got a good shot at getting some points.”
The Belle Vue Colts are in action at the Isle of Wight on Thursday, April 12 while the Rentruck Aces return to the National Speedway Stadium on April 16 against the Volvo Cars Pirates.
Tickets for this home fixture are now on sale at www.bellevueaces.co, or at the stadium box office on race night.
Words: Hayley Bromley,Image: Eddie Garvey