Belle Vue have the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the National League table on Friday, August 18, when top-four chasers Birmingham bring their challenge to Manchester.
The two sides had initially been destined to meet at Perry Barr on August 2 before the fixture was washed out, with this meeting at the National Speedway Stadium being their first clash this year.
It is especially significant for Cool Running Colts top gun Jack Smith, who began his promising career with the Midlanders in 2016 and proved instrumental in the amount of success they enjoyed.
Claiming silverware in both National League and National Trophy competitions, Smith says he’s looking forward to facing his ex-club in the hopes of bringing similar successes to Belle Vue.
He said: “So far we’ve had a really consistent season at home and hopefully we can continue that trend against Birmingham. But they’re a strong team with lots of potential around our track.
“I’m looking forward to facing them. It’s the team I started my career with last year and we had a really good run of trophies and that’s something I’m keen to repeat with Belle Vue this season.
“Things are very close in the league at the moment and while we’ve got the opportunity to extend our lead over Eastbourne, they have a couple of matches in hand so things will get interesting.
“We’ve got to keep our heads down and focus on the job. Birmingham are fourth right now and a big win for them could see them jump to within three points of us so we need to really knuckle down.”
Smith is back in action with the Rentruck Aces this Saturday against Leicester, before they head back home to Manchester on August 21 to face Somerset. Tickets available now atwww.bellevueaces.co.
And following this bout of National League action is a Midland Development League clash between Belle Vue and Milton Keynes, which will showcase some of the sport’s up and coming young talent.
Words: Hayley Bromley
Images: Ian Charles
