King’s Lynn took the spoils at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday night, winning 43-47 despite a valiant comeback from Belle Vue to force the visitors into a dramatic last-heat decider.
A short, sharp downpour in the early afternoon made conditions slightly more grippy than normal, posing an additional challenge for both teams in the opening heats before the track settled down.
The Rentruck Aces were nonetheless tenacious in their response to the strength of the Tru Plant Stars, refusing to settle for the visitors taking an early advantage and set about closing the deficit.
After leading for much of the night, the Stars were pushed into a last-gasp finale thanks to the efforts of Rohan Tungate and Damian Dróżdż in Heat 14 who forced an all-or-nothing Heat 15 face off.
But it wasn’t in the cards for the home team, with team manger Mark Lemon expressing their collective disappointment while emphatically stating: “We don’t want that to happen again.
“We knew this meeting could be a big ask, given the nature of the rearrangement and the clash with the GP Qualifiers causing us to lose Craig and Max but we still worked hard as a team.
“The added frustration of losing Jason Garrity to injury put further pressure on the rest of the boys but full credit to them, they continued to battle and never once backed down from the challenge.
“Credit has to be given to King’s Lynn also. They’re a strong team and they came here looking to capitalise. We’re disappointed to have lost but what’s done is done. We move onto the next one.”
The Rentruck Aces head to Somerset’s Oaktree Arena on Wednesday May 23 before the Cool Running Colts are in action at the National Speedway Stadium on Friday May 25 against Eastbourne.
It’s back home for the Rentruck Aces on Bank Holiday Monday, May 28 when they clash with the Leicester Lions at the earlier time of 12:00pm, before heading to Beaumont Park later that evening
Words: Hayley Bromley,Images: Ian Charles
Tickets for all home fixtures are now available at www.bellevueaces.co, and at the stadium box office on race night.
