BELLE VUE ACES 49-41 IPSWICH WITCHES
Belle Vue halted the run of four straight defeats to move back to the top of the standings and see a three-way tie with Poole and Ipswich, as the Aces took an entertaining 49-41 victory over title rivals Ipswich Witches on Monday night and saw Aces captain Max Fricke scoring another 15-point maximum at the National Speedway Stadium.
Fresh from his fourth-place finish this past Saturday night in the Swedish Grand Prix – Max Fricke opened the meeting with a race win after a stunning ride that saw him blasting around Chris Harris on the fourth bend of the first lap to take a comfortable victory. The Witches reserves responded with a 5-1 in Heat 2, with Eddie Kennett and Jake Allen occupying first and second to give Ipswich an 8-4 lead.
Dimitri Berge got the better of Allen in Heat 4, as the Frenchman battled with his opposing reserve for the lead and saw his teammate in Kenneth Bjerre sitting in third for a 4-2, to bring them within two points. Dan Bewley got the better of Chris Harris while Steve Worrall finished third and saw a 4-2 to draw the meeting all square at 15-15.
The home side then recorded their first 5-1 of the match with the Australian duo of Fricke and Jaimon Lidsey combining out front to move four clear at 20-16 before a fantastic ride by Dimitri Berge saw him going up against Jake Allen again, and for the second time saw the Aces man side by side with the Witches man and had just too much speed for his opponent; while Lidsey cut back under Lawson to give Belle Vue a 4-2 and lead 27-21.
Two 5-1’s from the Aces helped put themselves up by 14 points after Heat 10, with the hosts going 37-23 up and making the gates – more important too. Ipswich then put up a mini fight for a couple of races, as firstly, Richard Lawson and Chris Harris teamed up for a 5-1 and then followed it up with a 4-2, as King and Allen picked up a second heat advantage; while Bewley kept King honest and saw the lead swapped a couple of times over the course of the race.
Those two heat wins for the visitors saw Belle Vue’s lead cut down to 8 points before the riders were up to tapes for the start of Heat 13, as Fricke made the gate and saw him making it four wins from four. Meanwhile, Harris and Bjeree traded places on the back of the first two laps, as ‘Bomber’ Harris came under Bjerre at the end of the opening lap before the Dane returned the compliment at the end of the second lap; as both Aces riders pulled clear to get a 5-1 and seal the meeting.
Once again, the Suffolk side refused to go down with a fight and saw Cameron Heeps and Jake Allen taking a 5-1 in Heat 14 to see the visitors still in with a shout of a losing bonus point.
Fricke then completed his 15-point maximum with another stunning ride that saw him out-gated by Ipswich’s Danny King, but the Aussie blasted his way around the outside of the Witches man to take the lead and left the field trailing in his wake. Dan Bewley looked to try and copy Fricke pass on the final bends of lap one, but King had other ideas and ruthlessly shut the door on him and forced the Cumbrian to shut off and was relegated to the back with Heeps taking advantage and seeing a 3-3.
Belle Vue Aces = 49
1. Max Fricke – 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 = 15
2. Jaimon Lidsey – 0, 2′, 1, 2′ = 5+2
3. Dan Bewley – 1′, 3, 2′, 2, 0 = 8+2
4. Steve Worrall – 2, 1, 3, 0 = 6
5. Kenneth Bjerre – 1, 3, 1, 2′ = 7+1
6. Dimitri Berge — 1, 3, 3, 0, 1 = 8
7. Tero Aarnio – 0, 0, 0 = 0
Ipswich Witches = 41
1. Chris Harris – 1′, 2, 2′, 1 = 6+2
2. Richard Lawson – 2, 0, R, 3 = 5
3. Danny King – 3, 2, 1, 0, 3, 2 = 11
4. Cameron Heeps – 0, 1′, 1, 3, 1′ = 6+2
5. Krystian Pieszczek – 0, 0, R = 0
6. Edward Kennett – 3, 1, F = 4
7. Jake Allen – 2′, 2, 2, 1, 2′ = 9+2
A Track With A VUE 