BELLE VUE 54-36 SHEFFIELD
Belle Vue completed their home programme for the 2022 Premiership season, as the Aces completed their first unbeaten league campaign at the National Speedway Stadium with a 54-36 win over their Roses’ rivals the Sheffield Tigers.
Following their mixed results against Wolves last week, it saw this fixture being big for the Manchester side in their slim chance of top spot. The sides traded 4-2 heat advantages in the opening two races, the visitors leading through guest Nicolai Klindt and Lewis Kerr; meanwhile Norick Blodorn chased down Justin Sedgmen to pass him on the lap three with Jye Etheridge securing third to have the scored level at 6-6.
A good race in Heat 3 saw Kyle Howarth and Matej Zagar fighting it out for the lead as the Tigers rider managed to get the better of the Slovenian. Two 5-1s went the way of the Aces, with Brady Kurtz and Norick Blodorn took a tapes-to-flag finish. Then heats later saw the race of the night – as following Kyle Howarth nearly fencing Jye Etheridge on the second bend, it saw the Aces rider trading places back and forth with Adam Ellis on every bend before the Aussie got the better line to join Kurtz for a 5-1.
Tom Brennan and Norick Blodorn then claimed another 5-1 for the hosts in Heat 8, as the Tigers were left chasing shadows with the Aces moving 12-points clear with a 30-18 lead. Sheffield boss Simon Stead saw him slotting Nicolai Klindt in as a tactical substitute with Jack Holder in Heat 9 – as the Tigers got out on 5-1 before Zagar flew round the boards to pass both and lead. However, it saw the Slovenian not riding his usual fluid self, with Holder chasing hard and saw the Sheffield man capitalising on Zagar going far too wide on the final bend to gift the visitors a 4-2 advantage.
Another good race saw Kyle Howarth leading both Aces in Tom Brennan and Max Fricke for three bends, as both home riders tried the inside line with Brennan hitting the front and Howarth blocking the run of Fricke. For three laps it saw the Belle Vue no1 trying to build his speed, and just like last week against Sam Master, he flew past the Tigers man and saw a 5-1 to the host to lead 37-23. Sheffield hit back in the following race through Nicolai Klindt and Lewis Kerr, as the duo took a comfortable 5-1 to see them go into the interval down by 10 points.
After the break it saw Belle Vue putting the hammer down in the next three races, with a 4-2 from Zagar and Blodorn in Heat 12, then another 4-2 from Kurtz and Fricke in the battle of the big guns to clinch the match with two races to spare at 46-32. It saw a nasty crash for Sheffield’s Kyle Howarth, as he was battling with Charles Wright and Norick Blodorn for the lead in Heat 14, but the Tigers man ended up crashing into the air fence and luckily avoided the part of the track with no air fence.
In the rerun it saw Connor Mountain who had failed to score in his previous three rides putting himself about and being an irritant to the Aces riders side for a couple of laps. Both Mountain and Wright saw them trading passes back and forth for the first couple of laps, before the Sheffield man saw his challenge fade and led to an unsurprising 5-1. Brady Kurtz closed the meeting with a superb gate to take victory, while Matej Zagar found himself going from second to last with Klindt passing him on the second lap, before Jack Holder followed suit the following lap for a shared heat.
While it was a victory that moves the Aces up to second temporarily at least in the standings, it now sees their focus shifting to their dour away form, of which has seen them taking only one point following their early season win at Peterborough. Their final three final fixtures consist of King’s Lynn, Sheffield and Peterborough away, where any points and performances will be a great boost to take into the playoffs.
Belle Vue Aces = 54
- Max Fricke – 2, 2, 2′, 1 = 7+1
- Tom Brennan – 0, 1′, 3, 3 = 7+1
- Matej Zagar – 2, 1′, 2, 3, 0 = 8+1
- Charles Wright – 1′, 2, 0, 3 = 6+1
- Brady Kurtz – 3, 3, 1, 3, 3 = 13
- Jye Etheridge – 1, 2′, 0 = 3+1
- Norick Blodorn – 3, 2′, 2′, 1, 2′ = 10+3
Sheffield Tigers = 36
- Nicolai Klindt (G) – 3, 3, 1, 3, 0, 2 = 12
- Lewis Kerr – 1, 0, 1, 2′ = 4+1
- Adam Ellis – 0, F/Ex, 0, 2 = 2
- Kyle Howarth – 3, 1, 1, F/Ex = 5
- Jack Holder – 1, 3, 3, 2, 1′ = 10+1
- Justin Sedgmen – 2, 0, 0 = 2
- Connor Mountain – 0, 0, 0, 1 = 1
A Track With A VUE 