BELLE VUE ACES 51 -39 IPSWICH WITCHES
(Ipswich Win 93-87 & Reach Grand Final)
Monday night saw the Belle Vue Aces 2023 season come to an agonising end at the hands of the Ipswich Witches this past Monday night, as a 5-1 from Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov helped secure victory in the tie for the Suffolk side and gain revenge over the Aces for the Manchester side knocking them out at the same stage last year. While the Aces won 51-39 on the night, more importantly, the aggregate score went the way of the Witches who took it 93-87 to reach their first Grand Final since 2019.
It was a meeting that saw the Aces at one point in time down by 22 points, that was before they launched a rally to get back into the contest and pushed Ipswich all the way to the 30th heat in the tie. Following a 54-36 drubbing down at Foxhall in the first leg last Thursday, the damage done was an 18 point deficit that saw them needing a miracle to even try and overturn this at home.
There was a slight glimmer of hope though for the Aces, as they had beaten Ipswich earlier in the year 55-35, so there was a chance still; though that was back with a full strength side. With Charles Wright’s season ending crash in Poland ruling him out, it saw Rider Replacement being used again by Mark Lemon; while Ipswich welcomed back Jason Doyle to the side, and stuck with guest Jack Smith as reserve on his home track.
Belle Vue really needed a good start to the match to help their cause early on in terms of trying to overturn this huge lead. But things didn’t go to plan. After Emil Sayfutdinov opened the meeting with a race win for the away side, it then saw a combination of both Belle Vue dropping points, and the visitors picking up a couple heat wins to move 22 points clear after four races gone.
Heat two saw the Aces set on a 4-2 race advantage with Norick Blödorn out in front, but the Witches reserve in Keynan Rew had other ideas and shot past the German youngster on the run to the line for share heat. The next race saw a 3-3 then turn into a nightmare 4-2 for Ipswich, with Jaimon Lidsey’s bike packing up on the opening lap to gift the visitors a heat win.
Heat four saw Jason Doyle take a comfortable race win ahead of Dan Bewley, that was thanks to some good work by Jack Smith who hampered his former Colts teammate on the opening lap and saw yet another 4-2 going the way of the Witches. Heat Five saw the start of the home sides’ comeback in the match, as Blödorn and Lidsey took a surprising 5-1 over Emil Sayfutdinov to level the scores on the night at 15-15, while Brady Kurtz rode a superb race to pass Jason Doyle for a 3-3.
The middle of the match was where the meeting really turned for the home side, as the momentum began to kick in. A 4-2 from Dan Bewley and Norick Blödorn gave them their first lead in either leg, as they led 22-20 and trail by 16 points overall; while Tom Brennan and Connor Bailey kept the train rolling with a 5-1 in Heat 8, to then see back to back 4-2 heat advantages for the hosts and go up 35-25 with the deficit down to single figures.
Ipswich then landed a gut punch of sorts in Heat 11, as a 4-2 from Sayfutdinov and Rew restored the Witches 10 point aggregate lead and needing just a further eight points from the remaining four races to clinch the tie. Jaimon Lidsey took victory in Heat 12, while a stunning 5-1 by captain Brady Kurtz and Dan Bewley took over the duo of Doyle and Sayfutdinov to bring it within six points and have Ipswich just needing four more points to hit the winning 37 point mark.
Heat 14 saw Ritchie Hawkins slotting in Keynan Rew as a reserve change for Jack Smith, while Lidsey and Blödorn were given the task to try and keep the hosts hopes alive with a heat victory, and while typically it saw Danyon Hume who had pretty much had a stinker all night making the start; it saw both Aces pass him to secure to a 5-1 and have every lap cheered on by the home crowd. and sent the stadium mad with a 5-1 and take this crazy semi final to a deciding heat. Despite this flurry from Belle Vue, Ipswich wasn’t exactly hanging on in the meeting. As it still felt like they were in control of the match, even with the two five-ones that Belle Vue recorded in Heats 13 & 14 – but it certainly changed the whole complexion of the tie.
Heading into the final race of the semi final, the scenario was simple – a 5-1 to the Aces meant they would be in the Grand Final; a 4-2 would force a Super Heat, while anything else would give Ipswich victory. In a race that would grace a Grand Final itself, the lead would change no more than six times during the first three laps. With everyone’s nerves shredded in the stadium, and heart rates going bonkers (mine included at 125!) It saw both Doyle and Sayfutdinov making the initial gate for the visitors, which then allowed Kurtz and Bewley to both cut up the inside and start the madness of the proceeding three laps.
This was the following sequence of events – 5-1, 3-3, 5-1, 3-3, 2-4 and finally a 5-1 to the Witches and have the small group of Ipswich fans on the second bend making the only noise for one and a half laps in the stadium and celebrate their place in the Grand Final. The Ipswich team spilled out on the track to celebrate victory, while wheelies were forthcoming and saw the sight of Brady Kurtz body language being quite despondent after the race. One can say that maybe Lidsey may have been a better option having dropped one point from all his completed rides.
You can try and make a case of where it went wrong for the Aces on the night, be it Lidsey’s bike packing up while second, points dropped when in good positions; but the hard truth and deciding factor in this semi final, really boiled down to the first leg, where the Aces didn’t turn up remotely and the help of Chris Harris and a red-hot Ipswich side contributed to them winning.
That said, every Aces rider did their part to try and claw back the deficit and make it as close as they could; with the team scoring more than Charles Wright would on average at home by using Rider Replacement. For Ipswich, you can’t look passed their number 1 and 5 – but you can’t discount Jack Smith’s effort to hamper Dan Bewley in Heat 4, along with Danny King’s display and the unsung hero for me in the Witches line-up in Keynan Rew, as his 7+1 and key riders may have been the more pivotal scores on the night. For Belle Vue it is a case of waiting to see what the most important ever AGM brings for the sport in November, as it is really Make or Break for the sport’s future in the UK.
Belle Vue Aces = 51 (87)
- Brady Kurtz 1′, 3, 3, 3, 0 = 10+1
- Tom Brennan 2, 0, 3, 1, 1 = 7
- Jaimon Lidsey R, 2′, 3, 3, 3 = 11+1
- Charles Wright R/R (NB2, NB3, TB1, JL3 = 9)
- Dan Bewley 2, 3, 2, 2′, 1 = 10+1
- Norick Blödorn 2, 2, 3, 1, 0, 2′ = 10+1
- Connor Bailey 1′, 0, 2′ = 3+2
- Freddy Hodder DNR
Ipswich Witches = 39 (93)
- Emil Sayfutdinov 3, 1, 3, 1, 3 = 11
- Erik Riss 0, 0, R = 0
- Danny King 3, 2, 2, 1′ = 8+1
- Danyon Hume 1, 0, 0, 1 = 2
- Jason Doyle 3, 2, 2, 0, 2′ = 9+1
- Keynan Rew 3, 1′, 0, 1, 2, 0 = 7+1
- Jack Smith (G) 0, 1, 1 = 2
A Track With A VUE 