LEICESTER resume their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership campaign with a tough trip to Belle Vue on Monday (7.30pm).
It’s an important period for the Watling JCB Lions who also have a big home clash with Sheffield to come on Thursday, followed by a local derby clash at Birmingham next week.
Recent postponements of away matches at King’s Lynn and Ipswich (in the KO Cup) have limited their 2024 racing to two fixtures at home - the opening night league win against the Stars before the KO Cup defeat to the Witches, with a new date still required for the second leg.
But it’s Monday’s visit to Manchester which is next on the agenda, with the Aces as ever likely to prove a difficult side to beat on their own circuit.
Belle Vue opened their home campaign on Easter Monday with a 49-41 win over Sheffield in the KO Cup, a meeting notable for the performances of their second-strings and reserves to secure that result.
However, generally when visiting the National Speedway Stadium it can be expected that Brady Kurtz and Dan Bewley will lead the charge, whilst for the Lions skipper Max Fricke is a long-time former Aces rider and will doubtless look to score well against his old team-mates.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “It wasn’t the result we wanted last Monday of course, and then being rained off for two Thursdays in a row has made it difficult to get any momentum.
“But most of our team have been riding either in the Championship or elsewhere in Europe, so I’m hopeful we’ll be getting up to speed.
“I think it would be fair to say it’s been a slow start by us, so I’m looking for an improved performance. It’s our first match away from home and we’ll go there and look to keep it as close as possible – it would be great to cause an upset, but I know how good they can be around their own track!
“I’ve resisted any temptation to make any changes to the riding order and so on, because it’s still very early in the season. Getting the set-up on the day is the important thing there, you’ve got to have the speed, and the plan is to go there and give a really good account of ourselves.”
Supporters not making the trip to the National Speedway Stadium should note that the meeting is being streamed live on the British Speedway Network. Passes are available from https://watch.britishspeedway.co.uk .
BELLE VUE: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Jaimon Lidsey, Ben Cook, Dan Bewley, Connor Mountain, Connor Bailey.
LEICESTER: Max Fricke, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Drew Kemp, Joe Thompson.
