LEICESTER Lion Cubs enjoyed the perfect warm-up for the NDL Grand Final with a comfortable 53-36 win at Armadale on Friday.
The result means the Cubs finish five points clear at the top of the regular table ahead of their title decider against Mildenhall, and just as importantly all of their riders came through the meeting unscathed.
With Max Perry unavailable for the meeting, all of the six remaining Cubs won at least one race with Connor Coles taking top billing with a 14-point haul from six rides, ironically after falling on the fourth bend in his first ride.
Turn four did prove tricky for riders of both sides, but it was the Cubs reserves Vinnie Foord and Mickie Simpson who put their side in front with a 5-1 in Heat 2 – and the fast-improving Foord was involved again in Heat 5 as he defeated the far more experienced Danny Phillips for a 5-1 with Dan Thompson.
Tom Spencer bounced back from a fall in Heat 1 to win his next outing and he then partnered Coles to maximum points over Devils skipper Tom Woolley in Heat 7, which put the visitors 11 points up at the halfway stage.
Dan Thompson won his first three rides with Mickie Simpson completing a 4-2 in Heat 11 by passing Lewis Millar, and Foord added third place to Coles’s win in Heat 12 to make it 44-27.
The winning run for Thompson ended in Heat 13 with a retirement after he had been putting in a strong challenge on Lee Complin, but skipper Joe Thompson took the race win.
Simpson fended off the early threat of Elliot Kelly to win Heat 14 after Spencer had come to grief in the initial staging, before Complin defeated Coles in the final heat to give the Devils a winner in what could prove to be the last-ever race at the stadium.
Cubs boss Dave Howard said: “When we were doing the track walk I did say the most important thing was to be fit and ready for Saturday and Sunday with both the Lions and the Cubs.
“It was a tricky track, bends three and four were really slippery at the start and there were a number of falls, but everybody said they were okay and they all finished their rides.
“We were probably expected to win here, but the way they rode was superb. There were a number of passes from the back, it was really key to take the right lines around each bend and there were a fair few overtakes. It was a good performance, and a comfortable win.
“Vinnie was the busiest rider on the night and he had a great evening with paid-13, which is his best paid score of the season so far. It’s been great to see him in the last few weeks take that step up – he’s obviously got bigger and stronger, which assists him, and he rode really well tonight.”
ARMADALE 36: Lee Complin 12, Tom Woolley 7+1, Danny Phillips 6, Josh Embleton 4+2, Elliot Kelly 3+1, Gregor Millar 2, Owen Booth 2.
LEICESTER 53: Connor Coles 14, Vinnie Foord 9+4, Dan Thompson 9, Joe Thompson 9, Mickie Simpson 7+1, Tom Spencer 5+1, Max Perry r/r.
Photo Credit: JACK CUPIDO
