After a break of five weeks without a team fixture the Harry Jordan Haulage Lions are back on track on Sunday when they face the Belle Vue Aces in an Inter-League Challenge fixture at home with the meeting starting at the earlier time of 5.00 pm.
The Elite League club are team managed by Jason Attwood who will lead his side out for the first time against his former club and has named Craig Cook, the current Leicester track holder and Aces captain, at number one in the side. With the Aces overseas contingent not available, Belle Vue will bring with them an attractive side that will test the home team. At the head of the Aces alongside Cook will be Richard Lawson who won the Pride of the Midlands meeting at Leicester in July and Rene Bach his teammate at Workington. In the middle is Jozsef Tabaka and Thomas Jorgensen and at reserve is the ‘flying’ Ryan Douglas whose scores as a guest for Leicester at Redcar and home to Berwick were influential in helping Leicester win both matches. Steve Worrall occupies the other reserve position in Belle Vue’s team.
The Lions are now almost back to full strength following a spate of injuries that plagued their run-in towards a place in the Premier League play-offs; just missing out on qualifying by an inferior points scored for and against differential. Kauko Nieminen, who underwent an operation last month on his shoulder which he injured during Leicester’s home meeting against Rye House in August, is convalescing back home in Finland so Leicester have booked the Peterborough rider Ryan Fisher as a guest replacement for their captain and he will partner Lasse Bjerre in the team.
“The lack of fixtures during September has been a frustration and this is certainly one aspect which I want to see avoided in the future. We did not want to end the season so early so we have been working hard in the background to bring new clubs to Leicester this month. Some of the talks have gone nowhere but we are pleased that Belle Vue’s promoter Chris Morton agreed that his club would come to race the Lions in a challenge match. Belle Vue are one of the cornerstone clubs in British Speedway and a symbol of success having won almost every competition going and are known the world over” commented the Lions Promoter David Hemsley.
The fixture brings together the two clubs for what will be the first time they have faced one another since the Aces were the last team to race at the old Blackbird Road Stadium in October 1983, almost thirty years to the day!
The return fixture will take place at Belle Vue on Wednesday 9th October with the first race at 8.00 pm.
Teams
Leicester: 1. Magnus Karlsson, 2, Jan Graversen, 3. Ryan Fisher, 4. Lasse Bjerre, 5. Kevin Doolan (captain), 6. Alex Edberg and 7. Simon Nielsen
Belle Vue: 1. Craig Cook (captain), 2. Jozsef Tabaka, 3. Richard Lawson, 4. Thomas Jorgensen, 5. Rene Bach, 6. Ryan Douglas and 7. Steve Worrall
