LEICESTER are through to the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final after overcoming Ipswich in one of the most extraordinary play-off ties ever seen in British Speedway.
The Watling JCB Lions were taken down to the wire by the Witches on a night of thrills, drama and controversy at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park, and it appeared almost inevitable that the aggregate scores would be tied at 87-87 heading into the last race.
Just as they had done at Foxhall in the first leg, Sam Masters and Max Fricke came up with the heroics in Heat 15 to take the Lions through – as remarkably the only time they led across the entire tie was after the final race out of 30.
Facing unbeaten Ipswich guest Tom Brennan who was superb on the night, Masters again conjured a brilliant start from the outside, whilst Fricke crucially got the jump on Brennan, and with the other Ipswich representative Adam Ellis also squeezed out, the way was clear for a 5-1 to give the Lions a four-point aggregate win.
There had been talking points aplenty prior to that with the Witches putting up a resolute defence of their eight-point lead from the first leg, whilst also suffering a spate of crashes.
Conditions were expected to suit the visitors as downpours during the afternoon made the track much heavier than normal, and there were numerous first-bend incidents as a result.
The first of those saw Ipswich’s guest at No.1 Jan Kvech slide off in the opening race after initially contesting the bend with Fricke, and with the visiting rider disqualified Fricke and Richard Lawson roared to a 5-1 in the re-run.
Ipswich collected a 4-2 in Heat 2 which was impressively won by Ashton Boughen, but the visitors then saw Keynan Rew disqualified from Heat 3 for an incident on the first turn which saw his team-mate Brennan come to grief – although Brennan prevented any damage to their overall lead by winning the re-run.
Lawson won a shared Heat 4 before another excellent race for the Lions as Masters and Luke Becker hit the front in Heat 5 ahead of Danny King with Kvech’s challenge fading, and the 5-1 meant the aggregate gap was down to two.
There were hopes that the trusty Fricke/Lawson combination could get Lions ahead overall in Heat 6 but Ellis pulled out a brilliant first lap to switch inside the home duo on the back straight after he had initially been taken wide by Fricke.
And the Witches were right back in play with a 5-1 in Heat 7 from Rew and Brennan as they got the better of Masters for a second time after a fall for Sam Hagon had caused the race to be stopped.
Heat 8 produced a major turning point as Ipswich were on a clear 5-1, which would have seen them take the lead on the night, until leader King fell on turn two allowing Lawson and Hagon through for a shared race behind Dan Thompson.
Misfortune seemed to have switched to the Lions when Masters suffered mechanical gremlins prior to Heat 9 and was timed out, but they still took a 4-2 thanks to a smart ride from Becker to defeat Ellis whilst Lewis Kerr held the vital third place.
Rew suffered his second disqualification of the meeting when he fell on turn two in Heat 10, but Brennan defeated Fricke and Lawson in the re-run which left Ipswich four points up overall with five races remaining.
Fricke and Kvech clashed on the first bend again in Heat 11 and this time it was all-four back after the Ipswich rider went down, before the re-run saw Lions edge two points closer as Fricke won from Kvech with Kerr third and King falling again on the second bend.
And the aggregate position was finally all square with another Lions 4-2 in Heat 12 in a huge points swing as Rew and Thompson gated for the Witches only for Rew to again lose it on turn two and be disqualified – and to compound matters for the visitors, Masters out-gated Thompson in the re-run with Kerr third to make it 81-81 overall.
There was another tight call in Heat 13 with Fricke and Kvech again in close proximity away from the start-line before Fricke tangled with Ellis who went down. All four back was the decision, but the Lions did receive a disqualification in the re-run as Becker made contact with Kvech as he tried to pass the Czech rider heading into turn three, before Fricke took control at the third time of asking to keep the scores level.
Heat 14 looked a tough one as Brennan continued his winning ways but crucially Kerr and Becker packed in to keep Thompson at the back, taking it to 87-87.
And then with the tension levels at an all-time high, Masters and Fricke were yet again the riders for the big moment as they hit the front in Heat 15 to spark scenes of celebration both on and off the track.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “I’ve got to give credit to all six of my riders for doing the job, because everybody put something on the scorechart, which was so important.
“Reaching the Final is a big, big achievement for the club, it’s great for me personally but it’s about the riders and supporters, and it’s been a really good night.
“Ipswich put up a great performance and you have to remember they were without their top two riders, but my focus has to be on Leicester, and we’ve done what we set out to do.
“I’ll watch the recording of the meeting when I get home, and then I’ll watch Sheffield and Belle Vue knock lumps out of each other in the other semi, and we’ll take who we get.
“There’s a bit of relief there, and enjoyment that we can sit back for a bit because it’s been pretty hectic, but I’m really pleased for the club. It’s a big deal for Leicester, we had great backing from the crowd tonight, and now we’ve got two more meetings in the Final to look forward to.”
Lions will now face either Belle Vue or Sheffield in the Grand Final. Those two clubs race their semi-final next week with the Final scheduled for September 23 and 26, venues to be confirmed after the semi.
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFF, SEMI-FINAL, 2ND LEG
LEICESTER 51: Max Fricke 13+3, Sam Masters 11+1, Richard Lawson 11+1, Luke Becker 8+2, Lewis Kerr 7, Sam Hagon 1+1, Ryan Douglas r/r.
IPSWICH 39: Tom Brennan 11+1, Adam Ellis 8+2, Dan Thompson 8, Jan Kvech 4, Keynan Rew 3, Ashton Boughen 3, Danny King 2.
Leicester win 92-88 on aggregate
