LEICESTER made a spectacular start to the new season with a stunning 57-33 win at Midlands rivals Birmingham in their Knockout Cup opener.
Skipper Max Fricke raced to a sublime paid maximum from five rides and there were big contributions all the way down the line for the Watling JCB Lions, who are in a great position to reach the semi-finals ahead of Thursday’s second leg.
Kyle Howarth and Drew Kemp both made superb returns to Lions colours, Howarth with a strong paid-ten in the middle order, whilst Kemp – who only signed for the club at the end of last week – again showed his liking for Perry Barr with paid-eleven, including a remarkable Heat 13 win over the Brummies’ top two which left the home crowd stunned.
Fricke and Luke Becker got the Lions off to the perfect opening with a 5-1 over home skipper Tobiasz Musielak in Heat 1, and race wins for Kemp and Howarth followed with the Brummies suffering mechanical trouble twice in the early heats.
Jason Edwards was the first Birmingham winner in Heat 4 but Sam Masters and Kemp prevented any points from being recovered by keeping former Grand Prix star Matej Zagar at the back.
And with Becker racing clear again in Heat 5, Fricke moved cleverly through inside Keynan Rew to complete a second 5-1 for that combination.
A home 4-2 headed by Musielak stemmed the tide briefly, but the Lions quickly restored a ten-point lead in Heat 7 with Douglas defeating Zagar and Howarth holding third place.
Two shared races followed before the visitors made virtually certain of the win on the night, this time with Douglas and Howarth combining for maximum points over Musielak and Jonas Jeppesen.
Fricke kept his unbeaten run going in Heat 11 as Becker missed out to Antti Vuolas, but Douglas and Kemp banged in another 5-1 in the next as they left Michael Jepsen Jensen trailing.
Masters hit mechanical trouble prior to Heat 13 and was disqualified for exceeding the time allowance – but Kemp came in to replace him and made a superb start to lead with Fricke covering every angle in second place ahead of Zagar and Musielak.
Howarth got the better of Rew after a competitive start to Heat 14, which was shared, and whilst Rew then looked set to deprive Fricke of his full house in the finale, the Lions captain wasn’t to be denied as he again made the inside work to come through off turn four.
Leicester manager Stewart Dickson said: “It was a complete effort, everybody scored points, Max led from the front with his paid maximum, and we were solid throughout.
“I know they had a couple of chain issues, but for us even when Sam had a bike problem before Heat 13, Drew then popped out to beat riders of the class of Tobiasz Musielak and Matej Zagar, so it was our night.
“A couple of things went for us, but I can’t dress it up in any other way because we’re very, very happy with the result.
“To be honest, if anything I can see Birmingham scoring more on Thursday than what they scored tonight. We were good, they struggled, so it was a combination of both, but from a Leicester point of view we were sharp and dominant.
“My riders know the British scene, they don’t take too long to suss out tracks, and we had a plan from track walk that we wanted gates two and four.
“We had a really good travelling support too, so it was everything we could have wanted from opening night. It’s a good start and it was a happy camp throughout the team.”
The second leg of the tie takes place at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park on Thursday, where the Lions will look to secure a semi-final clash with Sheffield.
BIRMINGHAM 33: Keynan Rew 9, Jonas Jeppesen 5, Matej Zagar 5, Jason Edwards 5, Tobiasz Musielak 4, Antti Vuolas 3+3, Michael Jepsen Jensen 2+1.
LEICESTER 57: Max Fricke 13+2, Ryan Douglas 11, Drew Kemp 9+2, Kyle Howarth 9+1, Luke Becker 7+1, Sam Masters 7, Sam Hagon 1+1.
Photo credit: PHIL McGLYNN
