LEICESTER opened their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership campaign with a 46-44 win over defending champions Belle Vue in a thriller of a finish at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park.
Watling JCB Lions skipper Max Fricke and Luke Becker rescued a 3-3 from Heat 15 just as the Aces’ big guns of Dan Bewley and Brady Kurtz looked set to complete a remarkable comeback from their side.
The visitors had clawed their way back from ten points down, thanks largely to back-to-back 5-1s in Heats 8 and 9, and it meant the Lions went into the decider just two points ahead.
When Bewley and Kurtz hit the front from gates one and three they were well placed to snatch a narrow victory – but Fricke produced a crucial move on the second lap, diving inside Kurtz heading into the third bend which also created the gap for Becker be able to follow him through.
It put the Lions into a match-clinching 3-3 position as they duly followed Bewley home, whilst Kurtz ended his night with a crash just short of the finish line, from which he emerged unscathed.
Such drama appeared unlikely when the Lions dominated the early stages, going ten points up after just three races.
Fricke and Becker took the maximum over Kurtz in Heat 1 – which proved to be the Belle Vue captain’s only defeat until the last race – whilst Drew Kemp took charge of the reserves’ race with Sam Hagon in third, whilst Ryan Douglas and Kyle Howarth out-trapped Jaimon Lidsey and Zach Cook in Heat 3.
Lions had some misfortune in Heat 4 when Sam Masters retired from second place in Heat 4 but an excellent ride by Fricke to get the better of Bewley after a close fought lap of action in Heat 6 enabled the home side to rebuild their advantage.
However, things began to turn in Heat 8 when Becker clashed with Norick Blodorn on the back straight with the German falling heavily and the Lions’ American star being judged as the rider to blame.
With Becker disqualified, Blodorn and Jake Mulford collected a 5-1 in the re-run, dropping the gap to six, and a tactical substitute outing for Kurtz in the next race proved perfectly placed as he combined with Bewley for maximum points as Douglas and Howarth tangled in the early stages.
A nip and tuck contest developed with Becker and Fricke putting Leicester six points up again with a 5-1 in Heat 10, only for Kurtz and Blodorn to respond at the expense of Masters in the next.
A fired-up Lidsey got the better of Douglas and Kemp on the first lap of Heat 12 to keep his side in the contest, with their big two to feature twice in the last three races, but crucially the Lions duo of Fricke and Masters pegged Bewley at the back of Heat 13 behind leader Kurtz, keeping Leicester ahead by two points.
Lions had high hopes of sealing the contest in Heat 14 but Cook, who had failed to defeat a home rider prior to the race, made the start ahead of Howarth and Kemp to take it down to a decider.
And with tension high it looked like the champions were set to salvage a win, only for Fricke and then Becker to then have the final say as the Lions edged home.
Fricke said: “It’s always tough when you’ve got a last heat decider, and to start behind I thought I’d got my work cut out, but we were able to pull it off in the end and Luke was able to get through.
“When it’s a pair riding in front it’s always difficult to make a pass, but I was able to make a bit of speed and get down the inside, and just make enough room for Luke as well.
“It was good to come away with a win. We started really well and then we kind of tailed off in the middle, so we need to pick up that, but we had a bit of misfortune along the way as well.
“Hopefully we can keep it up throughout the year, we’ve got a lot of good teams coming here this year, so it’s going to be tough.”
With two points on the board, Lions now go into their first away league match of the season as they visit King’s Lynn on Monday – before favourites Ipswich, in rampant form so far, visit the Hydroscand Arena next Thursday.
LEICESTER 46: Max Fricke 12+1, Luke Becker 7+2, Ryan Douglas 7, Drew Kemp 6+3, Kyle Howarth 6+2, Sam Masters 4+1, Sam Hagon 4.
BELLE VUE 44: Brady Kurtz 12+1, Dan Bewley 11, Jaimon Lidsey 7, Norick Blodorn 5+1, Zach Cook 4, Jake Mulford 3+1, Tate Zischke 2.
