LEICESTER pulled off an incredible comeback from 12 points down to defeat league leaders Belle Vue 46-44 on another superb night of racing at the Hydroscand Arena.
Flying Ryan Douglas was the hero for the Watling JCB Lions, bringing the house down with a stunning ride to pass World No.2 Brady Kurtz in Heat 13 – and then he also had to come from the back in Heat 15 to seal the home victory.
A fifth straight win for the Lions further consolidates their second place in the table, yet it looked wholly unlikely when they trailed 9-21 after five races with the Aces putting on a fast gating display to underline their current form.
Douglas suffered a very rare last place in Heat 1 as he and Dan Thompson conceded maximum points to Kurtz and a flying Norick Blodorn, and indeed the Lions’ situation would have been even more dire but for the visitors’ Tate Zischke crashing out of the lead in Heat 2 enabling Drew Kemp to go through for the win.
But the Aces still took full control with their middle pairing of Zach Cook and Peter Kildemand registering a 5-1 in Heat 3 after Nick Morris had come to grief for the Lions, just when team-mate Kyle Howarth was in front.
And although skipper Sam Masters beat Jason Doyle in Heat 4, they were both upstaged by youngster Will Cairns who held on for a terrific win to move the lead up to eight points.
That became 12 in Heat 5 as Kurtz and Blodorn banked more maximum points, and the Lions appeared to be in big trouble.
There was a turning point in Heat 6 when Doyle lost control on turn four as he tried to pass Douglas, and the resultant fall spelt the end of his meeting with aggravated rib damage.
Douglas and Thompson both had to fight hard to get the better of Zischke in the re-run for a much-needed Lions 5-1, and Kemp showed great determination to split Kildemand and Cook on the run to the line of Heat 7 behind Masters for a vital third place.
Blodorn’s unbeaten run was ended by a great ride from Joe Thompson to take the win in Heat 8 with his brother Dan third, but the German was still a thorn in the Lions’ side as he replaced Doyle in Heat 9 and raced to victory in a 3-3.
The home side’s fightback continued with a 4-2 in Heat 10, Douglas trailing Kildemand for two laps before surging through on the inside, but the Aces landed what appeared a huge blow when Kurtz and Blodorn combined for a third time, this time at the expense of Masters and Kemp in Heat 11.
Six points down with four races remaining, Lions boss Stewart Dickson inserted Douglas into Heat 12 for a tactical substitute and the move paid off handsomely with a 5-1 as second-placed Morris just about held Zischke at bay.
That set things up for a grandstand Heat 13, and Kurtz took the lead with Douglas chasing hard and almost switching back on the inside on a couple of occasions, before winding up the outside on the last bend and winning the race to the line by just 0.048s to the delight of the Beaumont Park crowd.
With Masters third ahead of Cook the scores were level and the momentum was with the Lions, and they took a big step towards victory when Kemp and Howarth rose to the occasion to collect a 5-1 in Heat 14, despite Cairns getting very close to Howarth at the end of the race.
That suddenly put Leicester 44-40 up and in the box seat, with the Aces needing a 5-1 from Heat 15 to draw – and remarkably that was what they had on the first lap as the Kurtz/Blodorn combination again worked superbly.
Some more Douglas magic was required, and this time he squeezed around Blodorn heading into lap two, although it wasn’t over yet as the visiting rider surged back through on turn four only for Douglas to read the move and quickly turn back to return to second place.
He briefly challenged Kurtz for the lead, but the Leicester crowd were willing him to hold on to the second place which would win the match, and he duly did so as the Lions prevailed in an epic contest.
Dickson said: “Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition, and for the first five races we never had an answer, which is unusual for me to say as a team manager.
“I’m sure Belle Vue will be gutted that they never won, I would be, but for Leicester we were only getting two league points tonight and 46 was the perfect score.
“There was some really good racing again, and obviously the highlights show will be Dougy in Heat 13 passing someone of the stature of Brady, and that really built up Heat 14 for us.
“I knew the momentum was with us then, there was expectation on the other riders, and I felt Drew and Kyle were always going to get a 5-1 in that race because their team-mates had set them up for it, and they had to deliver.
“Obviously in Heat 15 Sam got stuck with the graveyard gate four, and once Dougy got into second place we were all shouting at him to stay where he was!
“We showed real character to get the result, but as much as I’ll praise the guys for that, we will need to ride better next week because it wasn’t Cup Final form. All of us need to find a better level next week for both matches.”
It’s the KO Cup Final which takes centre stage next week as the Lions defend the silverware against Ipswich with the first leg at Foxhall on Monday, and the return at the Hydroscand Arena next Thursday (July 30).
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1
LEICESTER 46: Ryan Douglas 14, Sam Masters 7, Drew Kemp 7, Kyle Howarth 5+2, Dan Thompson5+1, Nick Morris 4+1, Joe Thompson 4.
BELLE VUE 44: Norick Blodorn 13+2, Brady Kurtz 13+1, Peter Kildemand 6, Will Cairns 6, Zach Cook 3, Tate Zischke 2, Jason Doyle 1.
Belle Vue win the aggregate point
