ACES WIN AT BIRMINGHAM

BELLE Vue rounded off their July fixtures with a much-needed 44-46 win at Birmingham, but not before the Brummies enjoyed a late-meeting surge against the ATPI Aces.

Drama ensued right from the start when captain Brady Kurtz came to grief not once, but twice in Heat 1, hitting the air fence after two awkward starts but thankfully non the worse for wear.

He bounced back in the third re-run of the opening race to seal the team’s first 5-1 of the night with Norick Blodorn, which they quickly complimented in Heat 2 thanks to newly appointed reserve duo Jake Mulford and Antti Vuolas.

From there the ATPI Aces enjoyed a relatively untroubled evening, maintaining their advantage throughout the night while the Brummies struggled to reign them in.

It wasn’t until the closing stages that they managed to apply enough pressure as to force a last-heat decider, with the meeting delicately poised on a potential Super Heat.

But while Brummies top gun Freddie Lindgren took the chequered flag, Kurtz secured a crucial second place to ensure the ATPI Aces took the win and the league points.

Sheffield’s loss at King’s Lynn sees Belle Vue close the gap further on the league’s top two, as they remain third overall but now with only five points separating them from the top.

Brady Kurtz top scored for the visitors with a very impressive 15+1, while Norick Blodorn followed up with an equally strong 9 points and both Ben Cook and Jaimon Lidsey added 7 each.

Kurtz said: “We definitely needed a win at Birmingham. It’s a tough place to come but we did have some expectations of ourselves to win but it was no easy feat.

“They have a pretty good team, and they are strong at home, and we did miss Dan [Bewley] especially in the big races but it’s credit to the team that we pulled off the win.

“Everybody chipped in and gave a great performance so hopefully we can push on from here. We’ve got some big meetings coming up and we need to get dialled in for the play offs.”

Birmingham ‘Curtis Sport’ Brummies 44: Fredrik Lindgren 10+1, Tom Brennan 10+1, Piotr Pawlicki 9+1, Zach Cook 6+3, Wiktor Lampart 6+1, Michael Palm Toft 2, Leon Flint 1.

Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces 46: Brady Kurtz 15+1, Norick Blodorn 9, Jaimon Lidsey 7, Ben Cook 7, Antti Vuolas 5+1, Jake Mulford 3+1,Dan Bewley r/r.

Photo Credit: Ian Charles