KURTZ RETURNS TO FACE LEAGUE LEADERS

BRADY Kurtz makes his eagerly anticipated return to the National Speedway Stadium on Monday, July 1 when the Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces take on the Ipswich Witches, tapes up at 7:30pm.

It’s the first time in weeks that the home team are at full strength, after the Aussie suffered ligament damage in a track crash in Sweden, and they are determined to lay down a marker.

It is also the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership debut of newcomer Tate Zischke to the ATPI Aces, who takes his place at No.6 at the National Speedway Stadium.

And Ipswich will be determined to maintain their form after being a dominant force so early on in the season, but they are still without a No.1 after Jason Doyle’s season was ended due to injury.

Former Aces racer Tom Brennan steps in at No.1 as the guest for the opponents, with their remaining line-up unchanged and unphased by the challenge ahead of them.

Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon said: “I was very pleased to see the boys get back to winning ways against Leicester, and particularly with how they handled the task of covering R/R for Brady Kurtz.

“We’re thrilled to have Brady back with us. It’s been as frustrating for him as for us with him being sidelined and I’m sure everyone’s glad to see him back leading the ATPI Aces.

“We’re going to need every ounce of fire power we have against Ipswich. They have been very dominant these last few months and we want to elevate our game to compete with that.

“Make no mistake, even without Jason Doyle our task against the Witches is no less challenging than if they were at full strength and with Tom Brennan gunning as cover for the Witches No.1, he’ll be out to prove his worth for the Witches and with an eye on a Speedway of Nations place.”

Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces: Brady Kurtz (C) 8.87, Norick Blodorn 5.20, Jaimon Lidsey 7.58, Ben Cook 6.57, Dan Bewley 8.13, Tate Zischke 4.57, Connor Bailey RS; TM: Mark Lemon

Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches: Tom Brennan (G) 9.36, Dan Thompson 4.84, Danny King (C) 7.72, Adam Ellis 6.07, Emil Sayfutdinov 9.15, Keynan Rew 4.52, Jordan Jenkins RS; TM: Ritchie Hawkins

Photo credit: Ian Charles