BELLE VUE are in pole position to reach the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final after a superb performance to win 52-38 at Ipswich on Monday.
The ATPI Aces dominated the first leg of the semi-final to produce an exact repeat of the scoreline they achieved at Foxhall in the equivalent meeting back in 2022 – a season which saw them crowned league champions.
In a tremendous all-round team effort Peter Kildemand and Tate Zischke carried on where they had left off earlier this month, whilst big points were also provided by the top two of Brady Kurtz and Jason Doyle.
The only real setback of a meeting where gating and first bends were of paramount importance came when home duo Richard Lawson and Scott Nicholls hit the front in Heat 1 and raced to a 5-1 for the home side, with Kurtz unable to come from the back.
But Rising Star Will Cairns led the response with a fast start in Heat 2 whilst Zischke got the better of Kevin Juhl Pedersen as the Aces quickly levelled the scores.
Kildemand made a swift move off turn two in Heat 3 to split Danny King and Tom Brennan, with an Ipswich 4-2 in that race cancelled out in Heat 4 as Doyle’s determined start saw him defeat Tobiasz Musielak with Cairns taking a mature third ahead of Jason Edwards.
Normal service was resumed for Kurtz in Heat 5 and although King moved past Norick Blodorn off the second bend, the resultant 4-2 put the Aces into a lead they would never relinquish.
Zischke then produced arguably the ride of the night in Heat 6 as he burst between Lawson and Nicholls on the exit of turn two to team up with Doyle for the second Belle Vue 5-1 of the night, and one which put them into a six-point lead.
The next two races were shared with Zach Cook salvaging third place from Juhl Pedersen in the latter stages of Heat 7, before Blodorn held a perfect line to prevent any passing move from Nicholls who applied plenty of pressure in Heat 8.
Ipswich’s hopes were raised by a 5-1 in the next race as Doyle for once missed out, King and Brennan narrowing the gap to two, but the Aces then went into overdrive as they looked to put the tie beyond their hosts.
Kildemand and Cook got the ball rolling in Heat 10, squeezing out Nicholls on the first bend whilst Lawson’s challenge ended when he lifted on turn four and dropped to the back.
That 5-1 was followed by another in Heat 11 with Blodorn again excelling as he flew around Musielak on the opening lap to link up with Kurtz, and the visitors did it again in Heat 12, this time with Zischke controlling the first bend against King whilst Kildemand stormed around the outside.
A hat-trick of 5-1s became an incredible four in a row in Heat 13 with Kurtz and Doyle showing their class and joining forces to block out Musielak, who had to abandon early efforts to go between the Aces duo.
That made it 48-30 to the visitors and an unprecedented first leg score looked possible, until the Witches found some relief with a 5-1 from Brennan and Juhl Pedersen over Cook and Cairns in Heat 14.
Just as they had done in the recent league match at Foxhall, Kildemand and Zischke went out in Heat 15 for the Aces, and whilst no fortune was really required on the night, the visitors did enjoy a stroke of luck on the last lap as Musielak and Brennan were set for a 5-1 only for Brennan to slow and allow Belle Vue to share the race.
So the final margin at the halfway stage of the tie was 14 points in the Aces’ favour, and the riders could reflect on a job very well done.
Manager Mark Lemon said: “It went better than expected. Obviously in play-off speedway you know it’s going to be a tough challenge for the boys.
“But we were here less than a fortnight ago and we pretty much got off to the same start as last time and finished strong. We just rode the track really well.
“The boys have had a lot of confidence building up over the course of the season, and once again that was evident tonight.”
The Aces will look to complete the job when they host Ipswich in the second leg at the National Speedway Stadium next Monday (September 28). Tickets and hospitality available from https://www.bellevue-speedway.com/tickets .
IPSWICH 38: Tobiasz Musielak 10, Danny King 9, Tom Brennan 6+1, Scott Nicholls 6+1, Kevin Juhl Pedersen 3+1, Richard Lawson 3, Jason Edwards 1+1.
BELLE VUE 52: Peter Kildemand 11+1, Jason Doyle 10, Brady Kurtz 9+1, Tate Zischke 8+3, Norick Blodorn 6+1, Zach Cook 4+2, Will Cairns 4.
Photo credit: TAYLOR LANNING