BELLE VUE look to complete a perfect home record in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership when they host rivals Sheffield in a rearranged fixture at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday (7.30pm).
The ATPI Aces are already guaranteed table toppers ahead of the play-offs and want to keep their terrific form going ahead of the most crucial phase of the season.
The 49-41 victory at Ipswich last Thursday, when the Aces came charging back from eight points down, sent out a further statement of intent that their determination to seal a third league title in five years is massive.
Semi-final opposition in the play-offs is set to be confirmed this week, but prior to that the Aces have a job to do on Sheffield in order to make it ten home league wins out of ten.
Their opponents have not yet officially secured their play-off place with two matches to go, although it would take an extraordinary turn of results to see them slip out of the top four, and as things stand they look most likely to finish third.
Belle Vue name a full-strength line-up with Will Cairns back in the side after missing the trip to Foxhall due to SGP2 commitments.
Cairns’ reserve partner Tate Zischke was the match winner at Ipswich and then piled up big points in the Championship play-offs at Scunthorpe on Friday, indicating once again the value of sticking with a talented rider rather than rush into a decision to change.
Aces manager Mark Lemon said: “Tate had a big injury in 2024 and it’s taken a long time for him to get his confidence back.
“We’ve kept faith in the guys and brought them back into the Aces camp, and they’re showing that faith is bearing fruit right now.
“We’ve been here before. In 2023, we were in the same position, top of the table, and then we lost Charles Wright on the eve of the play-offs, which duly knocked us out.
“Speedway’s a funny game, and we’ve just got to keep our heads and hopefully a bit of luck remains on our side.”
Sheffield, who are led by newly crowned Championship League Riders’ Champion Josh Pickering, track the same side they would have featured when the meeting was rained off on Bank Holiday Monday.
That means former Aces rider Ben Cook guests at No.1 for the Tigers in place of the injured Jack Holder, with the visitors holding a narrow four-point advantage for the aggregate point.
Supporters with an active ticket for the original fixture do not need to take any action. Existing tickets will remain valid for Monday’s meeting, and fans can head straight to the turnstiles and scan their ticket as normal.
If you purchased a programme at the original event, you are advised to bring it with you; there will not be a new programme on Monday; however, new race cards have been printed and will be available.
For those without tickets, they can be booked along with hospitality at https://www.bellevue-speedway.com/tickets .
BELLE VUE: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Peter Kildemand, Zach Cook, Jason Doyle, Tate Zischke, Will Cairns.
SHEFFIELD: Ben Cook, Anders Rowe, Chris Holder, Leon Flint, Josh Pickering, Jye Etheridge, Luke Killeen.