BELLE VUE boss Mark Lemon admits he was impressed with the “team effort” delivered to beat Leicester.
The ATPI Aces delivered a hard-fought 50-40 win over the Lions in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday night.
It was nip and tuck all the way but Lemon is delighted how his team found an extra gear when it was most needed. Now he wants a repeat when it comes to the business end of the campaign.
He said: “Leicester were a real handful. Max Fricke’s performance was sensational.
“What I liked about the result tonight was the collective. The whole team chipped in, a team effort. That’s vital moving forward.
“Our away form has been there or thereabouts. When we were at Leicester we didn’t have Brady and we got a bit of a pasting.
“Our performances haven’t been great but it’s a long season. The key is to get it right at the end of the season.
“I’ve got faith in these boys. I think continuity is vital, I don’t like to chop and change. They’ve been signed for a reason.
“We need a bit of luck and things to go our way and we are making progress.”
Brady Kurtz’s uneaten run at the NSS of 19 races and four meetings was ended by Fricke, ironically his first defeat since Leicester’s last appearance in Manchester in May.
He added: “It was a really tough one. Leicester are a good team, they’ve been in good form all year. They are not to be taken lightly, that’s for sure.
“It was a hard-fought battle and a few mistakes from everyone really. We rallied and we got it over the line.
“Max (Fricke) knows his way around here, there’s no doubt about that. He’s done a lot of laps around here.
“Every now and again he turns up and p***** us all off. He did that today!
“We can’t always rely on me and Dan to get 15 every week. It’s good to have the back up from all the boys.
“That’s what we are going to need at the end of the year. This was a good test for us to get pushed hard. It was a good all-round team performance.
“My starts were pretty poor today which is not my usual thing here. I don’t like being at the back.”
It was also a really improved showing from Tate Zischke. He worked very hard for paid six including a battling heat 14 pass of Kyle Howarth.
He said: “It was an amazing night really. I don’t want to talk about my first start because I missed it by a mile.
“I’m starting to feel like I did last year. I’m not quite there yet.
“I just wanted to get Kyle (Howarth) in heat 14 because he got me last time!
“I made a start in the last one and get out in front. It was hooking up on the slick and I looked over and saw Zach coming.
“Everything is starting to click now. Having a few Championship meetings is going to be good for me.”
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2
BELLE VUE 50: Brady Kurtz 13, Zach Cook 11+2, Jaimon Lidsey 8, Dan Bewley 7+1, Norick Blodorn 5+1, Tate Zischke 4+2, Will Cairns 2.
LEICESTER 40: Max Fricke 19, Sam Masters 7, Drew Kemp 6+1, Ryan Douglas 5+1, Kyle Howarth 2, Joe Thompson 1, Luke Becker r/r.
Leicester win the aggregate point.