BELLE Vue put in a tremendous all-round performance to register their first away win of the season at King’s Lynn on Monday.
The ATPI Aces were victorious 49-41 in East Anglia and they fully merited that result having led for most of the meeting with some outstanding individual displays.
Top of the list was Zach Cook with one of his very best showings for the club as he raced to paid-14 from five rides, whilst top two Brady Kurtz and Dan Bewley secured a memorable Heat 13 5-1, and the visitors’ lower order also played a full part in the success.
Kurtz stated his and the Aces’ intentions with a fast win in Heat 1 over his Grand Prix rival Max Fricke with Norick Blodorn supplying third place for a 4-2.
The home reserves hit back as ex-Belle Vue rider Jake Mulford combined with Cooper Rushen for maximum points in Heat 2, but there was an immediate Aces reply in the next.
Cook and guest Kye Thomson were fast from the start and with Ben Cook out of shape on the first bend, the Aces duo were able to build a lead and hold off Chris Harris.
Bewley lost out to Jan Kvech in Heat 4 but Will Cairns took a good third place over Mulford, which proved to be the first of five successive shared races as Belle Vue held a narrow advantage.
Kurtz raced to another emphatic win in Heat 5 although Harris rounded Blodorn for third place off the fourth bend, and there was a good ride from Tate Zischke in Heat 6 who was already well clear of Paco Castagna before the home rider came to a stop.
Aces looked set to double their lead when Zach Cook hit the front again in Heat 7 with Thomson third, but the hard charging Rushen made it around Thomson off the final bend to salvage a shared race.
And it was the home youngster who thwarted Belle Vue again in Heat 8 as Cairns and Blodorn gated on a 5-1 only for Rushen to pass Blodorn midway through the race and then snatch victory on the line from Cairns by just three-thousandths of a second.
But the Aces did gain the race advantage they were threatening with a 4-2 in Heat 9 as Bewley defeated Harris with Zischke holding a fine third place at the expense of Ben Cook, whilst Thomson and Zach Cook packed in for a shared Heat 10 behind Fricke.
Blodorn then stepped up with a fast start in Heat 11 and rode a perfect race to keep Rushen at bay in a race which saw Kvech and Kurtz relegated to a third-place battle – until Rushen overdid it in his efforts and crashed on the last bend, giving the Aces a 4-2 for a 36-30 lead.
That enabled Lynn to bring Fricke into Heat 12 for a tactical substitute outing, and he duly combined with Harris for a 5-1 to cut the gap back to two points.
Heat 13 was always going to be key and it looked as if Fricke might make it into bend one in front, but as he tried to force Kurtz wide, Bewley switched back sweetly and Kurtz still made it around the outside to give the Aces a one-two situation, with was cemented when Fricke himself went too wide in his efforts to challenge.
That took Belle Vue to the brink of victory and Cook secured it with another win over his brother in Heat 14, before going on to win Heat 15 as well with Bewley third as the Aces extended their margin to eight points.
Manager Mark Lemon said: “It’s true that we probably haven’t travelled that well in the last couple of years, so I’m really delighted with the performance tonight.
“From one to seven the boys were solid. We got off to a winning start, we had the momentum with us and we were all learning and working together as a collective as the track was changing.
“We had no weak links, and that helps. The boys really gelled together and helped each other out, which was really nice to see, and I think that contributed to the performance and the result.
“Zach was on fire tonight and he deserved Heat 15. He wasn’t too impressed when I gave him gate one, but he certainly made the most of it!”
With confidence high from the result, the Aces move on to Ipswich on Thursday seeking more away points in the early stags of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership campaign.
KING’S LYNN 41: Max Fricke 11, Jan Kvech 10, Cooper Rushen 7+3, Chris Harris 6+1, Ben Cook 4, Jake Mulford 3, Paco Castagna 0.
BELLE VUE 49: Zach Cook 13+1, Brady Kurtz 10, Dan Bewley 9+2, Norick Blodorn 5+1, Tate Zischke 5, Kye Thomson 4+1, Will Cairns 3+1.