BELLE VUE boss Mark Lemon admits it was a tough night against “dominant force” Ipswich.
The ATPI Aces went down by 56-34 in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership at Foxhall Stadium.
It meant that Lemon’s side also missed out on the aggregate bonus point to the league leaders.
He said: “We weren’t performing well enough at getting out the gate.
“They have got a very strong reserve in Dan Thompson and he was probably the difference.
“We won the toss and chose one and three. In the end the gate conditions swung in favour of Ipswich.
“They’re a dominant force on their home track. The top four or five teams in the league are very good at home.
“We are not in the play-offs yet and there’s a lot of work to be done. But if we do, what we do away from home will be the key element.
“It’s also very difficult running rider replacement for Norick (Blodorn) away from home.
“It certainly weakens us and it’s not a great facility to have. Ideally we wanted a guest to take the pressure off the more inexperienced boys at reserve. That certainly didn’t help us.
“If Norick scores his usual points at Ipswich, and it’s a place he likes, it’s a different story.
“The boys gave it everything and didn’t get the rewards for it. The dust will settle and we’ll go again.”
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1
IPSWICH 56: Danny King 13+2, Jason Doyle 12+1, Dan Thompson 11+3, Tom Brennan 9+1, Emil Sayfutdinov 8+2, Adam Ellis 3+1, Vinnie Foord 0.
BELLE VUE 34: Brady Kurtz 10+1, Dan Bewley 8, Jaimon Lidsey 7, Jake Mulford 5+1, Zach Cook 3+1, Tate Zischke 1+1, Norick Blodorn r/r.
Ipswich win the aggregate point.