LEICESTER raced to their biggest victory since rejoining the top-flight with an emphatic 60-30 demolition of champions Belle Vue at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park.
The Watling JCB Lions once again showed their confidence around their home circuit as they put the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership match virtually beyond the Aces within the space of three races, and they then moved on to hit the 60-point mark.
Both sides were missing their second-highest averaged rider due to injury but it was the Lions who covered far better for the absence of Luke Becker than the Aces did for Brady Kurtz.
Becker’s rides in fact produced an unbeaten score as the remaining members of the Leicester top five filled their boots, with skipper Max Fricke leading the way on a 15-point maximum.
Ryan Douglas, Sam Masters and Kyle Howarth all hit big double figures whilst reserves Drew Kemp and Joe Thompson combined for a 5-1 in Heat 2 and Kemp added a further win in his final outing.
By contrast Dan Bewley was the visitors’ sole winner as Kurtz’s rides accrued just six points, and Bewley himself was fortunate to walk away from a spectacular crash in Heat 13.
Leicester made a devastating start to the meeting with a hat-trick of 5-1s, starting with Fricke and Masters racing away from Bewley in Heat 1, before Aces reserve Tate Zischke was overtaken by Kemp in Heat 2 and then fell on the third bend as Thompson came through for second place.
Douglas and Howarth completed the perfect opening with a 5-1 in Heat 3 to make it 15-3, before Bewley put the Aces on the board as he won Heat 4 getting the better of the fast-gating Thompson on the top bend.
Lions added further advantages in the next two races with Douglas holding off the challenge of Bewley in Heat 5, whilst they were in a 5-1 position in Heat 6 before Zischke crashed on the fourth bend, and the re-run resulted in the same outcome as Fricke and Howarth moved away from Zach Cook to make it 27-9.
Cook overcame Kemp for third place in Heat 7 to share the race for Belle Vue behind leader Masters, and a fast start from Norick Blodorn in Heat 8 saw him briefly threaten Fricke, who duly made it around the outside to hit the front.
Aces manager Mark Lemon made his move in Heat 9, bringing in Jaimon Lidsey for rider replacement and Bewley for a tactical substitute, but it was nearly a dramatic win for Howarth who led Bewley for three laps before the GP winner came through – but there was no damage done for the Lions as Lidsey was at the back.
Fricke then made a decisive second bend move against Lidsey to team up with Douglas for a 5-1 in Heat 10, and at 41-19 up the Lions were already as good as home and dry.
Masters led Heat 11 with Bewley finding himself at the back until he passed Kemp in the closing stages with the Lions reserve slowing, whilst Douglas headed up a share of the spoils in Heat 12.
There was drama in Heat 13 with the Aces duo for once gating on a maximum only for Bewley to rear alarmingly on the exit of turn two, causing him to hit the fence as he came off the back of the bike, and thankfully the following riders including his team-mate Blodorn were able to avoid any contact with the fallen rider.
Bewley was disqualified and unsurprisingly did not appear in Heat 15, whilst the re-run of Heat 13 saw Blodorn again head Fricke until the Leicester captain moved ahead of his team-mate Masters and then made another classy outside pass on the third lap.
Lions piled on the agony for their opponents with Kemp and Howarth combining for a 5-1 over Cook in Heat 14, whilst Douglas – who only dropped one point in six rides – added his third win of the night in Heat 15 and Howarth supplied third place to take the rampant home side to the 60-point mark.
Lions manager Stewart Dickson said: “We started very well to go 15-3 up after three races, and my riders are hitting a bit of form.
“We did the same thing last year, maybe a wee bit later than what we have done this year, but Dan Bewley is still a big scalp for my riders to take and two or three of them managed to beat him to the line.
“Belle Vue had a tough night, but we can only beat what’s in front of us, without being boastful, and we’ve now racked up three really big scores, which will be important for us because we’re going to need to get aggregate points as King’s Lynn are chasing us.
“The track was a little tricky for the first couple of races. We’d put a splash of water on at 7.05pm because it was still 25 degrees, and we were making gates whilst they were getting filled in. But then when it dried off, we were still dominant from the starts and the racing lines came again.
“All in all I’m really pleased, the track staff did a great job and most importantly the team responded to the cheers and the noise from the terraces, and they’ll get the credit they deserve.”
Leicester now prepare for an important week on the road as they visit Ipswich in the league on Monday before defending an 18-point advantage in the KO Cup semi-final at Sheffield on Thursday.
LEICESTER 60: Max Fricke 15, Ryan Douglas 14+3, Kyle Howarth 11+2, Sam Masters 11+1, , Drew Kemp 6, Joe Thompson 3+2, Luke Becker r/r.
BELLE VUE 30: Dan Bewley 10+1, Jaimon Lidsey 7, Norick Blodorn 6, Zach Cook 4+1, Jake Mulford 2+1, Tate Zischke 1+1, Brady Kurtz r/r.
