LEICESTER put on a strong show in Manchester on Monday and there were plenty of positives to take despite a 50-40 defeat to Belle Vue.
Most importantly, the Watling JCB Lions were never in any danger of losing their grip on the aggregate point, a significant outcome given that rivals King’s Lynn produced a shock home win over Ipswich.
It means the Lions still have an eight-point advantage over the Stars, as well as a match in hand, and they remain within range of the sides above them.
On a track where the home heat leaders have been dominant in recent weeks, skipper Max Fricke put in another virtuoso performance to score 19 from seven rides as he secured multiple wins over the likes of Brady Kurtz and Dan Bewley, whilst the scores elsewhere in the team didn’t reflect the effort put in.
There was also a change in the management seat where promoter Jen Crossland stepped in due to Stewart Dickson being stuck in a motorway closure.
Fricke set the tone for a positive display by inflicting Kurtz’s first home defeat in 20 rides by winning Heat 1, with Drew Kemp holding second for a time before the Aces skipper burst through.
Kemp, though, was a clear winner of Heat 2 and although Belle Vue did forge ahead with a 5-1 in Heat 3 when Ryan Douglas lost out to Zach Cook, Lions went back ahead in the next race.
Bewley touched the tapes and was penalised 15 metres, but whereas Fricke had made it from the handicap at the Hydroscand Arena last week, this time Sam Masters and Kemp held for a 5-1 ahead of the fast-catching GP star to put Leicester 13-11 ahead.
Fricke and Douglas were beaten by an impressive Cook in Heat 5, and the home side then collected back-to-back 4-2s to edge back ahead, the latter seeing Bewley dive inside Douglas heading into the third bend whilst Kyle Howarth lost out to Tate Zischke in a fierce battle for third.
Lions were back level with a 4-2 in Heat 8 with Fricke taking a clear win whilst Joe Thompson battled away to retrieve third place from Will Cairns, a late stand-in for the home side.
But it was the next two races where the meeting turned in the Aces’ favour, first when Cook and Jaimon Lidsey piled their way inside Masters to set up a 5-1 in Heat 9, before Kurtz and Norick Blodorn team-rode to another 5-1 over Howarth and Douglas in the next.
Lions weren’t finished and Fricke beat Bewley in Heat 11 with Masters taking third place, and Fricke then won a tactical substitute ride with a clever second-bend pass on Lidsey, with Douglas third to narrow the gap to four points.
Fricke completed a stunning hat-trick with a high-class ride in Heat 13 although the Belle Vue top two of Kurtz and Bewley went either side of Masters who had briefly held second place after Fricke took Kurtz wide on the first bend.
The Aces secured the win on the night when Cook maintained his unbeaten run in Heat 14 whilst Zischke came up with a fine ride to get the better of Howarth.
And the home fans went away happy when Fricke was just denied by Kurtz in Heat 15 with his opposite number flying around the outside off the last bend to snatch the win on the line.
Crossland said: “They all dug deep and did really well, and I did think at one point we could have won it, but it just sadly slipped away from us.
“Max was absolutely inspirational and he’s such a great team player. He’s found his form at the minute, I know Brady got the better of him in the last one but he’s been brilliant.
“Every point counts now, we’re in that crunch time at the business end of the season, so absolutely every point is important and we’ve got another one here tonight.”
The Lions are next in action next Monday (July 21) with another important home ROWE Motor Oil Premiership fixture, this time at home to Sheffield.
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
