BELLE VUE boss Mark Lemon is eager to end the club’s recent Premiership KO Cup jinx.
In contrast to the league success story, the ATPI Aces have failed to progress past the first hurdle over the most recent seasons.
Ipswich are the first opponents in the Quarter-Finals with the first leg at the National Speedway Stadium tonight, live on BSN.
It promises to be a huge clash with the Witches boasting superstars Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov plus powerhouse British riders Tom Brennan, Danny King and Adam Ellis.
Lemon admitted: “It’s a blockbuster fixture, no doubt about that. It should be an absolute classic.
“Our KO Cup record in recent years has been disappointing, in stark contrast to our constant success in the Premiership.
“Sport can be like that, it throws up quirky stats and facts. I think we’ve been particularly unlucky in the KO Cup. There were dismal wet conditions at Wolves a couple of years ago and we just didn’t adapt at all.
“Last season we got beaten in a Super Heat at Sheffield having been in control of the tie until the latter stages, that was a hard one to accept.
“We’ve certainly been handed a very tough first meeting against the Witches.
“Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins have established Ipswich as one of the powerhouse sides in recent years with the always excellent Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov leading the club.
“This season they have added Tom Brennan into the top five along with former British Champions Danny King and Adam Ellis. We know for a fact that all those guys know the quickest way round the NSS.
“But it’s always important to believe in your own strengths. We also have so much ability and I’m excited to see our new boys of 2025 in action as a team for the first time.
“They are ready for the tough challenge and I’m very confident they will come through it. All our boys looked excellent last week and they are ready.
“This is just an unmissable meeting when you consider the calibre riders on show.”
The second leg of the tie will be at Foxhall Heath on Thursday night.
TEAMS:
BELLE VUE: 1 Brady Kurtz (c), 2 Norick Blodorn, 3 Jaimon Lidsey, 4 Zach Cook, 5 Dan Bewley, 6 Tate Zischke, 7 Jake Mulford.
IPSWICH: 1 Jason Doyle, 2 Danny King (c), 3 Adam Ellis, 4 Tom Brennan, 5 Emil Sayfutdinov, 6 Dan Thompson, 7 Jordan Jenkins.
Words by Holeshot Media.
Images by Taylor Lanning.