RED-HOT Max Fricke has high-flying Belle Vue in his sights tonight.
The Australian has dropped just two points to an opponent in Leicester’s last two meetings and his 12-point haul guesting for Sheffield saw the Tigers home at Birmingham on Monday night.
With Ryan Douglas returning after missing the victory over Ipswich through injury the Lions will be looking to close the gap on Oxford for the last ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-off place.
The gap between the clubs is currently four points, with Lions having four matches in hand, and there are three points available on Thursday night after Leicester restricted the Aces to a 48-42 win when the sides met in Manchester last month.
Meanwhile Oxford, who only have six matches remaining, face a tough away trip to Sheffield, so if they are beaten at Owlerton and Lions take the maximum available, the gap could be down to just one point by tonight.
Belle Vue offer a major threat despite an indifferent away record and they arrive at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park with Speedway of Nations winner Dan Bewley and captain Brady Kurtz making up a powerful top two, along with heat-leader Jaimon Lidsey who scored double figures on his previous visit.
The Aces have had issues at reserve with Tate Zischke suffering serious injuries on his debut and Connor Bailey standing down as Rising Star they track again Workington’s Finnish racer Antti Vuolas and Redcar’s Jake Mulford as guests.
Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “We’ve had scores of 54, 53 and 53 in our last three home matches. That puts in good stead for the aggregate points which will be up for grabs in the away legs.
“It’s too early to say we’re on a roll, we’re not getting carried away, but there is more confidence and that’s something that plays such a big part in speedway.
“We are only six points down from the away leg and have a chance for a win and an aggregate point – but we have to take Belle Vue seriously. They are a strong side who expect to be in the play-offs.”
Leicester: Max Fricke, Richard Lawson, Sam Masters, Luke Becker, Ryan Douglas, Craig Cook, Sam Hagon.
Belle Vue: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Jaimon Lidsey, Ben Cook, Dan Bewley, Antti Vuolas, Jake Mulford.
Words by George Dodds.
Images by Taylor Lanning.