BELLE VUE boss Mark Lemon insisted his side are NOT firing on all cylinders despite briefly going top of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
The ATPI Aces face rivals Sheffield in a mouthwatering clash at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday lunchtime.
The Manchester side went top for 72 hours last week but Lemon believes there’s more to come from his side.
He said: “It’s quite incredible when you think about it, I don’t think we are firing on all cylinders.
“I think there’s more room for improvement from the performances. But maybe that’s just me expecting higher standards.
“There’s a lot to play for and a lot of challenges ahead of us.”
Sheffield welcome back two of their star names as they cross the Pennines.
Jack Holder, fresh from finishing third at Lonigo and qualifying for the GP Challenge at the weekend, returns having missed Thursday’s win over Leicester following the birth of his first child.
Rising Star Dan Gilkes is also fit to race after his compulsory concussion rest and has also been boosted by landing a team spot in the Cab Direct Championship with Redcar.
But with Josh Pickering still out with a shoulder injury, Sheffield have moved smartly to book former Belle Vue racer Tom Brennan to guest against his old club.
The Aces are unbeaten in their five outings at the National Speedway Stadium this season – including a 49-41 victory over the Tigers in the Knockout Cup quarter-final but were pushed by struggling King’s Lynn last Monday before winning 48-42.
An ankle injury ruled number one Brady Kurtz out of Thursday’s meeting at Oxford and in his absence Belle Vue lost to the Spires in a last heat decider. He is fit to take his place for the midday ROWE Premiership showdown where victory could move the Manchester club back to the top of the table with current leaders Ipswich not due to race until this evening at Birmingham.
Tigers team manager Simon Stead said: “It’s going to be good to get a couple of the boys back and in Tom Brennan we’ve got a guest who’s been showing some good form of late who has also already done one of these afternoon meetings at Belle Vue with Birmingham.
“It’s always such a tough place to go to though, their guys are so dialled in there, but it’s a fixture I’m really looking forward to.
“We’re ready for it and it should be another great speedway meeting.”
Belle Vue: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Jaimon Lidsey, Ben Cook, Dan Bewley, Connor Mountain, Connor Bailey.
Sheffield: Jack Holder, Kyle Howarth, Chris Holder, Tom Brennan, Tai Woffinden, Jason Edwards, Dan Gilkes.
Words by George Dodds.
Images by Taylor Lanning.