BELLE VUE are ready for revenge against Ipswich after they ended their title-defending dreams last autumn.
The ATPI Aces take on the mighty Witches top two Emil Sayfutdinov and Jason Doyle tonight (Monday) who broke their hearts at the National Speedway Stadium.
Ipswich’s powerhouse spearhead snatched a last-gasp final race win in October but after defeat at Leicester on Thursday night, Belle Vue are desperate to get back to winning ways.
Danny King misses the clash after his big crash at Workington on Saturday and Ryan Douglas comes in as a very strong guest for the Witches.
Manager Mark Lemon said: “It was a very frustrating night for us at Leicester (on Thursday) and all the boys know that we could’ve done much better than we did; the consolation was the aggregate point.
“Monday is our opportunity to set things straight, and what better way to do that than to put on another brilliant show against Ipswich, and none of us can forget last year’s semi-final.
“It was every bit of what a great speedway meeting is and we’ve already enjoyed a close encounter with them this year, and we’re excited to see what challenge they bring.”
Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “We have not been great at Belle Vue in previous years, we have had good spells where we have been in meetings like in the first half before dropping off.
“We have been there as a side enough times now and we need to be learning our lessons and improving and with the form we are in, we couldn’t go into it in a better position.
“It is early in the season, and we have got points on the board so there is no massive pressure on us, but we want to go there and carry on the run. We have the aggregate point to go for as well as the meeting, but the focus is on the meeting and the aggregate point will take care of itself.”
EDIT - Charles Wright now guests for Jason Doyle whose flight from Poland has been delayed.
BELLE VUE: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Jaimon Lidsey, Ben Cook, Dan Bewley, Connor Mountain, Connor Bailey.
IPSWICH: Emil Sayfutdinov, Jordan Jenkins, Adam Ellis, Ryan Douglas (G), Charles Wright (G), Keynan Rew, Dan Thompson.
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Words by Holeshot Media.
Images by Taylor Lanning.