BRITISH SPEEDWAY JUNE 30,2023

(SPEEDWAY 1)

ACES VICTORIOUS

BELLE VUE were victorious in Thursday’s Premiership Pairs at Leicester as Dan Bewley and Brady Kurtz dominated the closing stages of the meeting.
The Aces finished one point behind surprise leaders Peterborough in the qualifying races, with Richie Worrall in outstanding form for the Panthers.

But Bewley and Kurtz got the better of Sheffield duo Jack Holder and Tobiasz Musielak in a Roses battle in the semi-final, before making fast starts in the Final to defeat Worrall and Ben Cook.

It was the Aces’ first Pairs title since 2006 when they were represented by Jason Crump and current Sheffield boss Simon Stead.
Club captain Kurtz said: “We’re delighted with this result. I know Lemmo (Mark Lemon) really wanted this trophy, and I think going into this we felt we were one of the stronger pairings.

“After the way things turned out when we last came to Leicester as a team, it was nice to be able to turn that around and get such a good result.
“We started off strong and just seemed to build on our performance all night until we got to the semi-final and the Final, and at that point we really had things dialled in.

“This is a tricky track because it’s not only deep but it’s technical as well, and for me personally it’s one of my more challenging circuits and I’m sure Dan would say the same.
“I think I was more nervous for the semi-final to be honest because Jack and Tobi are very accomplished riders, so to get one over those guys was nice.
“And even in the Final, Richie Worrall had been superb all night so we had that very much in mind, but we made good starts in each and as a result, we’re the Pairs Champions!”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

PETERBOROUGH star Richie Worrall was pleased to enjoy a strong Premiership Pairs performance and give the Panthers a boost in a tough season so far.

Worrall dropped just one point in his six qualifying races at Leicester, and with colleague Ben Cook and Rising Star Jordan Jenkins recording several third places, they topped the scoreboard after 21 heats.
The Panthers had to settle for runners-up spot overall after Belle Vue dominated the Final but Worrall was able to reflect on a positive night on one of his old home tracks.

He said: “It was a meeting I was really looking forward to because I do like this track.
“It’s a good bunch of lads and every single race was tough, and I do like having a good race where you can push hard within reason and it’s going to be safe.

“The starts were to my liking, not too deep but plenty of grip on there, and it was one of those nights where everything seemed to work well for me.
“We were the underdogs coming into this, so to have a night like that is good for the Peterborough fans and it gives them a little bit of something to be happy about.”

Meanwhile Sheffield manager Simon Stead believes a slow start cost his side as they went out to Belle Vue in the semi-final.
The Tigers were adrift at the halfway stage before finishing the qualifiers with 19 points from 21 in their last three rides to keep themselves in with a chance.

Stead said: “We conceded that 7-2 in our first one, Tobi (Musielak) came down in the second and then Jack (Holder) burnt a clutch out when there was a bit of messing about on the start line before the race against King’s Lynn.

“We regrouped after that though, we knew it needed a pretty big effort from there and fair play to the boys for turning things around and making it to the Semi.

“Those first few heats cost us a real shot in my opinion because with a few more points from those first three races, we’d have got a better draw.
“The gate choice in the Semi was always going to be important and with gates two and four less favourable shall we say, when Belle Vue got one and three it always gave them a better opportunity of qualifying with the way things were going.”
 
(SATURDAY JULY 1:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm

SUNDAY JULY 2:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Kent v Oxford 12pm
ULRICH OSTERGAARD FAREWELL: Peterborough 4pm

MONDAY JULY 3: 
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R2: Belle Vue v Wolverhampton 7.30
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP R1: Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30