THE Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces will be looking to make a strong start to their Premiership Knockout Cup when they face reigning league champions Sheffield on Monday, April 1, tapes up at 12pm.
So far the team have seen action in Suffolk when they were narrowly defeated 51-39 by Ipswich, and this will be the first time that the Class of 2024 has taken to home shale as a unit.
The reigning league champions, meanwhile, have had a tough start to their campaign with a loss at Oxford and Birmingham pushing them into the first Super heat of the year.
The ATPI Aces and Tru7 Group Tigers have always shared a fierce rivalry and the home team are determined to get one over their War of the Roses opponents in Manchester.
Both sides will be at full strength for this crucial quarter final clash, and club boss Mark Lemon is excited at the prospect of such a highly anticipated meeting to kick off top flight team action.
He said: “It was a very close and intense meeting for the ATPI Aces at Ipswich last week, and it certainly wasn’t a performance to be ashamed of, especially for our first match as a unit.
“Some of the team clicked into gear while others took a little longer, and poor Ben [Cook] had a night to forget; anything that could wrong, did go wrong for him.
“But we’ve taken those lessons on board and are really looking forward to facing the league champions as our first team opponents at home.
“It’s been a good while since Belle Vue lifted the Knockout Cup – seven years in fact! – and we’d love nothing better than to take a hefty lead to Owlerton on Thursday.
“The Tigers have found things pretty tough to kick things off. We’ve been there, done that. It’s harder to retain a league title than it is to win one, and they do have their work cut out.
“But with likes of Woffinden and the Holder brothers in their side, they are a force to reckoned with. Whatever happens, I’m anticipating a close and exciting afternoon of racing.”
The ATPI Aces tackle the first round of their Premiership KOC Quarter final with Sheffield on Easter Monday, April 1 at the National Speedway Stadium, tapes up at 12pm.
Meeting tickets, race day programmes and south stand parking are now available to pre-book, along with race day hospitality on Easter Monday, at bellevue-speedway.com.
BELLE VUE V SHEFFIELD – MONDAY, APRIL 1 @ 12PM [PKOC]
Belle Vue ‘ATPI’ Aces: Brady Kurtz (C) 8.58, Norick Blodorn 5.88, Jaimon Lidsey 7.86, Ben Cook 5.94, Dan Bewley 8.13, Connor Mountain 4.42, Connor Bailey RS; TM: Mark Lemon
Sheffield ‘Tru7 Group’ Tigers: Jack Holder 8.91, Kyle Howarth (C) 5.41, Chris Holder 7.16, Josh Pickering 6.78, Tai Woffinden 8.26, Jason Edwards 3.00, Dan Gilkes RS; TM: Simon Stead
Words: Hayley Bromley – Images: Ian Charles
