Aces tame Wolves in scorcher

BELLE Vue will take a 24-point aggregate lead into the second leg of their Premiership KOC quarterfinal with Wolverhampton after stamping their authority on the first round in Manchester.

Temperatures soared yesterday afternoon as the riders came to the tapes but it was the visitors breaking the biggest sweat as the Rentruck Aces took control of proceedings, leading by eight points after five heats. With no tactical substitutes or tactical rides permitted, it boiled down to damage control for the visitors which, as time went on, because progressively more difficult for them to manage.

The home team have established an effective rhythm at the NSS which added to their overall strength such that their Wolverhampton counterparts were unable to respond in kind.

Max Fricke topped the score charts for the Rentruck Aces with 13 points from five rides while Dan Bewley followed up with 11+1 and Rohan Tungate continued his resurgence in form with 9+1.

It’s just the start team boss Mark Lemon was hoping to see from his side as they look to defend their hard-earned 2017 silverware, stating: “This was only stage one of this quarter-final clash.

“I’m delighted with the performance the boys put in but this is only one half of the bigger picture. We’ve still got a job to do and I’d like to think 24 points is enough for us to finish it at Monmore.”