Speedway GP star Brady Kurtz raced to 14 points for Belle Vue as they took a giant stride towards the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership trophy with a 47-43 win away to Sheffield in the Grand Final, first leg on Monday.
Kurtz dropped just one point, along with 2017 Speedway GP world champion Jason Doyle, who registered 12 paid 14 as the Aces defied the absence of injured Danish star Peter Kildemand to take a lead into their home leg at the National Speedway Stadium on Friday.
Sheffield guest Max Fricke led their scoring on 11 points, while his fellow Aussie star Jye Etheridge scored nine points at reserve. Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon was impressed with his side’s efforts in the absence of Kildemand.
He said: “We’ve never come into a play-off series without an injury hanging over our head, and this year turned out to be no different. It was a hard one to swallow on Saturday night to lose PK, in his final year, but the boys just rallied and rode like they have done all season.
“Tate (Zischke) has just been improving week on week, and I’ve said a few times that it’s credit to the young man for bouncing back from such a serious injury in 2024 and perform like he has been doing. I said to him after one race that it was a really smart ride, and I wouldn’t have said that 12 months ago – he has improved out of sight.
“All of the boys as a unit feed off each other, and the confidence is there to see – but the job is not done yet. We have a four-point lead, but I’ve been in this game too long to take it for granted. Sheffield will come out fighting on Friday, but we know what we’ve got to do.”
Sheffield team manager Simon Stead insists his side has far from thrown in the towel ahead of their trip to Manchester.
He said: “We’re obviously all disappointed, it’s never nice to lose at home, never mind in a Grand Final.
“Ultimately, Belle Vue showed why they’ve been top of the league for pretty much the entirety of the season, and we’ve left ourselves with a task on our hands – but there’s still 15 heats to go. We’ll go to Belle Vue on Friday and give it our best shot, that’s all we can do.
“I want to take the opportunity to thank all the fans who turned up in great numbers and supported us all the way – let’s just see what happens.”
For full scores from Monday’s Grand Final opener, CLICK HERE.