Colts keep pressure on leaders

Belle Vue’s Colts team moved to within touching distance of the top of the National League table with a 56-34 win over the Isle of Wight at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday night.

The Colts went into the meeting fifth in the league standings, four points behind the table-topping Wight Warriors.

Victory shoots them up to third, just a point behind the Island outfit, with Kent – who also won on Monday – now taking up the running at the top, although the Colts have matches in hand on both.

A late change saw ex-Belle Vue rider Jack Smith step in for Isle of Wight No.1 Georgie Wood, who was struck down with illness, and Smith responded to the late SOS call with a brilliant 15 points, including victory in heat 1.

Connor Bailey took a win for Belle Vue in heat 2 despite finishing the race with a puncture, and Ben Rathbone suffered a nasty fall in the next race after shedding a chain, although man of the match Leon Flint won for the Colts to keep the scores level.

It was the visitors who broke the deadlock with a 4-2 in heat 4 as visiting skipper Ben Morley held off every challenge from Colts captain Kyle Bickley in a great race.

Flint and Rathbone levelled the scores in the next, and then the Colts really started to turn the screw.

Three consecutive 5-1 maximums from Danny Phillips and Jordan Palin, Bailey and Bickley, and Phillips again with Ben Woodhull, put Belle Vue into a commanding 30-18 lead at the halfway stage.

A tactical substitute ride from Smith saw heat 9 shared, but the Colts continued their domination in the next three races to have the victory in the bag at 47-25 with three races to spare.

Smith and Morley scored a consolation 5-1 over Bickley and Palin for the Warriors in heat 13, and Smith wrapped up the meeting by winning the final race and denying Flint a maximum, but it was too little too late, as the Colts took a big step in their climb up the table.

Colts scorers: Leon Flint 14, Danny Phillips 11+2, Connor Bailey 9+1, Kyle Bickley 8+1, Jordan Palin 6+2, Ben Woodhull 4+2, Ben Rathbone 4.

l Both Belle Vue teams now face crunch away meetings in their battle for the play-off places in their respective leagues, with the Aces travelling to Swindon tonight (Thursday) in the Premiership, and the Colts visiting Stoke in the National League on Saturday.

Victory for the Aces tonight would take them to the top of the Premiership table, whilst the Colts could similarly hit the summit of the NL with a win at Stoke.

l Belle Vue stage the biggest individual meeting of the domestic calendar on Monday when they host the British Championship Final.

Reigning British champion Robert Lambert of King’s Lynn should recover from a neck injury, sustained in the Speedway of Nations Final in Russia at the weekend, to take his place as favourite to defend his title.

His biggest threat is likely to come from ex-Belle Vue rider Craig Cook who was the 2017 champion.

Belle Vue interest comes in the shape of Aces stars Dan Bewley and Steve Worrall, while there is also local interest with Stockport-born Charles Wright, who races for Peterborough.

Former winners of the title in the field include 7-times champion Scott Nicholls, 3-time winner Chris Harris and 2016 champion Danny King.

by Graham Goodwin