BELLE Vue snatched a vital league point from their hard fought 48-42 defeat to the Ipswich Witches after another closely contested night of Premiership action at Foxhall.
The in-form BikeRight Aces were tipped for further success in Suffolk, but the TruPlant Witches had brought in some powerful reinforcements since they last locked horns.
Things started in a similar fashion for the visitors as the home team took an early advantage before they fervently fought back to draw the scores at 15 apiece after five heats.
But the BikeRight Aces suffered an early blow after Charles Wright was forced to withdraw after a heavy crash in Heat 3 left him nursing a shoulder injury.
Ipswich then again gained a foothold on proceedings by just a narrow margin, with the BikeRight Aces responding in kind to square things off with just four races to go.
A last-minute resurgence from the Witches ensured the result would go their way, though they failed to deny Belle Vue a well-deserved league point for their troubles.
Team boss Mark Lemon said: “It was always going to be a challenge when you’re faced with Craig Cook in vintage form, but the boys were very impressive and really dug deep to claw back the point.
“It was a major blow for us losing Charles Wright so early on in the meeting, and to his credit he was prepared to race on but it was quite apparent that wouldn’t have been wise.
“It was quite a brutal blow when he hit the fence, so we had to cover his remaining riders with IRR, and again the boys rose to the occasion, and everyone chipped in.
“In every meeting so far this season we have always achieved our minimum target of one league point per match, and this meeting was no different so we can be satisfied with that.”
The BikeRight Aces meet Wolverhampton at the National Speedway Stadium in Manchester for the first time in 2021 on Monday, July 12 for more premiership action.
Tickets remain in the Grandstand and East Stand, and are available online at bellevue-speedway.com
There will be no programme, parking or ticket sales available at the stadium on race day.
RESULT – IPSWICH V BELLE VUE – THURSDAY, JULY 8 [SGBP]
Ipswich ‘TruPlant’ Witches 48: Craig Cook 15, Sam Masters 10+1, Paul Starke 9+1, Jake Allen 8+1, Danny King 5+1, Drew Kemp 1, Anders Rowe r/r.
Belle Vue ‘BikeRight’ Aces 42: Brady Kurtz 14, Steve Worrall 8+1, Dan Bewley 7+1, Richie Worrall 6+3, Tom Brennan 5, Jye Etheridge 3+1, Charles Wright 0.
Premiership Points: Ipswich 3 Belle Vue 1