LEMON ELATED AS ACES END 29-YEAR TITLE WAIT

13/10/2022

LEMON ELATED AS ACES END 29-YEAR TITLE WAITLEMON ELATED AS ACES END 29-YEAR TITLE WAIT

Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon admits it was “elation beyond belief” as the Aces ended their 29-year wait for a league title with a nail-biting 91-89 triumph over Sheffield.

The Tigers won Thursday’s SGB Premiership Grand Final, second leg 50-40, but Aces’ 51-39 victory at Manchester’s National Speedway Stadium on Monday saw them make history and lift a record 13th British title.

There was high drama throughout the night at Owlerton and referee Christina Turnbull was kept very busy as neither side gave an inch on the shale.

Two exclusions for 2021 British champion Adam Ellis proved very expensive for Sheffield after he was adjudged to have brought down Aces’ Tom Brennan in heat three and then Brady Kurtz in race five.

Speedway GP star Robert Lambert topped the Belle Vue scorechart on 10 points, with Brennan notching nine and Norick Blodorn playing a starring role at reserve on seven paid 11. Brennan and Blodorn joined forces for the 3-3 that sealed the trophy in heat 14, sending the Aces fans wild.

Lemon joined his riders in celebrating with the Belle Vue contingent and was delighted to celebrate his first league title as Aces boss – capping off an incredible year, which also saw him lead Australia to their first world team championship in 20 years at the FIM Speedway of Nations in July.

The ecstatic Aussie said: “It’s elation beyond belief – I just didn’t think this could happen. So much hard work has gone into this.

“Me and Matej (Zagar) go back to 2006 (at Reading) when we had our dreams dashed (at Peterborough) by a single point. I couldn’t have borne coming here and losing another final.

“There are just so many people to thank – our owners Tony Rice and Robin Southwell and our sponsors and partners.

“The fans have waited 29 years for this. Look at them! They are loving it. They deserve it; they have been great.

“We’ve had ups and downs over the years and worked really hard. Credit to Adrian Smith, our former CEO, he put the ship back in place. ATPI and Rentruck have been backers for years and years.

“The boys just rode their socks off tonight and all season. We lost Charles Wright and Reggie (Jye Etheridge) to injury on Monday. Our backs have been against the wall.  We lost Max Fricke for the play-offs and I thought ‘here we go again! It’s déjà vu.’ But we brought Robert Lambert in as a replacement, and he has been a star.

“Credit to Sheffield – they have come back to the top level and well done to them and their fans. Credit to Ipswich and Wolverhampton too for making the play-offs.”

Polish racer Tobiasz Musielak led the Sheffield scoring on 10 paid 11 points, with Jack Holder notching nine paid 10 and Lewis Kerr nine.

Gutted Tigers boss Simon Stead jointly managed Great Britain to FIM SON silver this summer alongside Oliver Allen, as Lemon’s Roos pipped them to gold in the Grand Final.

He was gutted his club side also fell at the final hurdle in their quest for what would have been the club’s first-ever top-flight title on a night he felt some key decisions went against the Tigers.

He said: “We are obviously just disappointed. I think the referee robbed us of an epic heat 15. But it is the way it is. We have had some rough luck over the course of the two meetings with the refereeing decisions. There is nothing we can do about that. We can’t race the ref.

“It has been a great final. Congratulations to Mark and Belle Vue. We will be back next year for more.”

Photo: Taylor Lanning