Aces hoping to end 54-year wait

Belle Vue will be aiming to end a 54-year wait when they face arch-rivals Sheffield in the Premiership Grand Final this coming week.

Following Thursday’s postponement of the first leg in Yorkshire, the grand final has been rearranged with the Aces now travelling to Sheffield’s Owlerton Stadium on Monday (12 October). The return leg at the National Speedway Stadium will now take place on Friday (16 October).

And while the Aces will be chasing their third Premiership title in five years - in their fourth Grand Final appearance in six seasons – they have not had the chance to celebrate a league championship in front of their own supporters since 1972.

The two most recent titles came with away wins in the second legs of the play-offs at Sheffield in 2022 and at Leicester in 2024.

The previous triumph, in the days before play-offs, came in 1993 at Wolverhampton in the final meeting of the season. The Aces came from behind to snatch a dramatic 54-53 last-heat victory, taking the title ahead of Wolves on race-points difference.

And in 1982, Belle Vue had already completed their full programme of league fixtures and were left waiting for results from elsewhere to go their way before they were confirmed as champions.

The Aces have dominated this year’s Premiership, finishing a huge 12 points clear at the top – coincidentally the same margin as achieved in the 1972 championship-winning season.

But under the play-off system that counts for nothing beyond giving the Aces the choice of staging the first or second leg.

They chose the second leg for the semi-final, following up a 52-38 away win at Ipswich with a 58-32 home win to comfortably reach the final, where they have again opted for the second leg at home.

Sheffield, meanwhile, survived a semi-final scare in their battle with Leicester.

The Yorkshire side seemed well on their way to the final with a hefty 57-33 home win, but an incredible fightback from the Lions saw them rally to take the second leg by an identical 57-33 score, forcing a Superheat decider to settle the aggregate tie. Sheffield took the Superheat 6-3 to take their place in the Grand Final.

The hero of Sheffield’s semi-final was guest rider Max Fricke, standing in for injured No.1 Jack Holder.

Fricke scored a 15-point maximum in the home leg and added a further 13 at Leicester as well as winning the vital Superheat.

With the Aussie also a former Belle Vue No.1, Sheffield have wasted no time in drafting him in for the final, giving them their strongest line-up of the season.

Belle Vue head into the final with the knowledge that every member of the Aces septet has increased his match average from the start of the season, and they now just need one last effort to get the title over the line.

Skipper Brady Kurtz said: “Obviously it was cool to win it first in 2022 and again in 2024, but we’ve never done it at home.” “That would be a much better deal and I’m super excited to bring the Grand Final here, and I’d love it to be a good one.” “It would be something pretty special but we’re pretty far away from it at the moment, and we need to focus.”

Team boss Mark Lemon added: “We’re in the Grand Final which is an amazing achievement from the boys – but we’ve got some more work to do.” “The processes and routine will be as normal, but just with a little bit more riding on it!”

“Brady has led us as captain for a number of years now, and hopefully he can lead us to another championship. We’re not getting carried away, but with the opportunity to win it at home, there’s a little bit more on this one.”

Tickets for Monday’s Grand Final are available from the Belle Vue website www.bellevue-speedway.com