Belle Vue - 42

Swindon - 51

The visit from the Swindon Robins meant the return to Kirkmanshulme Lane of ex-Ace James Wright who had moved to the Robins team over the winter and also meant Charlie Gjedde, who had moved in the opposite direction, lined up against his old Club. Once again Robert Ksiezak stood in for Steve Boxall who is still struggling with his shoulder problems.

Heat 1 saw Jason Crump line up against fellow Aussie & GP star Leigh Adams, Leigh went off gate 4, which looked like it was still giving a bit of an advantage, but it was Billy Forsberg off the inside gate who got to turn 1 first, he lifted slightly down the back straight and Adams went passed. Meanwhile Jason had got bogged down on gate 3 and was running last….that didn’t last long as he quickly made his way into 2nd but Leigh had gained too much of an advantage and took the heat win. James Wright finished 3rd to give the Robins a 4-2 advantage.

The points were shared in ht 2 as Cory Gathercole took the win for the Robins with Michal Rajkowski, buoyed up by his heat win at Eastbourne, in 2nd and Robert Ksiezak 3rd.

Heat 3 was another shared heat as Travis McGowan took the win over Lukasz Jankowski and Charlie Gjedde who had battled his way passed Troy Batchelor to take 3rd.

Heat 4 saw the Robins move into a 4 point lead as Mads Korneliussen passed Robert Ksiezak for the lead, Joe Screen came off leaving Sebastian Alden to take the point and give the Robins another 4-2.

Heat 5 put Charlie up against his former captain Leigh Adams, Leigh got his teammate James Wright in front of him to put the Robins in a 5-1 position. Charlie had other ideas and rode a terrific 3/4 th bend to get alongside Adams coming onto the home straight, unfortunately Leigh ran into Charlie who did well to avoid both the fence and a fall but lost ground that he was unable to regain, the Robins got a 5-1 and Charlie went to pick up a bit off his bike that had fallen off in the collision!

With the score now 11-19 to Swindon it was Jason Crump and Billy Forsberg out in heat 6 to try and shorten the Robins lead. Jason hit the front from the start and Billy cut underneath both Swindon riders to join him at the front. A great ride from the Aces pair gave them their 7 th 5-1 of the season and cut the Robins lead to 4 points.

However, the Robins responded quickly with a 5-1 of their own as Troy Batchelor and Travis McGowan kept Joe Screen out, Joe pressured Travis but couldn’t find a way passed.

Swindon were back to an 8 point lead going into heat 8. Once again the Robins made the gate to hit the front but Billy Forsberg cut back to the inside and rode underneath both James Wright and Seb Alden to take the lead and win the heat by an impressive margin.

Heat 9 and Charlie Gjedde made the start to hit the front ahead of Korneliussen and Gathercole, as Charlie took the outside line on turn 2 he found no grip to hold him and spun round before falling, Charlie got back on the bike but it was too late to catch the Swindon pair.

With Swindon now 12 points in front, Jason Crump was put on a double-point tactical ride in heat 10. A good start by Jason got him in front, Billy yet again made his way into 2nd and joined Jason at the front, from then on the Aces pair were unchallenged and scored yet another maximum heat win…this time it was an 8-1 with Jason scoring double points, Swindon still led but now by just 5 points.

Heat 11 and it was the Captains Leigh Adams for Swindon and Joe Screen for the Aces. It looked very good at the start when Joe and Michal hit the front, but Leigh rode a good top bend to pass them both, Joe kept his 2nd place but Michal fell after battling for 3rd with James Wright. The score was now 31-38 to Swindon.

Heat 12 saw Charlie hit the front but the race was stopped when the Robins tangled and Troy fell. Charlie led again in the re-run but was taken wide by Troy, Charlie lost grip and couldn’t regain the ground It was another 4-2 advantage to the Robins and left the Aces 11 points down with 3 heats left, a very difficult position to try and win from.

Heat 13 was Jason and Joe against Leigh Adams and Mads Korneliussen. Jason and Joe hit the front and for 2 laps they kept Leigh Adams behind them, Eventually Leigh found a way passed Joe and split the Aces pair. Once that had happened Jason pushed on for the win and the Aces got a 4-2 heat advantage.

Going into heat 14, the Aces were 7 points adrift, it was still just possible to take the win but it would need a 5-1 in each of the last 2 heats. However, the chance evaporated when Travis McGowan and Cory Gathercole, who replaced Alden in the heat, hit the front ahead of the Aces Polish duo of Lukasz and Michal. They stayed in front to give the Robins a 5-1 and an unbeatable lead.

Jason and Joe went out in heat 15 for the Aces whilst Swindon nominated Wright and McGowan. Jason won the heat from James Wright with Joe 3rd giving a final score of 42-51 to the Robins.

Whilst it was a bad night for the Aces, the good point from it was another good performance from Billy Forsberg who continues to stride towards his true form.

As far as the Robins are concerned it was a good solid team effort from them, special mention should be made of their no. 8 Cory Gathercole, who was standing in for injured Theo Pijper, who scored 9 paid 10 from reserve.

Belle Vue - 50

Coventry - 42

After the Aces tremendous performance at Coventry to snatch a draw, the Bees travelled up to Kirkmanshulme Lane determined to gain revenge. They would also be hoping that ex-Ace Simon Stead's knowledge of the track would help them in that task.

In order to qualify for the next round of the Craven Shield, the Aces needed to beat Coventry by 19 points which was going to be a tall order.

Steve Boxall, who had hoped to return for this match, was still having problems with his injured shoulder so Robert Ksiezak was drafted in once again. The Bees also had injury problems as Rory Schlein had been injured the day before whilst riding for his Polish team, the Bees elected to run rider replacement for him.

Heat 1 saw Billy Janniro take a rider replacement ride and he made a great start off gate 4 and never looked back, Billy Forsberg and Jason Crump took 2nd and 3rd to share the points.

Heat 2 was another shared heat so it was 6-6 going into heat 3.

Heat 3 saw Billy Janniro make another great start off gate 4 which was once again proving to be the gate everyone wanted to start from! Lukasz Jankowski held 2nd for 2 laps before being passed and with Chris Harris following Janniro home the Bees took a 5-1 and moved into a 4 point lead.

Heat 4 was Simon Steads turn on gate 4 and he took full advantage to win the heat from Joe Screen, who got very close on the final bend but couldn't quite make it past, and Robert Ksiezak in 3rd.

Coventry put Chris Harris in for his rider replacement ride in heat 5 but he found himself in 3rd place behind Charlie Gjedde and Lukasz Jankowski, Chris passed Lukasz on the 3rd lap but couldn't do anything about Charlie who took the win. Coventry though still led by 2 points.

Heat 6 saw the Aces take the lead for the first time in the meeting as Jason Crump and Billy Forsberg combined to score a 5-1 and take the Aces into a two point lead. Simon Stead had held the lead briefly before Jason passed him on the 2nd turn followed by Billy. Billy looking like he had finally rid himself of his clutch problems, was riding superbly.

Unfortunately the Aces move into the lead faltered immediately in the next heat when Captain Joe Screen hit a rut on the 3rd/4 th bend and was catapulted into Chris Harris bringing them both down. Joe was excluded but the re-run provided what could have been the ride of the night as Michal Rajkowski shot off gate 4 and into the lead, Michal managed to hold off both Chris Harris and Billy Janniro for 3 laps but slid wide on turn 2 on the last lap and both Bees dived underneath him. It was a shame for Michal that he couldn't quite hold on but it was a great effort and showed what he could be capable of once he gets to grips properly with the track.

The scores were levelled at 24-24 after heat 8 which saw Billy Forsberg take the win with Olly Allen 2nd for the Bees and Robert 3rd for the Aces, Robert almost snatched 2nd coming off the last bend but couldn’t quite make it.

Ex-Ace Simon Stead made the gate in front of Charlie in heat 9 but Charlie rode right round him on the 4th turn and never looked back and with Lukasz finishing in an un-challenged 3rd place the Aces scored a 4-2 and moved back into a two point lead.

The two point lead became a six point lead in heat 10 as Jason Crump and Billy Forsberg scored their 2nd 5-1 of the night. Jason led off the gate and Billy got into 2nd over Billy Janniro, held off his initial challenge and then rode with Jason to take maximum points for the Aces. It was an absolute joy to see Billy riding so well having got over his early season problems that had got him so down in the dumps, now he was starting to show his true talent.

The points were shared in the next two heats as Joe led home Simon Stead & Olly Allen in heat 11 and Charlie took the win over Chris Harris and Andreas Messing in heat 12 after initial leader Chris Harris made a mistake which Charlie, who was following him closely, took full advantage of.

The Aces started to hammer home their advantage in heat 13 when Jason & Joe made great starts and never looked back to score another 5-1 and take the lead to 10 points.

The 10 point lead meant that Coventry could nominate a rider for the double-point tactical ride but it looked initially like they weren’t going to bother as Billy Janniro and Andreas Messing, who was put in instead of Burza, lined up at the start. However, Coventry manager Peter Oakes set-off running towards the start line carrying the black & white helmet cover in his hand and put it on Billy Janniro.

Messing and Janniro got in front of the Aces Polish duo of Lukasz & Michal and with Janniro on double points it meant an 8-1 advantage for the Bees….at least it would have been but instead it was a 7-1 advantage because Janniro, who had ridden extremely well for the Bees, failed to take the flag first so only scored 4 points instead of the 6 on offer!

With the scores now 45-41 for the Aces it meant yet another last heat decider! The Aces nominated Jason and Charlie, who had both had a superb night dropping just 2 points each, and the Bees nominated Chris Harris, who perhaps surprisingly hadn’t had a heat win so far, and Billy Janniro who had been the Bees star turn.

In the end, it was the Aces pairing who proved too strong for the Bees and scored an untroubled 5-1 from the start to leave the Aces winning by 50 points to the Bees 42.

A great end to a night were the Aces recorded their 4th straight home victory.

Billy Forsberg was deservedly voted the Harley-Davidson Rider of the Night.

Coventry 45

Belle Vue 45

The last time the Aces travelled to Coventry, at the end of March, they came away with a 15pt loss and a shoulder injury to Steve Boxall, they were hoping for much better fortune this time round.

Steve still hadn't recovered from his injury so once again Aces no. 8 Robert Ksiezak stood in for him.

They made a better start this time, the Bees started heat 1 in a 5-1 position but it was shortlived for them as Jason Crump rode round both Schlein & Allen on the 3/4th bend and Billy forsberg cut underneath Olly Allen to take 3rd and give the Aces an early 2pt advantage.

Robert Ksiezak led heat 2 until Andreas Messing passed him on the 2nd lap, Michal Rajkowski held 3rd place for the Aces right until the line when Burza nicked passed him to steal 3rd place and make it a 4-2 for the Bees to level the scores at 6-6.

Heat 3 saw plenty of drama for the Bees. Chris Harris and Billy Janniro were running 1st and 2nd until Janniro suffered an engine failure and then Chris Harris slowed with bike problems and suddenly Charlie Gjedde and Lukasz Jankowski found themselves in front for the Aces. A 5-1 for the Bees had turned into a 1-5 and the Aces moved into a 4 point lead.

The 4 point lead was cut to 2pts when ex-Ace Simon Stead headed Joe Screen home in heat 4, but Jason Crump and Billy Forsberg moved it back to 4 points again with a 4-2 in heat 5. Jason made a superb start and a great ride by Billy Forsberg saw him pass Billy Janniro for 3rd place then almost get 2nd when he got alongside Harris on the line but he just missed out. It was a great ride by Billy who was now showing signs that he was getting over the clutch problems that had dogged him since the start of the season.

Heat 6 saw the Bees record a 5-1 when Captain Joe Screen suffered a puncture while 2nd , however the Aces hit straight back in heat 7 when Charlie Gjedde and Lukasz Jankowski recorded their 2nd 5-1 of the night. Simon Stead had got passed Lukasz but he then locked up in the bend and fell to leave Lukasz to follow Charlie home.

The Aces were now 4 points in front but then it started to get away from them as the Bees had a run of heat advantages, a 4-2 in heat 8 followed by two 5-1s meant that the score at the end of heat 10 was 33-27 to Coventry.

Heat 11 and it was Jason Crump and Billy Forsberg for the Aces and Simon Stead and Andreas Messing for the Bees. Jason made another great start to hit the front with the Bees pair behind him….but not for long as Billy Forsberg went round the outside of Messing and held his ground alongside him before moving ahead, Billy then cut inside Simon Stead and took his place alongside Jason at the front to score 5-1 for the Aces….a fantastic ride by Billy!

Heat 12 and it was Charlie's turn to make a superb last to first effort as he rode passed both Stan Burza and Chris Harris to win the heat. Heat 13 saw Joe Screen suffer yet more bad luck as he touched the tapes and was excluded, however Joe was put back into the heat to start from 15m back. Jason Crump flew off the gate to lead, Joe quickly caught up with the Bees pairing of Schlein & Stead but was unable to split them.

Heat 14 and the Aces were just two points behind, Lukasz Jankowski made a great start but was eventually passed by Billy Janniro, Lukasz and Robert rode together to keep Burza at the back to share the points 3-3 and mean that Coventry’s lead was still two points going into heat 15.

Jason Crump and Charlie Gjedde were the Aces nominated riders while Coventry went with Chris Harris and Rory Schlein who had had a great night dropping just 2 points so far. Jason led from the start to end the night on a full maximum of 15 points, but Charlie was pinned at the back by Harris and Schlein to put Coventry in the winning position, Charlie however had other plans and rode a great race to battle his way passed Chris Harris and snatch the draw for the Aces.

Belle Vue 50

Poole 43

The Aces took on the Poole Pirates on a day that had seen rain, snow, a bit of sunshine and freezing temperature. Happily the rain & sleet dried up for the start and despite the cold temperatures, and the fact that the meeting was broadcast live on Sky Sports, a good crowd turned out.

Steve Boxall was still sidelined by his shoulder injury so once again Aces No. 8 Robert Ksiezak deputised. Poole were without ex-Ace Adam Skornicki and would run rider-replacement to cover for him.

Heat 1 saw Jason Crump stamp his authority on the match by rocketing out of the start and giving the Aces their first heat win of the night. Billy Forsberg took 3 rd place to give the Aces a two point lead.

Freddie Eriksson led heat two for the Pirates and it looked like being a 4-2 for them until the last bend when Michal Rajkowski lined up Poole’s Zibi Suchecki then cut back underneath him to grab 3 rd and share the points 3-3. It was a great move by Michal and brought a huge cheer from the crowd.

A tremendous start by Charlie Gjedde saw him take heat 3 ahead of Pooles Davey Watt and Ace Lukasz Jankowski to move the Aces to a 4 point lead. Captain Joe Screen added his name to the heat winners list in heat 4 when he made a great start from gate 4 which had produced all the winners so far.

Poole skipper Bjarne Pedersen became the 5 th straight winner from gate 4 when he managed to hold off a determined Charlie Gjedde, and with his teammate Freddie Etiksson finishing third, Poole cut the Aces lead to two points.

Jason Crump broke the ‘gate 4 wins’ pattern in heat 6, he led from the start and Billy Forsberg almost joined him at the front but Chris Holder got into 2 nd place. Billy was promoted to 2 nd when Holder fell. Chris got back onto his bike and carried on which proved to be a good decision when his teammate Zibi Suchecki fell on the last lap. The race was stopped and the Aces awarded a 5-1 to move them into a six point lead.

The Aces lead quickly became 10 points when Joe Screen and Robert Ksiezak scored another 5-1 in heat 7 after Davey Watt fell on the first lap.

The Aces were looking good and Poole decided to try and hit back immediately by putting reserve Freddie Eriksson, who was riding very well, on a double-point tactical ride. It all looked like back-firing for the Pirates when Billy Forsberg and Robert Ksiezak held 2 nd & 3 rd positions and kept Eriksson at the back and out of the points. They held on until the last lap when Eriksson managed to split them and move into 2 nd place. His teammate Karol Zabik, managed to spot him and let him through to claim maximum points and an 8-1 for the Pirates to cut the Aces lead to just 3 points.

Heat wins from Charlie in heat 9 and Jason in heat 10 moved the Aces into a 7 point lead, but once again the Pirates pegged them back, this time it was Bjarne Pedersen and Freddie Eriksson who gained a 5-1 over Joe and Robert to bring them back to within 3 points of the Aces.

Charlie made another great start in heat 12 and so did Michal who passed Davey Watt down the back straight to join Charlie at the front, unfortunately Michal slid off the bike in the 3 rd/4 t

Jason dropped his first point of the night when Chris Holder made a tremendous start in heat 13 and held it to the end. Jason & Joe kept Poole no. 1 Bjarne Pedersen at the back so the Aces lead stayed at 3 points.

Freddie Eriksson, who was riding superbly and the star of the Poole team, won heat 14 with Lukasz and Robert behind him so the points gap stayed at 3 points going into the final heat.

Once again it was Jason and Charlie in another last heat decider for the Aces. Jason found himself on the floor when things got a bit tight in the first bend. The race was stopped and all 4 riders were put back in for another go. Pedersen made a good start in the re-run to lead round the first bend but Charlie soon passed him to take the lead. Jason tracked Bjarne and made a superb pass on the 4 th bend to claim 2 nd place and a 5-1 for the Aces. It was a tremendous display of riding by Charlie and Jason to win the match for the Aces 50-43.

Swindon 49

Belle Vue 43

The Aces visited Swindon for their first away league match of the season, meaning a return to his former home track for Charlie Gjedde while ex-Ace James Wright lined up for Swindon against his old club. The Aces were still without injured Steve Boxall, Robert Ksiezak deputised again.

Jason Crump made a great start when he passed Leigh Adams on the first lap of heat 1 and carried on to win the heat. The Aces felt the absence of Steve Boxall in heat 2 as they found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-1, however they clawed 2 of the 4 point deficit back in heat 3 when Charlie showed his track knowledge to win the heat , it was almost a 5-1 but Korneliussen managed to find a way past Lukasz Jankowski which meant a 4-2 for the Aces.

The next 2 heats finished with the points shared 3-3, but the heats were won by Joe Screen & Jason Crump meaning that the Aces had won 4 of the first 5 heats.

Heat 7 saw the score draw level at 21-21 as Charlie & Lukasz took maximum points. Charlie took the win and this time the rapidly improving Lukasz kept his 2 nd place and a 5-1 was secured. Unfortunately it was short-lived as the Robins hit straight back with 2 5-1s of their own to open an eight point lead.

The gap was closed slightly in heat 11 when Jason took his 3 rd heat win of the night, Billy grabbed a point by pushing his bike to the line after an engine failure on the last bend, he just got there in front of Cory Gathercole who had fallen earlier and re-mounted. The Robins moved back to an eight point lead in the next heat which they held until heat 14 when the Aces took advantage of Charlie's track knowledge and put him on a double-point tactical ride from 15m back. Charlie made up the ground and got to 2 nd place but was unable to get to the front but still got 4 points for his 2 nd place, Lukasz got a point which meant a 5-3 heat advantage, to reduce the deficit to 6 points. Unfortunately with just one heat left defeat was unavoidable. Robins skipper Leigh Adams got the better of Jason & Charlie to take heat 15 meaning a 49-43 win for Swindon.

However, it was an encouraging scoreline for the Aces, just 3 or 4 more points for them would have meant a narrow victory rather than a defeat and with Billy Forsberg and Michal Rajkowski still struggling to find their feet, when they do things look good for the Aces.

Belle Vue - 47

1. Jason Crump 3 3 2 3 3 = 14
2. Billy Forsberg 0 21 2 0 = 4+1
3. Charlie Gjedde 3 f 21 3 21 = 10+2
4. Lukasz Jankowski 0 1 3 11 = 5+1
5. Joe Screen 3 3 2 21 = 10+1
6. Michal Rajkowski 0 0 11 = 1+1
7. Robert Ksiezak 1 0 ef 0 2 = 3

Lakeside - 43

1. Andreas Jonsson 2 3 fex = 5 withdrawn from meeting
2. Leigh Lanham 11 21 3 f = 6+2 withdrawn from meeting
3. Adam Shields 2 2 3 2 0 = 9
4. Jonas Davidsson 11 11 1 3 1 = 7+2
5. Joonas Kylmakorpi 11 1 0 1 = 3+1
6. Ricky Kling 21 0 1 0 = 3+1
7. Lubos Tomicek 3 2 1 3 11 0 = 10+1

The Aces opened their 2008 league campaign with a match against Lakeside Hammers, another large crowd turned out to see if they could open with a win.

The Aces were without Steve Boxall who is recovering from a dislocated shoulder sustained in a crash during the Aces match away at Coventry. The Aces number 8 Robert Ksiezak stepped in as replacement.

Jason Crump got off to a flying start in heat 1 when he jumped out of the gate ahead of Hammers number 1 Andreas Jonsson and wasn’t troubled on his way to the heat win. The Hammers took an early 4 point lead when their reserve duo of Lubos Tomicek and Ricky Kling scored a 5-1 over Robert Ksiezak and Michal Rajkowski.

The Hammers stayed 4 points in front as the next two heats, won by Aces Charlie Gjedde & Joe Screen, finished with scores of 3-3.

Heat 5 saw the Hammers increase their lead to 8 points when Charlie fell in the 2nd turn leaving Andreas Jonsson to take the win with his teammate Leigh Lanham 2nd to score a 5-1. However, the Hammers 8 point lead was shortlived as Jason teamed with Billy Forsberg to score a 5-1 for the Aces in the next heat to reduce the points difference back down to 4 again. Jason gated well and Billy joined him at the front in the 2nd turn, the Hammers challenged but Jason watched out for Billy and made sure there was no way past them.

Heat 8 saw the Hammers move to 6 points in front when Lanham & Tomicek, who were both riding very well, scored a 4-2 but once again the Aces hit straight back with a 5-1 in heat 9. Lukasz Jankowski made a great start to hit the front and Charlie Gjedde rode a superb bend to claim 2nd place. Charlie rode a fantastic race to keep 2nd place and defend Lukasz, he lost 2nd on the last lap but rode magnificently round the final bend to reclaim it and ensure the 5-1 heat win and pull the Aces to within 2 points of the Hammers.

The Hammers moved their lead back up to 4 points when Adam Shields outgated Jason Crump and inflicted Crumpys only defeat of the night.

Heat 11 saw a nasty accident when Andreas Jonsson collided with teammate Leigh Lanham when they were chasing Joe Screen and both riders crashed heavily, Michal Rajkowski also got caught up in the accident when he had to lay his bike down. There was a delay while all 3 riders were treated. AJ suffered a broken finger and a wrist injury and withdrew from the meeting, Michal had an ankle injury and Leigh Lanham seemed to suffer the worst with damage to his knees and bruising and burns to his body. Lanham also withdrew from the meeting.
Lubos Tomicek replaced Lanham in the re-run and made a terrific start to outgate Joe Screen and rode a good race to keep the Aces Captain behind him.

The Aces were still 4 points behind with 4 heats left when Jason and Joe, who both dropped just one point all night, teamed up to score a 5-1 and bring the score level at 39-39.

Heat 14 saw Robert Ksiezak brought in to replace Michal, both he and Lukasz Jankowski made a superb start to lead but Jonas Davidsson got passed them, Lukasz was challenged strongly for 3rd place but both Robert & Lukasz rode a great race to hold 2nd and 3rd positions and keep the score level and set up a last heat decider.

It was 42-42 going into heat 15, Jason & Charlie were nominated for the Aces to ride against Davidsson & Shields. The Aces flew out of the gate and Jason took the win with Charlie 2nd to secure a 47-43 win for the Aces. A victory enjoyed by another large crowd.

Charlie Gjedde who rode some superb races during the night was deservedly voted Harley-Davidson Man of the Match.

Coventry Bees - 54

1. Rory Schlein 3 11 21 2 0 = 8+2
2. Oliver Allen 21 2 3 3 = 10+1
3. Chris Harris 3 3 3 11 2 = 12+1
4. Billy Janniro 1 0 21 3 = 6+1
5. Simon Stead 3 3 11 0 = 7+1
6. Andreas Messing 2 0 2 1 = 5
7. Stanislaw Burza 0 21 21 2 6+2

Belle Vue Aces - 39

1. Jason Crump 1 2 6^ 3 3 = 15
2. Billy Forsberg f 11 1 0 = 2+1
3. Charlie Gjedde 2 2 0 3 1 = 8
4. Lukasz Jankowski f 11 1 2 = 4+1
5. Joe Screen 1 3 0 1 = 5
6. Michal Rajkowski 1 0 1 0 0 = 2
7. Steve Boxall 3 0 fex = 3 (withdrawn from meeting injured)

Rain across the country meant wet conditions for the Aces Craven Shield match at Coventry.

The Bees showed they meant business from the start when Rory Schlein & Olly Allen opened with a 5-1 over Jason Crump & Billy Forsberg, Billy falling on the first lap. Steve Boxall & Michal Rajkowski recovered two points for the Aces in heat 2 with Steve carrying on his good form to win the heat with Michal taking 3rd to give a 4-2 heat advantage.

Heat 4 saw Coventry move to an 8 point lead when former Ace Simon Stead teamed with Stanislaw Burza to get a 5-1 over Aces Captain Joe Screen & Steve Boxall. The Aces steadied the ship with the next 3 heats being drawn 3-3, but things took a dramatic downturn in heat 8 when Steve had a nasty fall whilst battling for the lead with Olly Allen. Steve was taken to hospital with a dislocated shoulder and cuts to his fingers, but thankfully nothing was broken. The heat was re-run with Steve excluded and Coventry scored a 5-1. Two more 5-1s for the Bees in the next 2 heats and the Aces suddenly found themselves 20 points down.

Jason Crump was nomimated for a double-point tactical ride in heat 11 to try and close the gap, he won the heat to claim 6 points but with Stead & Messing finishing in 2nd & 3rd places to keep Billy Forsberg at the back, the Aces only closed the gap by 3 points.

A win from Charlie in heat 12 and a 4-2 from Jason & Joe in heat 13 moved the Aces to 15 points down with 2 heats left. The match was lost but the fact that points difference could be a factor in qualification to the Craven Shield final meant that it was still important to try and minimise the loss.

Jason & Charlie were nominated for heat 15, Jason won the heat from Chris Harris with Charlie 3rd to give a final score of Coventry 54, Aces 39.

It was a good peformance from Coventry with solid scoring throughout the team, although without the injury to Steve, the score may have been closer.

Wolverhampton - 48

1. Freddie Lindgren 11 3 3 2 2 = 11+1
2. Ales Dryml 2 21 3 0 = 7+1
3. Niels K Iversen 3 11 3 3 0 = 10+1
4. Kenneth Hansen 1 2 1 2 = 6
5. David Howe 3 2 3 11 = 9+1
6. Nicolai Klindt 11 0 0 0 = 1+1
7. Christian Hefenbrock 2 1 1 0 = 4

Belle Vue - 44

1. Jason Crump 3 3 4^ 3 3 = 16
2. Billy Forsberg 0 ex 0 1 = 1
3. Charlie Gjedde 2 3 11 2 1 = 9+1
4. Lukasz Jankowski 0 1 3 = 4
5. Joe Screen 2 ex 2 0 = 4
6. Michal Rajkowski 0 1 0 = 1
7. Steve Boxall 3 0 2 2 11 1 = 9+1

After a 5 point victory over the Wolves at home on Good Friday, the Aces headed down to Monmore Green for the return leg on a cold & wintry Easter Monday.

The match was close for the first 5 heats with Jason Crump on his customary top form recording two heat wins in his first two rides. Steve Boxall chalked up his first heat win in Aces colours when he headed home Hefenbrock & Klindt in heat 2.

Heat 6 saw the Wolves move into an eight point lead when Aces skipper Joe Screen fell and was excluded. Freddie Lindgren & Ales Dryml scored a 5-1 heat advantage in the re-run. Lindgren who had been subdued at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Good Friday scoring just 3 points, was back to his usual form and finished with 11 points.

Charlie Gjedde & Lukasz Jankowski clawed 2 points back with a 4-2 in heat 7 but the Wolves hit back with 2 4-2s in the next two heats.

Heat 10 saw Steve Boxall take the first of two extra reserve rides when he was brought in to replace Jankowski, he finished 2nd to Lindgren with Charlie in 3rd to stop Wolverhampton extending their lead any further.

Jason Crump donned the black & white helmet colour to take a double-point tactical ride in heat 11, but David Howe denied him maximum points when he jumped out of the gate ahead of Jason who hounded him for all 4 laps but couldn't find a way through. Still it meant a 5-3 heat advantage for the Aces and reduced the deficit to 8 points.

Steve Boxall was brought in to replace Rajkowski in heat 12 and finished 3rd behind teammate Charlie to record a 3-3 heat, heat 13 was another 3-3 as Jason Crump recorded his 4th heat victory of the night.

The Aces moved to within 6 points of Wolverhampton when Lukasz Jankowski recorded his first win as an Ace in heat 14, Steve Boxall scored another point in his 6th ride of the night to finish on an impressive 9 points.

The final heat of the night was won by Jason to bring the final score to Wolves 48 Aces 44. A narrow victory to the Wolves but a good performance from the Aces in their first away match of the season.

Boss David Gordon said: "We proved we can be competitive away from home by going close after being eight points behind after six races.

"The boys fought hard and it was a good result when you consider Wolverhampton hammered Coventry last week. Jason Crump was brilliant again and we were very pleased to see young Steve Boxall doing well while Lukasz Jankowski had his first heat win for us."

Belle Vue - 49

1. Jason Crump 2 3 3 3 3 = 14
2. Billy Forsberg 11 21 11 ef = 4+3
3. Charlie Gjedde 2 3 2 3 = 10
4. Lukasz Jankowski 11 0 11 0 = 2+2
5. Joe Screen 3 3 3 21 1 = 12+1
6. Michal Rajkowski 2 0 0 = 2
7. Steve Boxall f 1 2 1 1 = 5

Wolverhampton - 41

1. Freddie Lindgren f 2 11 0 = 3+1
2. Ales Dryml 3 11 3 2 = 9+1
3. Niels K Iversen 3 2 2 2 2 =11
4. Kenneth Hansen f 11 11 21 = 4+3
5. David Howe 2 1 3 1 = 7
6. Nicolai Klindt 3 0 f 0 3^ = 6*
7. Christian Hefenbrock 1 0 0 = 1

After heavy rain all Thursday, the sun shone down on Kirkmanshulme Lane on Good Friday, hopefully it was a good omen for the Aces anniversary year. A large crowd braved the cold weather to cheer on the new team and welcome Jason Crump back to the Aces. In fact the turn-out of supporters was so good that the start was delayed a little to give them all time to get in.

Wolves rider Ales Dryml had the honour of winning the first heat of the 2008 season, Dryml jumped out of the gate ahead of Jason Crump and stayed in front although "Crumpy" almost got passed him on the line. Heat 1 also had the first test of the air fence when Wolves captain Freddie Lindgren came off in the 2nd turn.

Steve Boxall became the 2nd man to test the fence when he unfortunately slid off having built an impressive lead in heat 2. Steve's debut was an impressive one as he battled passed Heffenbrock to take 3rd place in heat 4 to make Joe Screens heat win a 4-2 advantage for the Aces. Steve led heat 8 before lifting slightly down the back straight which allowed Dryml to get past. His debut score of 5 pts would have been 8 but for the heat 2 fall, a good start to the year for Steve.

Billy had a similar story, after following Jason home in heat 1 in 3rd place, he again followed him home in heat 6, but this time to gain the Aces first 5-1 of the season. Jason & Billy were on target to repeat the feat in heat 10 when Billy suffered an engine failure. Despite that, it was a good start to the season for Billy and provided an early glimpse of what could prove to be a good pairing for the Aces.

The heatleading trio of Crump, Gjedde & Screen were in fine form. Aces number 1 Jason marked his welcome return to the team by dropping just one point, which was in the first heat. After that he was in majestic form, at times giving a master class on how to ride the track, including a sweeping pass round the outside of Niels Kristian Iversen in heat 15.

Captain Joe Screen was another man in tremendous form, unbeaten in his first 3 rides he finished behind teammate Jason in a magnificent 5-1 in heat 13, the only point he lost to the opposition was in heat 15 when Iversen became the only Wolves rider to finish in front of Joe. Joe was voted the "Harley Davidson Man of the Match".

Charlie Gjedde carried on showing his love of the Kirkmanshulme Lane track, happily now for the Aces rather than against them! two heat wins and two 2nd places meant a good debut for Charlie.

The Polish duo of Jankowski & Rajkowski made a bit of a shaky start, the 2nd turn in particular catching them out a bit, they got out of the gate but a lack of track knowledge led to them losing position, but both battled and once they get to grips with the tricky circuit the points will start to come much more easily for them.

The stars of the Wolves team were Niels Kristian Iversen & Ales Dryml. Ales looked good, recording two heat wins and he was the only man to head home Jason Crump, while Iversen recorded a win over Charlie Gjedde.

The Wolves side kept the score to within 4 points of the Aces until heat 13 when a superb 5-1 from Jason & Joe stretched the Aces lead to 10 points. Wolves hit back immediately by replacing Christian Hefenbrock with Nicolai Klindt and putting him in the black & white double-point tactical helmet colour. Klindt duly obliged and won the heat, his teammate Hansen followed him home to give Wolves a 8-1 heat advantage and pull them back to just 3 points behind the Aces going into heat 15.
Any ambitions Wolves had of snatching the win were extinguished by another superb ride by Jason and with Joe taking 3rd place the Aces won the match 49-44.

However, the result may be subject to change as Wolverhamptons use of Klindt as a tactical ride in heat 14 may have contravened the rules. Aces manager Chris Morton said: "I had a discussion with the referee, Phil Griffin, because we didn't feel the decision was right to allow Klindt to come in for a tactical ride. Mr Griffin said he will check it out and hold his hands up if he got it wrong."

It was a good start by the Aces, the signs are there that this could be a great season.

* BELLE Vue's 49-44 home Craven Shield victory over Wolverhampton on Good Friday has been amended to 49-41 by the Speedway Control Bureau.

The SCB upheld a protest by the Aces that Nicolai Klindt was not eligible to be nominated for a tactical ride by Wolverhampton and the three extra points he scored have been deducted.