Belle Vue boss says they will 'come back stronger' after defeat in opener

Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon vowed his side will “come back stronger” despite the opening night home defeat to rivals Sheffield.

The Aces came back from eight points down to lead by two points going into the final race at the National Speedway Stadium.

But they were hit by a last gasp maximum race win by the visitors to lose by 46-44.

Lemon said afterwards: “Losing isn’t great but you’ve got to take everything into consideration. That’s speedway. They tried their hardest out there. These boys are capable of going to Sheffield and turning them over.

“These are exciting times and there was some good racing out there. Norick Blodorn came out and produced a sensational race on his debut.

“There’s so many positives to take from this. It’s not nice to lose but it’s a long season and we’ll come back stronger.”

Australian Grand Prix star Max Fricke top scored with 11 on his return to the Aces after a season away.

He added: “There were a couple of guys in the pits who were pretty nervous for their first meeting. When they get a bit more experience I can see so much potential in all the boys.”

Fellow Aussie Brady Kurtz was gutted to miss out in the last heat decider but says the club will fight back.

He said: “It was a tough meeting, the first of the year but I think we’ll be alright.

“We just didn’t get there in the end, we’ve got a few new guys in the team. But we will re-group and come back stronger.”