BEES: ACES:
G.Hancock 3 3 2 2'E 10(1) R.Correy 2 2 3 2'1 10(1)
S.Tacey 1 1 1'1' 4(2) J.Armstrong 0 0 0 0
T.Wiltshire 2 3 2 2 9 J.Nilsen 3 3 3 3 3 3 18
C.Gjedde 1'1 1'1' 4(3) C.Manchester R 0 0 0 0
A.Jonsson 3 2 1 3 1 10 J.Lyons 2 2 3 3 0 2' 12(1)
S.Robson 3 1'E 2 6(1) J.Kosonen 2 0 T 0 2
R.Madsen 1 1 2 1' 5(1) B.Campbell 0 0 0 0
HEAT DETAILS:
Ht 1:Hancock, Correy, Tacey, Armstrong, 62.8 4-2 4-2
Ht 2:Robson, Kosonen, Madsen, Campbell, 63.9 4-2 8-4
Ht 3:Nilsen, Wiltshire, Gjedde, Manchester(ret), 62.0 3-3 11-7
Ht 4:Jonsson, Lyons, Madsen, Campbell, 62.5 4-2 15-9
Ht 5:Wiltshire, Correy, Gjedde, Armstrong, 64.1 4-2 19-11
Ht 6:Hancock, Lyons, Tacey, Kosonen, 62.6 4-2 23-13
Ht 7:Nilsen, Jonsson, Robson, Manchester, 62.4 3-3 26-16
Ht 8:Correy, Madsen, Tacey, Armstrong, 62.8 3-3 29-19
Ht 9:Lyons, Wiltshire, Gjedde, Campbell, Kosonen(tapes), 62.6 3-3 32-22
Ht10:Nilsen, Hancock, Tacey, Manchester, 61.9 3-3 35-25
Ht11:Lyons, Correy, Jonsson, Robson(ef), 63.4 1-5 36-30
Ht12:Nilsen, Wiltshire, Madsen, Kosonen, 62.7 3-3 39-33
Ht13:Jonsson, Hancock, Correy, Lyons, 62.8 5-1 44-34
Ht14:Nilsen, Robson, Gjedde, Manchester, 64.3 3-3 47-37
Ht15:Nilsen, Lyons, Jonsson, Hancock(ef), 94.2 1-5 48-42
ANYTHING OTHER THAN A Bees victory would have been a total injustice to the idea of team speedway, because the laughable imbalance of the Belle Vue side resulted in an essentially tedious meeting. This had nothing to do with Coventry - it was totally down to the fact that Aces had four riders who would be better off as second strings in the Premier League.
John Perrin stated before the season that he would be looking for his bottom three to contribute around eight points a meeting, and then their heat-leader strength should see them through. On the evidence of this meeting, it's difficult to think of any circumstances in which Armstrong, Kosonen and Campbell will even get close to that figure - and that's before you try to assess the non-contribution of Chris Manchester, who really should be the key man for Belle Vue in 1999. Where on earth is the rider who won the 1996 Overseas Final and achieved a nine-point average in the old Premier League? Aces certainly couldn't complain about 40 points from their top three, but you need 46 to win a match and they never looked like doing that, even though they displayed a lack of ambition as well, in failing to go for broke with a Golden Double in Heat 14.
The Covenry second strings had never had it so easy, and probably won't again! Shaun Tacey continued to struggle with his set-up, and on occasions seemed to almost be going backwards, but, unlike in the Kings Lynn meeting, he stopped on for four laps in all four races, and that gave him four third places and a paid six score. Charlie Gjedde was in the same boat. Never looking like challenging the Belle Vue heat-leaders, he was still more than good enough for the long tail end, and that meant paid seven.
And the problem with this season's Elite League was amply demonstrated by Todd Wiltshire. A fine choice of guest for Brian Andersen, and nobody could complain about his score of nine - but the top riders are going to have it far too easy this season! Wiltshire's nine points saw him beat Correy once, but other than that it was a case of easily seeing off the bottom four - again, no criticism of him, or Coventry, but it's hard to imagine a night last year in which a World class rider would hardly need to break sweat and still only drop three points.
So, on to the action - Greg Hancock again looked for Shaun Tacey in Heat 1, but the Bees No.2 didn't appear to have the power to come round the outside, and Hancock had to shoot off to protect his lead from Correy. Both Coventry reserves made abysmal starts in Heat 2, but Stuart Robson calmly picked his way through the traffic to lead by the end of lap 1, whilst Rene Madsen comfortably disposed of Campbell, but couldn't do anything about Kosonen. The Finn's two points would be the only ones scored by a Belle Vue second string or reserve all night.
Nilsen was a scorching winner of Heat 3, with Manchester retiring from well behind, and Jonsson was similarly impressive in beating Lyons in Heat 4. Madsen, in fact, held second place for a time until the Aussie came through. Wiltshire rode a good race in Heat 5 to head home Correy, with Gjedde in an easy third place, and then there was a straightforward win for Hancock over Lyons, with Tacey in, surprise surprise, third place. Bees had motored into a ten-point lead.
Nilsen stemmed the flow of 4-2s with his second win in Heat 7, as Jonsson and Robson took a little to long to sort themselves out - but in reality, Nilsen was too quick for them. With the score at 26-16, everyone was expecting a double Belle Vue tactical in Heat 8 with a Golden It's A Knockout Double Joker thrown in as well, but in fact only Correy came in, and although he won by a mile, Madsen and Tacey were perfectly happy to beat Armstrong and take the 3-3.
Heat 9 saw a good Australian battle, as Wiltshire gated, and Lyons forced his way into the lead, going round the outside at the start of lap three. Belle Vue, though, weren't about to gain anything from the race as Gjedde was third ahead of Campbell, and there was another shut-out in Heat 10 with Nilsen having too much pace for Hancock, and Tacey beating the embarrassing Manchester.
Aces almost got within sight of an undeserved comeback as they picked up a lucky 5-1 in Heat 11. Andreas Jonsson was well away for a super win against Correy and tactical substitute Lyons, when he had an engine failure allowing the opposition through. With Stuart Robson also stopping, it looked for a moment like a 5-0, but Jonsson managed to coax his bike round for a point.
A wholly predictable Heat 12 finished Nilsen, Wiltshire, Madsen, Kosonen, and then came an excellent Heat 13. Hancock gated and controlled the first lap from the inside, with Jonsson showing real determination to squeeze round the outside of Lyons. Hancock was aware of the situation and slowed right down on the back straight to allow his partner round the outside, and this produced a 5-1 that put Bees 10 clear again.
Nilsen came into Heat 14, and had it been the joker, he could have picked up six points, and with some help from his partner, that might have left Belle Vue with a chance in Heat 15. Unfortunately, the partner was to be Manchester, although they could still have gone for broke and hoped for another Bees engine failure or fall. As it was Nilsen started from the gate and the match was won for Coventry. Nilsen charged into the lead, lost concentration briefly on the fourth bend and allowed Robson to take the lead, but he had a good line off the bend and came straight back inside. Gjedde was third again, and Manchester would probably have been better off in the Grand National.
Heat 15 produced ammunition for those who dislike the 6-lap finale, as, with Nilsen leading all the way to a high-class maximum, Hancock spent four laps trying everything to get past Lyons, finally got him on the back straight, and then ground to a halt on lap 5.
This was a largely straightforward win for Coventry, despite the apparent closeness of the score, and the main encouragement came from another decent display from Jonsson. However, the real test as to how much Coventry have improved over the last couple of meetings comes next weekend, with home and away clashes with Peterborough, who beat Wolves 58-32 on Friday! For Belle Vue, it's difficult to see them winning anything with the team they have.