Aces trumped as Wolves gain revenge

Wolves 59 Belle Vue 35

Wolves romped home to the Elite League's heaviest victory of the season so far – but the biggest winners in this match were the fans.

Whether watching at the track or on Sky TV, they were offered a feast of entertainment with a host of passing.

Belle Vue simply had no answer. Hard as they tried they were repeatedly second best to a home team whose top five dropped just eight points all night.

The usual suspects, Peter Karlsson and Fredrik Lindgren, were both unbeaten with the former setting the tone right from heat one last night when he stalked the Aces' Krzysztof Kasprzak throughout before driving underneath him on the final lap.

By way of variation he went round Ulrich Ostergaard five races later to join Nicolai Klindt at the front after the young Wolf had given his customary wall of death dash round the boards off gate four.

Karlsson has now been beaten just once in 15 league and cup heats at Monmore so far this season and while that level of scoring will surely be impossible to maintain you wouldn't, on his current form, risk much in betting against it.

Lindgren again looked extremely quick and reeled off his four victories with great panache. Indeed, his only hairy moment came courtesy of his skipper in heat 13 when a slight misunderstanding saw the two Swedes perilously close to occupying the same patch of track.

It was Lindgren who saw off both the Aces' double-point tactical ride gambits, heading first Charlie Gjedde and then Kasprzak, the latter with a slashing cutback off the second bend.

Tai Woffinden, growing in authority at Monmore by the week, rattled up paid 10 largely by virtue of some sharp starts but also had to win a spirited joust with Kasprzak in heat five.

Adam Skornicki brought the house down in heat five when Kasprzak, moving wide in pursuit of Woffinden off the top bend, was startled to find the Pole hammering his way up the inside.

And Sqora went one better in the 14th in a tremendous pass and repass struggle with Gjedde. The Belle Vue man appeared to have prevailed at the second attempt when he found a gap and forced Skornicki wide off the pits bend. But he scrupulously left his rival racing room and the tenacious Polish champion wriggled through on the outside.

At reserve, Ty Proctor and Chris Kerr were always in the mix without having the points to show for it although the latter did finish with a paid win. He also led a hugely entertaining heat eight which was eventually taken by Patrick Hougaard, whose two race wins were the only time the Aces took the chequered flag.

And even here you'd do well to find a fan in the stadium who didn't believe that Klindt hadn't got up to snatch victory on the line.

For the Parrys International Wolves, then, revenge for their Good Friday loss in Manchester. For the fans, another reminder that this circuit surely serves up the league's best racing.

And for track curator Alan 'Doc' Bridgett and his crew, more hard work to keep it that way.