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News, Views & Racing Results ....
 Speedway: Belle Vue find a new Ace in the pack with a great win over Nikki Pederson's Eastbourne - 03-04-2007
KEVIN Doolan, Belle Vue's Aussie new boy, is ready to step into the breach for the injury-hit Aces when they face Wolverhampton in the Elite League at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Friday (8 0).
Simon Stead, their No 1, is a major doubt after walking away from an horrific pile-up in Monday's brilliant 50-43 home win over Eastbourne.
And James Wright will be out for up to a fortnight recovering from a major crash at Workington on Saturday. He needed 35 minutes treatment before being removed to hospital in Whitehaven where tests revealed he had suffered no broken bones.
Both riders were thrown over the safety fence in their crashes and the Aces pulled off a great win over Eastbourne as Stead took no further part in the meeting after his first-heat exit.
Prospects looked grim with both influential riders missing but Joel Parsons, replacing Wright, scored nine and Doolan responded to an extra workload with 13 from seven rides, including three heat wins.
The 26-year-old Aussie, who is desperately looking for sponsorship backing after losing last year's backers at King's Lynn, said: “It was a busy but rewarding night. I got stuck in, made a few decent starts and I enjoyed it.
“I just concentrated on my job and knew I'd get a some extra rides when Simon was injured. There was no point in worrying about it so I knuckled down and the meeting went well for me.
“I felt good. I attacked the track and scored points. There was some criticism of the track but I thought it was unfair. I thought it was good – but I guess I would say that after having such a good night.
“It has been a big move for me to come up from the Premier League but I'm happy with the way things are going for me. It's up to me to keep going like this. I've had a lot of expense and I need to be making the money.”
Promoter Chris Morton said: “Simon had an horrific crash and it was a matter of great concern for us all. There's no doubt it could have been much worse. He hasn't broken any bones but he is well and truly knocked about.
“We will be monitoring him to see whether or not he will be able to ride at the weekend.
“I was very impressed with the way the whole team pulled together to give us a result we might not have expected in the circumstances. The result was a credit to them all, especially as Eastbourne were in there fighting all the way.
“Adam Skornicki got stuck in after a disappointing meeting at Oxford last week and it was great to see Ryan Fisher scoring a few points and showing the kind of form we know he is capable of producing.
“I gave him a bit of a telling-off after his first ride when he made a mistake on the last corner and let an Eastbourne rider through. We mustn't forget he has been out of speedway for a spell so he'll need a bit of time but he's looking better.”
The fifth heat was a classic with captain Joe Screen and Adam Skornicki holding off Eastbourne's former World champion, Nicki Pedersen.
Peter Collins, Belle Vue's 1976 World champion, said: “The three of them went down the back straight three abreast. Somebody had to give and the turn Skornicki made to get into second place behind Joe was brilliant. It was the best meeting I have seen for a long, long time.”
The Aces bring in Bolton-based Lee Smethills, who rides for Premier League Glasgow, to replace Wright on Friday.
Team boss Eric Boocock said: “Of all the riders who are available on Friday, Lee is by far the best. He's a local rider who used to ride here.”
The start of the meeting has been put back to 8-0 to avoid a traffic clash with the Manchester City soccer match. Stoke's Ben Barker will come in for Monday's return fixture at Wolverhampton which begins at 7-0.
Monday's scorers:
BELLE VUE: K Doolan 13, J Screen 12, J Parsons 9, K Laukkanen 7, R Fisher 5, A Skornicki 4
EASTBOURNE: D Norris 13, N Pedersen 10, D Barker 9, M Lemon 5, L Bridger 4, C Woodward 2.
Friday's teams:
BELLE VUE: S Stead or guest, R Fisher, J Screen, A Skornicki, K Laukkanen, K Doolan, L Smethills.
WOLVERHAMPTON: P Karlsson, D Howe, B Hamill, M Karlsson, F Lindgren, C Wilkinson, T Pijper.
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