In a match that both teams needed to gain points towards a top 4 elite league placing the Coventry Bees took to the track against the Belle Vue Aces this evening, with enforced changes due to injury and the resignation of Edward Kennett.
In place of Emil Sayfutinov the Bees had booked Poole's Davey Watt whilst reserve Nick Morris was a late withdrawal. Josh Auty was to step in but a broken clutch on his van stranded him on the motorway so, with rider replacement for the absent Eddie kennett, the Bees where reliant on 5 riders which included debutant Piotr Pawlicki, 16 year old brother of Shamek Pawlicki.
The Aces also carried rider replacement for the missing Patrick Hougaard but with a team sheet containing 4 Bees riders in Chris Harris, Rory Schlein, Morten Risager and Jordan Frampton the odds were stacked against the Bees from the outset.
A heat 1 5-1 to the Bees gave the home crowd some hope, as did a superb debut ride for Piotr Pawlicki in heat 2 to take the heat win and maintain the early 4 pointg gap.
However the Aces took control in the middle of the meeting with three 5-1 maximums between heats 4 to 7 which gave them a lead by 6 points at 18-24.
Heat 8 saw the Bees peg the match back to a 4 point deficit before a quite superb heat 9 race with the Pawlicki brothers leading the way ahead of Schlein who was never too far away. Going into the last lap sadly for Coventry Piotr Pawlicki lost it and sped into the air fence as Schlein took advantage by nipping past Shamek into the lead, turning a Bees 5-1 into a 4-2 for the Aces.
Heat 10 had the Bees showing that they would keep on battling with a 5-1 but the Aces took control with Harris and Schlein taking part in all but one of the final 5 heats.
Victory for the Aces was sealed after heat 14 holding an 8 point lead, but the Bees could limit the damage if they could score heat advantage as an elite league away win by 6 points or less gains 3 points, whereas an away win of 7 or more nets 4 league points.
Heat 15 had to be started 3 times, the first when Kenny Larsen and Chris Harris tangled at the first corner, and then in the re-run the same riders tangled at turn 4 with Larsen falling. The referee adjudged Harris to be the cause of the stoppage.
in the re-run Shamek Pawlicki gated and exited the first corner ahead of Schlein but sadly for the Bees, picked up drive and pulled a wheelie, losing momentum which allowed Schlein into the lead. Pawlicki then set about chasing down Schlein and the finish to the race needed the referee to look at the replays a number of times before deciding that Schlein had just edged the win on the night by 49 points to 41, and all 4 elite league points were taken back to Manchester.
The Bees scorers on the night were:-