Swindon 57 Belle Vue 35 

The Robins get back to winning ways

 
Swindon returned to winning ways in emphatic style as they comfortably dispatched Manchester’s Belle Vue Aces on a night of incident-packed Blunsdon action.

 
Ronnie Russell’s side took the lead in race three and generated a twelve-point lead after the conclusion of race six.

 

Two successive Belle Vue heat advantages in heats seven and eight reduced Swindon’s cushion to six points but the Robins performed strongly in the final third of the encounter and romped to an eventual twenty-two point margin of victory.

 

 
The Robins produced a solid all-round team performance and we’re able to successfully cover the absence of Polish youngster Grzegorz Zengota.

 
Indeed, the contributions of Danish duo Mads Korneliussen and Morten Risager were particularly well received by the Robins’ faithful. The combined paid nineteen-point haul from the middle order pairing underpinned Swindon’s victory and the workmanlike contributions from Korneliussen and Risager added significant potency to the Robins’ attack.

 

 
Australian stalwart Leigh Adams weighed in with a characteristically well acquired paid thirteen point score, whilst fellow heat-leader Simon Stead amassed an identical figure. Yet again, Stead rode with great tenacity, bundles of speed and an infectious on-track style.

 
Elsewhere, Thomas H. Jonasson was a deserving recipient of the Swindon Man of the Match Award. The talented Swedish youngster wasted little time re-kindling his liking for the Blunsdon race-strip and roared to a terrific double-figure score.

 

Fellow reserve Jordan Frampton started the meeting slowly but displayed enhanced speed in the latter stages and notched a four point haul. Indeed, Frampton registered a memorable heat 11 race win over Danish International Hans Andersen.

 
The visiting side were well served by experienced reserve Leigh Lanham who carded paid nine. However, no visiting rider was unable to register a double-figure tally and the Aces provided just two race winners. The challenge from Belle Vue’s powerful heat-leader duo of Hans Andersen and Peter Karlsson never materialised and Swindon were able to repel the Aces’ advances.

 

 

A heat one points share got proceedings underway as Robins’ captain Leigh Adams romped to a comfortable tapes-to-flag victory. An identical result ensued in the heat two as Thomas H. Jonasson showed good speed to outpace the Belle Vue pairing. Further back, opposition reserve Joshn Grajczonek squeezed underneath Jordan Frampton in the latter stages.

 
A re-run heat three saw Swindon take the meeting lead as Morten Risager rode a textbook first corner to swoop around the chasing pack. Meanwhile, Mads Korneliussen passed Tobias Kroner in the early stages to gain third spot.

 
The Robins moved four points ahead with a second successive 4-2 in race four, before a 5-1 from the rejuvenated pairing of Mads Korneliussen and Morten Risager in heat five shuffled Swindon into an eight point lead.

 
Adams and Jonasson combined for a textbook 5-1 in the sixth, before Belle Vue manager Chris Morton nominated Patrick Hougaard for a tactical ride in race seven, with the resultant 3-5 cutting Swindon’s lead to ten points. The visiting septet notched a 5-1 in heat eight as Swindon’s lead fell to six points.

 

 
However, Ronnie Russell’s side finished the meeting in fine style. Leigh Adams and Thomas H. Jonasson registered a 5-1 in race ten, before four successive Swindon 4-2 heat advantages ensued.

 
A fantastically acquired heat fifteen 5-1 from Stead and Adams concluded the meeting on a real high. The eventual twenty-two point margin of victory was well deserved and the Elite points gained moves Swindon to sixth spot in the Sky Sports Elite League standings.

"What a difference a week makes," commented Swindon team-manager Ronnie Russell, "the victory has lifted the team, the fans and it’s certainly lifted me.

"I had a long discussion with the team before the meeting got underway. Riders were panicking about their jobs and I said to them if they channel more effort into the job they’ve currently got, rather than worrying about the one they might lose, then they will do better.
"One swallow doesn’t make a summer and the riders who have been under fire previously now have to keep on showing me what they are capable of.

The performance of Thomas H. Jonasson demonstrated just how much we missed him. Obviously we knew it would be hard without Thomas, but we never realised what a dramatic loss it would be. Thomas rode brilliantly this evening, he’s a blood and guts rider who just keeps having a go."

 

photos by Ian Lewis