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Fans get chance to beat world champion rider

3/10/2008

BELLE Vue fans will be able to see if they are as fast out of the starting gate as the club’s double world champion Jason Crump next month.

Aces have taken a stand at the three-day BT Heroes of Sport Exhibition which will be held at Manchester Central, formerly G Mex, from Friday 24 October.

This is a community event aimed at everyone, whether they are a professional sports person, semi-professional, a keen amateur or an enthusiast.

Heroes and celebrities from a range of sports will be at the show to share their experiences while helping to inspire and encourage the next generation of budding sports stars and supporters.

The Belle Vue management see it as a great opportunity to spread the word about the club in particular, and speedway in general, as it is expected the exhibition will attract some 60,000 visitors over the three days.

Aces’ stand will feature a bike and other speedway gear as well as pictures and videos. Members of the team and the promotion will be in attendance during the three days.

But the big attraction for many will be a simulator which times reactions when the tapes go up at the starting gate.

Aces’ promoter David Gordon said: "We will ask Jason Crump to have a go and then post his time so people can see if they can beat it. It will be a lot of fun as well as giving people a bit of an insight as to what happens at the start of a race.

"We will have more details in due course about what we will be doing on our stand. There will be something for everyone, whether they are already speedway fans or new to the sport.

"We will post further information on the websites as it becomes available."

Kelly Griffiths, the Exhibition Manager, said: "This is the UK’s only major whole sports exhibition. We hope to inspire existing sports people to new heights and motivate people from all walks of life to get involved."

Tickets are priced at £12 for adults and £9.50 for children. They are available by visiting

www.menmedia.co.uk/boxoffice or by calling 0844 847 1554.

Meanwhile, the Aces will ride their postponed final Elite League match of the season against Coventry at Kirkmanshulme Lane next Monday, 7-45pm.

It is a match they have to win if they are to avoid the relegation play-off against Wolverhampton.

The pressure will be on Crump to lead from the front against a resurgent Coventry side, and he will have another big night two days later when seven Grand Prix stars will do battle in the Elite League Riders’ Championship in Birmingham.

The meeting, re-arranged after the washout of the original staging in August, is sure to pull in a bumper crowd at the Perry Barr venue, and Belle Vue’s Charlie Gjedde is also in the line-up.

The action starts at 7.30pm and re-admission tickets are valid from the washout on 21 August.

LINE-UP: Chris Holder (Poole), Jason Crump (Belle Vue), Freddie Lindgren (Wolverhampton), Leigh Adams (Swindon), Chris Harris (Coventry), Edward Kennett (Eastbourne), Piotr Swiderski (Ipswich), Kenneth Bjerre (Peterborough), Charlie Gjedde (Belle Vue), Jurica Pavlic (Swindon), Leigh Lanham (Lakeside), Bjarne Pedersen (Poole), Danny King (Peterborough), Rory Schlein (Ipswich), Hans Andersen (Coventry), Niels Kristian Iversen (Wolverhampton).