Belle Vue 51, Oxford Cheetahs 39

OXFORD Cheetahs, without their influential No 1 Jason Crump, lost any chance of making the Elite League play-offs, when they were unable to contain second-placed Belle Vue last night, writes LEON HILL.

Things started well enough, when guest Mark Lemon and Steve Johnston shared heat one against a battling Niklas Klinberg.

In heat two, Jan Staechmann completely missed the start, while Paul Hurry did so in the next. However, the match was still all square after four.

But in the next, Aces scored their first 5-1 of the night and they were on their way.

Heat eight saw an Aces 4-2 with Cheetahs now six points behind. Two more shared heats followed and then the Aces really started to hit with two consecutive 4-2 scorelines.

It saw the Cheetahs ten points behind after ten heats.

There was no tactical substitute in heat 11, although it didn't matter as Jason Lyons threw a chain on the second lap and went hurtling into the fence.

In the re-run Oxford easily picked up their only heat advantage of the night.

It meant that the gap was narrowed to six points but, with Paul Hurry suffering an engine failure in heat 13, the Aces sewed up their victory. Belle Vue: J Screen 17+1, NKlinberg 3+1, R Correy 14+1, J Lyons 10, S Wilson 1, S Tesar 6.

Oxford: M Lemon 5+1, S Johnston 6+2, T Wiltshire 8+3, P Hurry 8, S Schofield 1+1, J Staechmann 11+1.

HEAT DETAILS

Heat 1: Screen, Lemon, Johnston, Klinberg 61.9 secs. Heat 2: Tesar, Staechmann, Schofield, Wilson 62.7. Heat 3: Wiltshire, Correy, Klinberg, Lemon 62.2. Heat 4: Lyons, Hurry, Staechmann, Tesar (ef) 60.9. Heat 5: Screen, Correy, Johnston, Lemon 61.7. Heat 6: Screen, Hurry, Klinberg, Schofield 61.4. Heat 7: Lyons, Staechmann, Wiltshire, Wilson 61.7. Heat 8: Tesar, Staechmann, Johnston, Klinberg 61.8. Heat 9: Correy, Hurry, Lyons, Schofield 61.4. Heat 10: Screen, Hurry, Klinberg, Wiltshire 62.3. Heat 11: Johnston, Lemon, Wilson, Lyons (f-ex) 62. Heat 12: Correy, Staechmann, Wiltshire, Tesar 61.5. Heat 13: Lyons, Screen, Lemon, Hurry (ef) 61.7. Heat 14: Correy, Staechmann, Wiltshire, Wilson 61.5. Heat 15: Screen, Wiltshire, Correy, Johnston 62.4. OXFORD Cheetahs' star Jason Crump overcame a dislocated shoulder on the way to automatic qualification in the final round of the Grand Prix series in Poland.

The Aussie was involved in a crash with '96 champion Billy Hamill, in the third heat, which left the American with a broken vertebrae.

It meant the end of the meeting for Hamill who also lost out on the final qualifying place with Crump as both tied on 62 points. There would have been a run-off had Hamill been present.

Sweden's Tony Rickardsson confirmed his position as world champion, GOOD START: Steve Johnston helped Cheetahs to share first heat

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