Defending Elite League champions Coventry Bees got off to a losing start as Eastbourne Eagles clinched an away victory on Monday.
Nicholls leads Eagles to victory at Brandon
Defending Elite League champions Coventry Bees got off to a losing start as Eastbourne Eagles clinched an away victory in the first match of the season live on
Sky Sports.
Scott Nicholls, who joined Eastbourne after helping the Bees to the title last season, came back to haunt his old side with a starring role for the Eagles.
Nicholls out-scored his former team-mate Chris Harris (11+1), who could not prevent the champions falling to a 47-43 defeat in the curtain-raiser at Brandon.
Only a final heat fall prevented Nicholls from recording a maximum on his return, when he ironically crashed out trying to pass Harris.
Cameron Woodward (9+1), Lee Richardson (9) and Simon Gustafsson (7+1) all performed well for Eastbourne, while Simon Stead (9+1) and Olly Allen (8) could just not do enough for the hosts.
Australian Woodward won his first ever races at Brandon during the win, while, at just 17, youngster Gustafsson showed plenty of skill as the best reserve on the track despite suffering a horror crash when his chain went.
The win sends out a clear message that with Nicholls as number one rider and several top class back-ups, the Eagles will be a force this season.
Aces high
Belle Vue Aces secured a dramatic victory over the visiting Lakeside Hammers with a final-heat 5-1 maximum for the hosts earning them a thrilling win.
The two teams lined-up for Heat 15 locked together at 42-42, but Jason Crump and Charlie Gjedde came home first and second for the Aces.
The 5-1 in the final heat score for Belle Vue saw them emerge with the 47-43 victory on what was an eventful night of action.
Crump starred for Belle Vue with a 14-point ride, which included winning two late 5-1 heats in the last three that saw the Aces come from behind.
Gjedde scored 10+2 while Joe Screen added 10+1, the same score Lubos Tomicek managed as the top rider for the Hammers.
Poole Pirates fell apart in the closing stages of their 54-36 hammering against the Wolverhampton Wolves.
Freddie Lindgren hit a paid maximum (14+1) for Wolves, with David Howe adding 13 and Niels-Kristian Iversen contributing 10 in their comfortable 18-point victory.
Freddie Eriksson tried his best for a six-man Poole team with 12 points to his name, but the visitors' night was summed up by Karol Zabik who failed to even get around a full lap with mechanical problems forcing him out of his three heats.
