Sheffield speedway: David Bellego shows his class as tapes go up

Bellego, widely regarded as one of the sport’s nice guys, got ruthless in the latter stages of Sheffield’s first meeting of a new era of Sunday afternoon racing.

He carded 10-points in the qualifying heats in front of a bumper crowd but failed to make the cut for automatic qualification for the Grand Final.

Instead the Ipswich racer, who specialises in big track performances, needed a last chance race-off win over Ryan Douglas, Sheffield’s Ty Proctor and Great Britain international Stevie Worrall.

He said: “I’m delighted, I thought I had let the opportunity go at one stage but to pull through and win a meeting like that was great.

“I changed the set-up, thankfully I managed to make a good start in the final and to beat the Sheffield boys around here was great.”

New Tigers signing Danny King, who finished third, said: “It would have been nice to have won on the opening day, it was a challenge and I’m disappointed.

“The Sheffield boys helped each other out and we blew off the cobwebs which was great, we’ll be ready when the real stuff starts.

“The track was a little bit slicker than it was on Wednesday for the press and practice but if it’s like that again I’ll be ready for it and I know what to do. It’s a shame the racing wasn’t a bit better, but it was all about track time and making sure we can be ready for next Sunday against Scunthorpe.”

Tigers newcomer Zaine Kennedy impressed with eight on his debut professional appearance at Owlerton. Broc Nicol notched a steady seven, Kyle Howarth was a point behind, Kasper Andersen scored five and teenager Drew Kemp scored one on a tough afternoon.

Sheffield boss Simon Stead said: “It’s been a good workout and thanks to all the fans who came along for the opening meeting of the season.

“Now we need to focus on the team side of the sport and we need to be ready for next Sunday.”

, we want to be competitive in every competition and we are looking for a great start against Scunthorpe.

“I was pleased the boys were helping each other on set-ups and areas of the track which are best to attack, that will benefit us in the weeks ahead.

“I was encouraged by the performance of Zaine Kennedy, it was a big day for him and hopefully he will feel more relaxed and comfortable ahead of next week. I’m happy.”