Belle Vue are through to their third top-flight Grand Final in four years and Workington’s young Finnish star Antti Vuolas had a major part to play.
The Aces got the better of rivals Sheffield in a tense semi-final after defending their 12 point lead from the first leg at Owlerton last night.
Vuolas won the reserves race then held his nerve to take second place in the penultimate race to seal the Aces’ progression.
He had five rides on the night and collected seven points which were crucial in the Aces’ 91-89 aggregate win over the defending champions.
Vuolas had reached the final of the Riders Championship at Redcar on Sunday, and then scored five and two bonus points at Belle Vue on Monday where the Aces ground out a 51-39 victory.
In the second leg last night the aggregate gap never fell below six points until they became mathematically uncatchable.
However, their victory was marred by a heavy crash for Ben Cook in Heat 10, with the Australian rider taken to hospital.
Kurtz and west Cumbrian star Dan Bewley both scored ten points for the Aces whilst Harris (12+1) and Josh Pickering (11) led the way for the Tigers.
Aces manager Mark Lemon said: “The rivalry between us is huge, and the boys really dug deep to come out on top.
“We knew how tough Sheffield are, they’ve been superb all year and credit to them, and it’s harsh that someone has to lose and their season is over.
“But we can fight another day and take on Leicester, and we look forward to that challenge, although my thoughts are with Ben, I hope he’s good. None of us want to see an accident like that.”
The Aces will host the first leg of the Grand Final against Leicester on Monday, September 23, with the return in the East Midlands on Thursday September 26.
