FOLLOWING two defeats the previous week, there was an air of gloom on the terraces at Blunsdon as the Swindon Robins welcomed unbeaten Belle Vue Aces to the Abbey Stadium last Thursday.

The mood proved unjustified as the Robins led 10-2 after two races and Belle Vue were never really in it.

The crowd found its voice again when Justin Sedgmen and Rohan Tungate, now at reserve in place of Charles Wright, took a surprising 5-1 win in heat five over the talented Australian Max Fricke and former Robin Steve Worrall.

From then on it was plain sailing as the Aces were generally disappointing and were flattered by the final 51-40 score.

Nine points in the last two heats gave the Manchester side a measure of respectability they did not deserve.

Robins captain Jason Doyle had four wins before Matej Zagar headed him in heat 15 while under pressure Tungate and Sedgmen both raced to 9 +1 points.

Josh Grajczonek had two wins in his nine points and Nick Morris will never have worked harder for his seven points. A win over Aces captain Scott Nicholls was followed by a third place immediately behind the same rider in race seven as the seven-times British champion pushed Morris off his line going through turn four on lap one.

In his third race Morris overhauled Zagar but Fricke was by then well away for his only heat win of the night.

Spare a thought for Wright whose early-season form saw him move out of the reserve spot and into the tricky third heat leader role. His solitary point showed what a tough ask this is.

Meanwhile Stefan Neilsen, after a paid heat two win, had three falls and was lucky not to suffer serious injuries when he inadvertently brought Grajczonek down in heat eight. Fortunately the Queenslander got up to take the win in the rerun.

The home riders, unhappy about the track after the Wolverhampton defeat, must have felt better after a lot of work had been done to deliver a surface that was to their liking.

Robins manager Alun Rossiter said: “It was the right response from the team. We had a few words before the meeting, nothing serious, but it seemed to work well.

“Getting a 5-1 in the first race put us on the front foot, and we knew they would come back at us but the boys dug in deep and it was a great performance.”

The following night’s match at Lakeside was called off quite early due to rain and the side's next meeting is at Coventry on May 2, followed three days later by Lakeside’s visit to the Abbey.

On Saturday the speedway world championship starts with the Slovenian Grand Prix in Krsko.

Jason Doyle will be keen to build on his excellent if somewhat surprising fifth place in 2015.

Brit Tai Woffinden hopes to retain the title and, if he does, will become the first home rider to be world champion three times.

Poole Pirates have released Davey Watt and brought back Bjarne Pedersen.

As a number of Elite League sides are struggling, could this set up a series of rider moves that could involve Swindon?