COVENTRY moved into the top four of the Elite League with a hard-fought Sunday afternoon home win over Leicester.
It was an action-packed affair, with the Lions making a promising start with race wins from Simon Stead and Craig Cook, and Bees grateful for a 5-1 in Heat 2 after Josh Bates fell when in second place.
Skipper Chris Harris produced a magnificent ride in Heat 5 to surge inside Mads Korneliussen for second place after previously getting the better of Sam Masters, and that 5-1 with Hans Andersen helped Bees build a six-point lead.
Ben Barker maintained the margin with his second win of the day in Heat 7 thanks to a smart turn two move inside Stead and Korneliussen, and when Bates crashed out of Heat 9 chasing James Sarjeant, Bees were ten-up as guest reserve Kyle Newman gave an excellent display.
Korneliussen was sent out for a tactical ride in Heat 10 but Andersen took control for the Bees, with the visiting duo only just finishing in the correct order for a 5-3.
But then Barker came to grief spectacularly in the next race, Harris preventing further damage by winning the re-run, and the next race was also shared after Aaron Summers had taken a heavy first-bend fall.
Leicester’s guest at No.1, Joonas Kylmakorpi, had scored just one point but he was a surprise winner of Heat 13 from the favourable inside gate, and Bees were stunned by a 1-5 reverse in Heat 14 as Bates partnered Masters to maximum points over Kenneth Hansen and Sarjeant, sending the meeting into a last-heat decider.
Bees needed a 5-1 to clinch maximum points, and the Lions needed likewise to force a draw, and there were plenty of eyebrows raised when the visitors nominated Kylmakorpi alongside Cook.
And it was the Coventry top two who produced the goods as Andersen made the start from the inside and then superbly blocked the run of Kylmakorpi off turn two to allow Harris around the outside for the clinching 5-1.
BUILDBASE BEES 50: Hans Andersen 12+1, Kyle Newman 10, Chris Harris 9+2, Ben Barker 7, James Sarjeant 5+3, Aaron Summers 4+2, Kenneth Hansen 3+1. LEICESTER 42: Simon Stead 11, Mads Korneliussen 8+2, Sam Masters 8, Craig Cook 6+1, Joonas Kylmakorpi 5+1, Josh Bates 2+1, Max Clegg 2.