BEES boss Gary Havelock praised the spirit of his team after watching them produce another incredible late comeback to snatch a 46-44 win over local rivals Birmingham Brummies.
Trailing by eight points at Brandon on Friday with three heats to go and having been behind all evening, the Bees looked set to go down to a third home defeat of the season.
But some big performances in the closing races enabled the hosts to turn the match dramatically in their favour.
Skipper Chris Harris’s decision to miss Czech Grand Prix practice and ride for the Bees was fully justified as he was unbeaten in the last four of his five rides.
And it was Harris who combined with Hans Andersen for the crucial 5-1 in Heat 15 as they teamed up to squeeze out the Brummies’ impressive Daniel Nermark on the first turn with Andersen then having to fend off the Swede’s strong challenge into turn three.
Harris had earlier supplied a moment of magic on a circuit which was clearly in its best condition all season, and produced times much faster than in previous weeks.
The Bees captain made up enormous ground on Nico Covatti in Heat 11 before surging around the outside in trademark fashion for a brilliant win.
“We certainly didn’t panic at any stage but we aren’t making things easy for ourselves, and I think this result showed the fight and the spirit in this team.” said Havelock.
“Last season we would have lost that match, but tonight the boys kept fighting and battling for every point. Lewis Blackbird was very impressive, and that was a real captain’s performance from Chris – he and Hans really did it for us in that last race.
“It’s a meeting we should have got three points from but at the end of the day we got out of jail free with the win. The track was much better, much more how we like it, and now we need to get the gates more even and that will be sorted.”