RYAN Fisher, Belle Vue's new American signing, is in a desperate race even before the season starts.

The 23-year-old Californian had to make an early exit from Wednesday's practice day at Kirkmanshulme Lane after blowing both his engines.

He made an early return to his base in the West Midlands to sort out his problems but is on a tight deadline as the Aces, sponsored by Channel M, open their campaign with a challenge match at Oxford tonight.

Captain Joe Screen is ready to step in with the offer of one of his engines but Fisher, who had problems in a private practice at Scunthorpe last week, needs to have his own motors up and running, especially in time for Monday's opening home meeting, the Peter Craven Memorial Trophy.

Screen said: "Ryan has had a few problems since he arrived but I saw him practising at Wolverhampton on Monday, when his motors were right, and he was flying."

Fisher will be at No 2 tonight in a pairing with top man Simon Stead.

Co-promoter Chris Morton said: "We have made the pairings which we will think will work best. The Oxford match is a good chance for us to see how they work and, of course, we can change them if necessary before we start our Elite League programme."

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