SIMON Stead, Belle Vue's starman, escaped serious injury in a frightening first-race crash at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday night but it was enough to put him out of the meeting.

He was sent flying over the safety fence and landed heavily on the greyhound track after a collision with Eastbourne's Danish ace Nicki Pedersen.

Stead received lengthy medical attention before walking back to the pits and while there were no broken bones, he was badly shaken, had a cut under an eye and was unable to continue.

Pedersen was excluded from the rerun of the race although referee Margaret Vardy said it was purely a racing accident.

Outstanding

The outlook was grim for the Aces, sponsored by Channel M, as they had already lost James Wright - he will be out for a fortnight after being left battered and bruised following a fall at Workington on Saturday.

But they battled to an outstanding win with Australian Kevin Doolan starring in a great display which earned the whole side a rich plaudit from their 1976 World Champion Peter Collins, who said: "That was the best meeting I have seen for a long, long time. Simon was injured but everyone chipped into a great performance."

Doolan replaced Stead in the rerun of Heat One and won it in style, a feat he repeated in the next as the Aces took a 7-5 lead.

Eastbourne pulled level in the third but the Aces piled in maximums in the next two to open up an eight-point advantage and they just about stayed in control for the rest of the match.

What is your verdict on the peformance? Have your say.