DAVID Bellego admits he was happy with his own personal performance despite Swindon Robins losing at the Abbey on Thursday ahead of tonight’s trip to Rye House Rockets in the Knock-out Cup first leg.

The Frenchman made the most of his home debut by scoring nine points in front of his new supporters against Belle Vue Aces.

“I am happy. I made some mistakes, but I got nine points and obviously that isn’t bad,” said the 23-year-old.

“It’s a shame that, as a team, we lost. A few of the boys had bad nights, Adam had a really bad night and of course he can score more than zero.

“We showed at home, without everyone scoring, that we could go close.”

“It was a bit tough for us but after the first week of the season, we are happy with what we’ve got.”

The Robins, however, will have to operate a rider-replacement at Rye House after Adam Ellis was diagnosed with a broken scaphoid following Thursday night’s defeat to Belle Vue.

Swindon team manager Alun Rossiter said: “Adam went to hospital after the meeting and normally it takes a while to get the X-ray results, but this time it was clear straightaway that there was a crack.

“Unfortunately, after the first crash when he flipped it, he went out on a bent frame for his final ride, and that’s when he came off again and suffered the injury.

“Potentially, that means he could be looking at over a month out, but we’ll be working with him to hopefully get him back as soon as possible.

“Under the rules this year, we can only use rider-replacement, and at least with Adam third in the averages, it does mean that both Nick (Morris) and David (Bellego) will be able to take one of his rides.

“We’re looking at the options for a short-term replacement but that’s not easy as we have to retain two British riders in the team at all times, and also some have Thursday as their home race-night in the Championship.”