IT was celebrations all round at Blunsdon last night following Swindon’s 56-39 Elite League victory over the Belle Vue Aces.

The Robins’ 60th anniversary, Leigh Adams’ 500th meeting for the team, and boss Alun Rossiter’s 44th birthday were cause for cheer on their own.

But another three points – at the expense of struggling Belle Vue – banished any remaining dark clouds over the rain-soaked Abbey Stadium, and add to that Wolverhampton’s defeat at Peterborough, and it meant Robins extend their lead at the Elite League summit to four points.

“It looked like it could have been off at one stage, but a lot of people put in a lot of effort and work, we battled through it and got the win,” said birthday boy Rossiter.

“The attitude and the dedication of the riders in those conditions was spot on.

“There wasn’t one moan or anyone saying they didn’t fancy riding – people were determined to get on with it and pick up a good result, which we got. And the pleasing thing is that we were strong all the way through.

“It’s a great birthday present and hopefully we can just keep on going. We had that slip up against Lakeside but we’ve got to keep focussed. The goal is top spot now.”

The Abbey Stadium track staff should take huge credit for getting a meeting on which, at one point, looked dead and buried.

A huge deluge of rain seemed to have put paid to the evening’s entertainment, but after an hour’s work on the shale the track was finally passed fit.

Adams, on his milestone 500th appearance for the Robins, wasted little time in getting to grips with the tricky surface, storming to an opening heat win with his Belle Vue opponents trailing well behind.

He was followed by wins for Ryan Fisher and Simon Stead in the early heats but Swindon were unable to gain any advantage until heat four when Fisher and Matej Zagar gated superbly to hand the hosts a lead they would never surrender.

A couple of heat maximums led Robins to a 12-point lead going into number eight, so Belle Vue pulled out their tactical ride which worked to great effect.

Former Swindon rider James Wright donned the black and white helmet to romp home and give the Aces a 6-3 advantage, closing the gap to nine points After three consecutive personal wins, Stead suffered his first defeat of the night in heat 12, as Patrick Hougaard pipped him to the flag.

But a commanding heat 13 from the Robins sealed the victory on the night as Adams and Zagar roared home to a 5-1 – the latter producing an impressive move to fly wide around the first bend and take an early lead.

Belle Vue tried to salvage a point from the meeting as they put Morten Risager in the black and white helmet for heat 14.

However, he was held off by the returning Jurica Pavlic, as the young Croatian produced a timely reminder of his undoubted potential in front of a Stead and Adams wrapped up proceedings with a comfortable maximum in the final heat as Swindon moved clear at the top o the Elite League and edge one step closer to that elusive title.

n SWINDON Robins’ Elite League trip to Lakeside Hammers tonight is OFF, after an agreement between both clubs.

Alun Rossiter’s men, beaten three times by the Essex side during the course of June and July, were due to contest a meeting at Purfleet at 8pm .

But, as our website www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk revealed last night, an approach from the Swindon management, who have Leigh Adams and Jurica Pavlic caught up in a fixture clash with their Polish teams, to postpone the meeting was successful, Lakeside also taking into account the poor weather forecast.

The meeting is now expected to take place on Friday, August 7.