After the Rebels' initial success in heat one, Newport raced to four 5-1 heat wins in the next seven heats. Heat three saw Paul Fry quickly away from the gate, passing both Newport riders coming off the second bend. He led for the next two laps before track conditions caught him out. He was passed firstly by Korneliussen off the last bend on lap three, and then Collins squeezed past in the same place the next time round. The search for extra points By heat seven, the Wasps had pulled out a 10-point lead (26-16). Mick Bell went in search of extra points, by sending out Jamie Smith on a tactical ride. As the tapes rose, it looked like the ploy may pay dividends, as Smith made a good start alongside Newport's Lund. At the first bend, Lund moved off the line, squeezing Smith for room. As Smith leaned in hard looking for space, he picked up some unexpected grip. The bike straightened and high-sided him, sending him crashing to the ground between the bike and the safety fence. He was down on the track for a few minutes, and looked decidedly uncomfortable after regaining his feet. It was his last action of the day, as he withdrew from his last ride. He left the track shortly afterwards, suffering some discomfort to his ribs. Paul Fry comes good In the next heat, it was Glenn Cunningham wearing the black and white helmet. A fast start from the Newport pairing of Korneliussen and Collins saw him relegated to third place, picking up only two points. With a 5-2 in this heat, and the next three heats 4-2 in their favour, the Wasps cruised to an easy win by heat 12. Heat 13 saw the clash of the two top riders, Zetterstrom and Watson. A good first and second bend saw Zetterstrom hold off his Newport counterpart to take a well deserved win. Glenn Cunningham put in a spirited challenge off the last turn, but just failed to snatch third place. After suffering an awful day by his standards, Paul Fry finally came good in heat 14, when a fast start saw him comfortably hold off last season's Rebel, Neil Collins. A close encounter The final heat of the night was more notable for a close encounter of the wrong kind, rather than any tight race action. What should have been another intriguing clash between the two captains was marred by a really nasty crash, involving Watson and his team mate Korneliussen. After another fast start by Zetterstrom, Watson, off gate one, stayed low. Coming out of the second bend, he picked up a huge amount of grip which propelled his machine straight up into the air, dumping the Aussie onto the track. Korneliussen avoided the stricken Watson, but was collected by the flying bike. It looked a particularly nasty accident, and the ambulance was called to the track. After several minutes of attention from the medical crew, he eventually regained his feet. He apparently suffered a cut to his face, and an injury to his left arm. With Watson excluded, and Korneliussen unable to take his place in the re-run, the two Rebels recorded a 5-1 heat win against the Newport reserve, Ezergailis. The final result saw the Somerset Rebels go down 55-36, but the real loser today was Speedway. | 
