Severe thunderstorms and torrential rain had affected the area earlier in the day, and the track staff had worked miracles to produce an almost perfect track in time for the meeting to go ahead. The Diamonds had been in impressive form recently with wins against Workington, Exeter at home and Reading away, and were unbeaten in the league. The Rebels, coming off a great victory in last week's local derby against Exeter, were full of confidence, despite having to operate rider replacement for Paul Fry due to illness. They started the night the way they meant to go on, when skipper Magnus Zetterstrom powered his way to victory over his Diamonds' counterpart Phil Morris, in the fastest time of the night, 58.50 sec. The Rebels proceeded to produce a power-packed display, and despite three shared heats they were 10 points clear by Heat 8, at 29-19. Good wins came from the ever-more impressive Ritchie Hawkins in Heat 3, followed by a second to Jason King with an superb piece of team riding in Heat 5, Glenn Cunningham in Heats 4 and 8, and Skipper Magnus Zetterstrom in Heats 1 and 6. The only reverse came in Heat 8 when Jason King's engine stopped immediately after the start, and the Diamonds' pairing of Tomicek and Robertson flew away from the tapes to lead off the first bend. Jamie Smith plugged away and eventually caught Robertson at the start of lap two, and drove underneath him with a very robust move coming off the second bend. However, there were no hard feelings, as Robertson was the first to offer his hand to Smith on the wind-down lap. Tomicek won easily to record a 2-4 advantage for the Diamonds. The Rebels were now in full flow, and obviously in no mood to let things slip. They turned up the pressure in the second half of the meeting, eventually more than doubling their lead. More of the same followed from Ritchie Hawkins who recorded three more heat wins, including a superb ding-dong battle with James Grieves, which saw them both swap position several times before Hawkins prevailed. Hawkins went on to complete his first-ever paid maximum for the Rebels with 14+1 from five rides Skipper Magnus Zetterstrom was another on the maximum trail, with his 14+1 paid maximum, also his first for the Rebels. He completed it by taking two more heat wins in Heats 10 and 15, and a second to Glenn Cunningham in Heat 13. Cunningham also gave a magnificent display, with further wins in Heats 11 and 13, for 15+1 from six rides. George English tried to pull back some points by sending out Phil Morris in Heat 10 and Jamie Robertson in Heat 14 on tactical rides, but the move backfired with only Morris taking any points, with a second place behind Glenn Cunningham. Lee Smart thwarted Robertson's attempt to win some points with a gritty ride in Heat 14, when he cut inside the Northumbrian on the third bend, and held him off for all four laps to take third spot. On this form it's difficult to see how the Diamonds have remained unbeaten in the league. In general they were poor - only Phil Morris with eight points from five rides, including a tactical second place, and the very impressive Jamie Robertson, eight points from five rides, including a non-scoring tactical, provided any resistance. The Rebels produced powerful all-round display with the whole team contributing. They crushed the Diamonds, who were previously unbeaten in the league, 54-34. The team now seems to be unlocking the potential that everyone knew they had. If they can retain this level of performance and team spirit, who knows where they will end the season? No one could rule out a top eight finish. | 
