The Rebels started in excellent fashion when skipper Magnus Zetterstrom blitzed around the huge Derwent Park circuit, to take the fastest time of the season so far, 64.8 seconds. At the conclusion of the reserves' heat, the scores were level again. The situation remained unchanged as the Rebels took heat wins in heats three, four and five. The first half of the match ended with the Comets taking a lead of four points, after a maximum heat advantage in heat eight. This was the start of a good spell for the Comets, which saw them take four heat advantages in a row, and pull out a 10-point lead by heat 11. As well as Allott, they had wins by Shaun Tacey, Carl Stonehewer, and James Wright, the last of which saw the only blemish on the card of Rebels skipper, Magnus Zetterstrom. Heat advantages Mick Bell asked Ritchie Hawkins to take the tactical ride in heat 12 - how he answered the call was a joy to behold. Up against Shaun Tacey, Hawkins made a reasonable start, but the Norwich-born racer pulled out a lead by the second turn. Hawkins set off in pursuit. At the third corner, he was really travelling, and swept out wide on the run to the last bend. He then executed a superb cut back inside Tacey to take the lead, and pull away to win. In the meantime, Lee Smart accounted for Lee Derbyshire in third for a Rebels 7-2 advantage, which pulled the deficit back to five points, with three heats left. Two more Rebels 4-2 heat advantages in heats 13 and 14, with wins from Zetterstrom and Paul Fry, brought the scores to within one point, with only the nominated heat 15 to go. The heat proved to be controversial, with three attempts to start it, and the loss for the Comets of James Wright. A controversial heat The first attempt was brought back after Wright had got a flyer under the tapes. In the re-run, he made a good start alongside Zetterstrom, and squeezed him up hard on the run to the first bend. Zetterstrom held his line as the bend approached, as Wright tried to push him onto the grass. They came down, and Wright's bike collected Stonehewer, sending him to the fence, where he was down for several minutes. Wright sustained an injury to his elbow, and Aiden Collins took his place, after the referee put all four riders back in. The third running of the heat got underway amid angry scenes, with the crowd berating the referee, and Zetterstrom. Carl Stonehewer rode a superbly unselfish race. After shutting out Glenn Cunningham at the first bend, he protected Aiden Collins by continuing to deny Cunningham a passing opportunity. In all, it was a fantastic team performance, in which every member of the team contributed when required. On any other night, it would have resulted in a win, but on this occasion left them on the wrong end of a 47-46 score line. | 
