Speedway and Motorsport

After a spat of rain offs and abandonments, this was the first full action at the Oak Tree Arena since their KO Cup match in early May, and the riders treated the fans to fifteen heats of committed racing that is often lacking from fixtures such as this.

The visitors had a strong look about them, especially at the top end of the team, and this was proved when Craig Boyce and Jason Doyle combined to score an opening 5-1 for the opposition, a rare occurrence at the Oak Tree Arena!

The class of the two Poole riders was evident to see as they both rattled off largely untroubled paid maximums, scoring half of the visitor’s points between them.

The scores were levelled a heat later as the more experienced Somerset pairing redressed the balance setting the home side on their way to opening a four point lead after the initial four heats.

Bunyan’s breathtaking third to first swoop around Tom Headley and Danny Warwick in heat four being typical of the commitment put in by the riders.

However, as soon as the Rebels thought they had established a foothold in the match, in came the Boyce/Doyle partnership to bring the Sharp Select team right back into the meeting.

In heat 5, to bring the scores level and again in heat 11 to bring the visitors back to within two points of the Rebels, the home riders eked out a 6 point advantage, thanks in no smart part to the impressive Emil Kramer who rattled off four wins out of his six rides.

A Boyce/Hedley 5-1 in heat 13 took the Select side into a two-point lead with just two races to go, and things were looking a bit grim for the Rebels, but they hit back a race later courtesy of a maximum heat win of their own from skipper for the night, Simon Walker, and Jordan Frampton, who showed a welcome return to the saddle after injury.

This set up a last heat decider, and whilst Boyce was an obvious choice for the Sharp Select, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the unbeaten Doyle overlooked in favour of Hedley, although it must be said that the Newport rider had shown some good form throughout the evening.

With Boyce making yet another gate and Hedley in second place, it looked as if the visitors had done enough to snatch a victory, but Bunyan [guesting for Magnus Zetterstrom] found a way past the young Aussie, which caused him to make a small mistake coming off the fourth bend, allowing Kramer through into third place, ensuring the Rebels a two point winning margin.