Speedway and Motorsport

This was speedway at its very best with 15 heats of pulsating racing at the end of which Somerset’s nerve held to thwart an Islanders comeback and take a victory that keeps them in the hunt for a play off place.

In the lead up to this match, many Somerset fans were fearing the worst, especially with no Zetterstrom in the line up and those fears seemed to be well founded as Chris Holder stormed to a first heat win over guest Tai Woffinden and with Gathercole holding off a determined challenge from Simon Walker for third, the Islanders took the early lead.

A comfortable maximum heat win in the reserves race, however, settled some of those anxieties and it was to be the Somerset reserve pairing of Frampton and Warwick that were to prove to be Somerset’s match winners as the meeting unfolded.

Tai Woffinden was a Rebels guest rider

The Rebels maintained their two point advantage coming into heat 5, when the visitors hit back with a maximum heat win of their own courtesy of Holder and Gathercole over the unusually subdued Kramer and Katt.

Somerset then stretched their lead to eight points as the meeting entered its final third.

Although the Islanders pulled back two points with Holder taking his third win on his way to an untroubled maximum and Gathercole never giving up on a point, coming from what seemed like miles back to pip Hawkins on the line, the Rebels looked comfortable being six points to the good with just three heats left.

Heat 13 turned comfort into nail-biting as suddenly the Islanders were right back in it. Holder won the heat with ease but behind him Woffinden suffered a puncture on the final lap to hand second place to Stojanowski and what had been an eight point advantage two heats earlier was now down to a mere two points.

Just two points up with two heats to go and the prospect of Holder and Bunyan lining up in the final heat, Somerset needed something special if they were to save their play-off ambitions. It came in the form of Frampton and Katt.

Frampton, who had been showing great speed and tactical awareness all night, sped into the lead, closely followed by his partner Katt. Putting a run of recent disappointing performances behind him, Katt just kept the power turned on and even though Phillips did manage to get past the German on the third lap, Katt blasted back round the outside to take second place behind Frampton and seal the victory for the Rebels.

Somerset were indebted to the form of Frampton and Warwick who scored a paid 23 points between them for this victory, showing just how valuable the reserve riders can be to a team and can now look forward to the return of Zetterstrom as they enter the home straight as far as play-off qualification is concerned.