Walker captained the Rebels to victory despite engine trouble (Mike Manning)

Somerset Rebels kept their unbeaten run going in this season's Premier Trophy, but were made to fight all the way by a very determined Isle of Wight outfit.

Jason Doyle top-scored for the Rebels with 14 points, and would have made it five wins out of five in the final race but for a fine ride by Jason Bunyan.

Emil Kramer and Jordan Frampton also starred for the home side.

Rebels captain Simon Walker said: "The Isle of Wight made it difficult, but I didn't expect anything different."

At the end of the day we won which is the most important thing Somerset captain Simon Walker

"Both Brent [Werner] and myself suffered from engine problems that restricted our scoring, but at the end of the day we won which is the most important thing," he added

Two maximum heat wins in the opening seven heats gave the Rebels the foundation for their victory, the second of these producing the race of the night with Jordan Frampton making light of a bad start to swoop from last to join team-mate Brent Werner up front in the space of the opening two laps.

Ten points behind, the Islanders immediately introduced the tactical ride, Cory Gathercole donning the black and white colours, and although he duly won the heat, the move was only moderately successful as Somerset's Stephan Katt and Frampton kept James Holder at the back.

The Rebels did enough to keep the Islanders at bay in the rest of the meeting, two maximum heat wins in the last four heats assuring them of victory.

The only real disappointment for the home side came in the final heat as the Islanders' Jason Bunyan denied Jason Doyle his second successive home maximum by riding a classic race to thwart every move the Somerset number one could throw at him.

Overall, the Rebels had too much all-round strength for the visitors, who relied too heavily on Bunyan and Gathercole, and stay top of their Premier Trophy group for a possible group decider against Reading on Friday.