WOLVERHAMPTON 55 PIRATES 35

Wolverhampton head to Dorset on Wednesday night as the only Elite league club still with a 100% record after their 20 point mauling over a Poole side that relied far too heavily on skipper Hans Andersen.

The Pirates, who lost the services of Adam Ellis through injury towards the latter stages, repeatedly failed to conquer the first bend of the Monmore Green circuit, all too frequently allowing decent starts to go begging.

With Chris Holder and Bjarne Pedersen both having nights to forget - recording five last places between them, the Pirates were grateful for Andersen's 13 point haul, the Dane only being beaten by Freddie Lindgren during the course of the meeting.

The Poole skipper did however avenge for the two defeats his counterpart inflicted with a determined outside blast to share the spoils in the final heat.
Krzysztof Buczkowski opened with a fine win for the Pirates but then took a fall in his second outing which appeared to sap his confidence.

Until that incident Poole were keeping in touch with their hosts but the rerun delivered the home side another 5-1, somewhat fortuitously as a costly engine failure for sole Pirate Brady Kurtz allowed Max Clegg to come through for a paid win as Kurtz nursed his sick motor over the line.

The Australian champion, riding out of the reserves berth for the first time for the Pirates began to master the track and finished with a deserved heat 12 win, a race in which stand-in Lewis Kerr, covering for the ill Kyle Newman, stole a point on  the run to the line.

Ellis was making a decent fist of his first time elevation into the main body of the side, living with his opponents at the first turn and even the led the in-form and vastly experienced Joonas Kylmakorpi in heat 7 for three quarters of a lap and continued to stave off Lindgren for the full duration.

It was in the first turn that Ellis came to grief in heat 11. He locked up mid-track, spun a 360 degree and stumbled across the track before releasing his machine and seeing it fly over the airfence, into which Ellis went tumbling with some force. He was quickly to his feet but as he walked away he appeared to hunch up and holdhis wrist and the medical crew hurriedly attended to his discomfort, but not only did he miss the rerun due to his disqualification, he was also ruled out of the remainder of the meeting due to the injury and was replaced by Kurtz in his final ride.

WOLVERHAMPTON 55
F. Lindgren 1',1,3,3,2=10+1
S. Masters 2,3,3,1=9
M. Bech 0,2,0,3=5
J. Thorssell 3,1',3,2'=9+2
J. Kylmakorpi 2,3,2,1,1'=9+1
M. Clegg R,2',0=2+1
K. Howarth 3,2',2',2',2=11+3
POOLE 35
C. Holder 0,0,3,0=3
K. Buczkowski 3,FD,1,1,0=5
A. Ellis 1,2,FD=3
B. Pedersen 0,0,1,1=2
H. Andersen 3,3,2,2,3=13
B. Kurtz 2,1,0,3,0=6
L. Kerr 1',1,0,1=3+1

Ht 1 K. Buczkowski S. Masters F. Lindgren C. Holder 3-3 (3-3) (54.5)
Ht 2 K. Howarth B. Kurtz L. Kerr M. Clegg (Rtd) 3-3 (6-6) (56.62)
Ht 3 H. Andersen J. Kylmakorpi A. Ellis M. Bech 2-4 (8-10) (55.75)
Ht 4 J. Thorssell K. Howarth L. Kerr B. Pedersen 5-1 (13-11) (55.25)
Ht 5 S. Masters M. Clegg B. Kurtz K. Buczkowski (Fell d/q) 5-1 (18-12) (55.37)
Ht 6 H. Andersen M. Bech J. Thorssell C. Holder 3-3 (21-15) (54.81)
Ht 7 J. Kylmakorpi A. Ellis F. Lindgren B. Pedersen 4-2 (25-17) (54.68)
Ht 8 J. Thorssell K. Howarth K. Buczkowski B. Kurtz 5-1 (30-18) (54.75)
Ht 9 S. Masters K. Howarth B. Pedersen (TR) L. Kerr 5-1 (35-19) (55.63)
Ht 10 C. Holder J. Kylmakorpi K. Buczkowski M. Bech 2-4 (37-23) (55.57)
Ht 11 F. Lindgren H. Andersen S. Masters A. Ellis (Fell d/q) 4-2 (41-25) (55.56)
Ht 12 B. Kurtz K. Howarth L. Kerr M. Clegg 2-4 (43-29) (56.94)
Ht 13 F. Lindgren H. Andersen J. Kylmakorpi C. Holder 4-2 (47-31) (55.72)
Ht 14 M. Bech J. Thorssell B. Pedersen B. Kurtz 5-1 (52-32) (56.25)
Ht 15 H. Andersen F. Lindgren J. Kylmakorpi K. Buczkowski 3-3 (55-35) (56.01)

Referee Graham Reevet
Gates:  Poole win toss & take 1&3. Wolverhampton took 1&3 in heat 15