SOMERSET 52 PIRATES 38

The 'Volvo Cars' Poole Pirates will have to dig as deep as the track conditions were at Somerset on Wednesday night, if they are to progress any further in the Knockout Cup this season, having been beaten 52-38 by the Somerset Rebels in their quarter final first leg.

Conceding 5-1 advantages in the opening two heats the Pirates hauled back two 4-2's and secured a shared heat by the time an early interval was taken after 5 heats to essentially allow for some track remedial work to be undertaken as the riders felt the surface was far too deep and not conducive to riders' safety.

After the extended break the Rebels provided four straight race winners, although the higlight of that sequence of races was Woryna's superb on-the-line steal over Wilson-Dean for second place in heat 8. But the Rebels didnt have long to wait before extending their lead to double figures as Jack Holder and Charles Wright fired in a home-side 5-1, a personal relief for Wright who in the first attempt to stage heat 9 had suffered a heavy fall after colliding in the first turn with Peter Kildemand, who himself became a faller in the re-run.

The Pirates stoically hit back through former Rebel captain Josh Grajczonek and Linus Sundstrom as they headed home world champion Jason Doyle and Jake Allen, the two masterminds of that opening 5-1. Kurtz was embroiled in a mighty tussle with Rebels' new Dane Jonas Jeppesen for second and third whilst Woryna was keeping a very close lookout for any opportunity that might present itself for him to pounce upon, all the while Lawson was blissfully unaware of the struggle behind him.

Grajczonek was impeded by Wilson-Dean in heat 12 but the move went unpunished and the Rebels further extended their lead with the New Zealander being partnered home by Wright for another home maximum. Kildemand clawed an extra point back for Poole by robbing Lawson of third place in heat 13, a race splendidly won by Kurtz over Doyle but then a hammer-blow double overtake of Sundstrom by Holder and Jeppesen in heat 14 gave the Rebels their biggest lead of the evening, 16 points.

Doyle infringed at the tapes in the finale but Holder stood up to Grajczonek as Kurtz finished with personal win number 2 and two valuable points trimmed off the deficit. So the Rebels will have a 14 point lead when they visit Wimborne Road at the end of June, and the Pirates will have to find some much improved consistency by then if they  want a place in the semi-finals

SOMERSET 52
J. Doyle 2',3,1,2=8+1
J. Allen 3,1,3,0=7
C. Wright 0,0,2',2'=4+2
J. Holder 2,2,3,3,2=12
R. Lawson R,3,3,0=6
J. Jeppesen 3,0,1,2'=6+1
B. Wilson-Dean 2',3,1,3,0=9+1

POOLE 38
B. Kurtz 1,1,2,3,3=10
K. Woryna R,3,2,0=5
J. Grajczonek 3,2,3,R,1=9
L. Sundstrom 1,1',2',1=5+2
P. Kildemand 2,2,F,1=5
J. Shanes 1,0,1,1=3
M. Szczepaniak 0,1',0,0=1+1

Ht 1 J. Allen J. Doyle B. Kurtz K. Woryna (Rtd) 5-1 (5-1) (57.1)
Ht 2 J. Jeppesen B. Wilson-Dean J. Shanes M. Szczepaniak 5-1 (10-2) (57.9)
Ht 3 J. Grajczonek J. Holder L. Sundstrom C. Wright 2-4 (12-6) (57.28)
Ht 4 B. Wilson-Dean P. Kildemand M. Szczepaniak R. Lawson (Rtd) 3-3 (15-9) (57.43)
Ht 5 K. Woryna J. Holder B. Kurtz C. Wright 2-4 (17-13) (57.92)
Ht 6 J. Doyle P. Kildemand J. Allen J. Shanes 4-2 (21-15) (57.3)
Ht 7 R. Lawson J. Grajczonek L. Sundstrom J. Jeppesen 3-3 (24-18) (58.71)
Ht 8 J. Allen K. Woryna B. Wilson-Dean M. Szczepaniak 4-2 (28-20) (58.07)
Ht 9 J. Holder C. Wright J. Shanes P. Kildemand (Fell) 5-1 (33-21) (58.52)
Ht 10 J. Grajczonek L. Sundstrom J. Doyle J. Allen 1-5 (34-26) (58.36)
Ht 11 R. Lawson B. Kurtz J. Jeppesen K. Woryna 4-2 (38-28) (58.83)
Ht 12 B. Wilson-Dean C. Wright J. Shanes J. Grajczonek (Rtd) 5-1 (43-29) (58.97)
Ht 13 B. Kurtz J. Doyle P. Kildemand R. Lawson 2-4 (45-33) ()
Ht 14 J. Holder J. Jeppesen L. Sundstrom M. Szczepaniak 5-1 (50-34) (58.97)
Ht 15 B. Kurtz J. Holder J. Grajczonek B. Wilson-Dean 2-4 (52-38) (58.70)

Referee Dave Watters
Gates: SOMERSET won toss and chose gates 2&4 | Poole took gates 2&4 in heat 15
Rider of the Night: Josh Grajczonek