When the Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels last entertained the Glasgow ‘A-Plant’ Tigers, the visitors ran the Rebels to just 2-points in the KO Cup, but that was then, and this is now. With League points at stake the Tigers would have liked a repeat performance, but with some of their big hitters on the sidelines, they would have to rely on guests to fill the void.

They couldn’t have chosen better with the replacements for Shane Parker and Josh Grajczonek, with one time Rebel, and crowd favourite Paul Fry for Grajczonek, with Parkers place being filled by Jason Bunyan, who has had a long time liking for the Somerset circuit, always being amongst the top scorers on his visits. They again operated rider replacement for Ross Brady. In the last encounter the Rebels were without Simon Walker, but with the Bristol racer back to full fitness the Rebels fielded a full strength side.

Those who sat on the sidelines, and chose to watch the match from the comfort of their living rooms, via the Internet updates sites rather than attend, missed out on an exciting match in which the quality of the racing belied the final scoreline. They would have witnessed only the bare scores, and not seen the committed, tight close racing that marked a lot of the tie.

The Rebels started in the best possible way as Steve Johnston and Simon Walker burst from the gate to lead at the first turn. Once at the head of affairs the pair were never troubled. Johno took up the lead off the third turn, and they team rode home without challenge.

When Mitchell Davey first rode the Oak Tree Arena circuit it was all he could do to complete a race, but in the couple of seasons since then he blossomed and developed into a fine rider capable of scoring point anywhere, and to have him at reserve is an added bonus for Glasgow. In Heat 2 Davey trapped out of the gate with Tom Brown pressing him all the way to the bend. Davey led from the bend with Brown close up. Behind them Justin Sedgmen recovered from a slow start and was hauling in Lee Dicken, before sweeping around the outside of him on the final bend of Lap 2 to share the points.

The Rebels piled on the pressure in Heat 3 as they hammered home another 5-1. Emil Kramer broke level with Paul Fry, but just gained the upper hand as the reached the turn. With Fryer on his outside Kramer cleverly moved the man he replaced in the Rebels line up wide, allowing Nick Simmons the room to glide through on the inside. Behind them Rusty Harrison got himself in a tangle that left the Rebels with a comfortable lead. All seemed to be going in regulation fashion, until Kramer almost gave the watching fans heart failure, when locking up and almost coming to a standstill on the final bend of the third lap. They needn’t have worried as the cool Swede recovered quickly, and had it all under control again as they entered the straight.

Race fans must have been drooling at the prospect of Heat 4, which brought together two all out racers, and former team mates, in the form of Cory Gathercole and Jason Bunyan, and they weren’t disappointed. The field broke level, with Bunyan just edging it at the second turn. What followed was four laps of high speed thrills as the pair swapped places, racing at close quarters to the line. Bunyan was up the inside Gathercole on the second bend, just grabbing the advantage. Gathercole raced Bunyan wheel-to-wheel before he hit back a lap later, just getting up the inside. Then it was Bunyan’s turn to strike back, taking back the lead in a tight battle. It was breath taking stuff as the pair slugged it out for four laps to the line, with Bunyan just prevailing. For the record Justin Sedgmen took third after making a great start along side the two main protagonists.

In heat 5 the Kramer/Simmons partnership finished in line astern, but this time they had no answer to Mitchell Davey and had to make do with a share of the points. It might have been different as Kramer challenged Davey for the lead at the start of the second lap. His machine slowed for no apparent reason, and he dropped back to third place. He recovered quickly, but the damage was done, and despite regaining second spot he could never get back on terms with Davey. Simmons rode well to easily hold James Grieves for third.

The Rebels other maximum men were back out in Heat 6, and for them it was another 5-1, but it may have been a bit fortuitous. The pair broke quickly to lead before the bend; however before they could build a lead Jason Bunyan was on them. With Walker out wide, Johno and Bunyan locked horns on the inside, with Johnston just coming out on top. Walker was now in third, and he set sail after Bunyan, and on the second lap started to close him down, working to a challenging position. By Lap 3 he was setting himself for an outside swoop when Bunyan suddenly slowed as they entered the home straight, and Walker shot passed to complete a second maximum heat win for the pair. As Bunyan slowly continued it was clear what the problem was, a puncture! In the scheme of things it may have been the slowly deflating tyre that allowed Walker to close, but than again it might not, we’ll never know.

Gory Gathercole posted his first win of the night in Heat 7 when he made the best of a level break to lead at the opening bend, before going on win with ease. Tom Brown made a good start, but was passed in the opening exchanges by the Tigers pair of Fry and Harrison. Brown chased hard after Harrison, but despite closing him down, he could never get in a real blow as the visitors shared the points.

With the Tigers down by 12-points Stewart Dickson unsurprisingly replaced Lee Dicken with Mitchell Davey, and sent Paul Fry out in the ‘Black and White’ as rider replacement, as he went in quest of a 1-8 maximum win. Over the past few weeks Simon Walker has steadily worked his way back to top form, and he had a totally different idea of the outcome than Dickson, and it was his view that prevailed. Si-Co rode a superb opening bend to storm around the outside of the quick starting Fry, denying the Hereford racer the lead. Fry hit back at Walker on the back straight, but never got his nose in front. Justin Sedgmen had also made a good start, and he joined the party, cutting up the inside of Fry on the third bend. Fry battled back and was in front of the young Aussie on the home straight, and must have thought he had done enough, but again Sedgmen was on him, and the pair repeated their stirring first lap battle all over again on Lap 2, with Fryer eventually getting the upper hand as Walker disappeared in the distance, leaving the points shared at 4-4.

The early stages of Heat 9 was more akin to a rodeo than a speedway race, as one rider had to contend with his bucking, rearing steed. As the tapes rose, Emil Kramer caught a big lift, but soon had the bike down and running. Kramer’s misfortune had given Jason Bunyan, who was on Glasgow’s second tactical ride, the advantage as he claimed the lead off the first turn. Kramer came blasting through the inside, and as he drew level with Bunyan, he caught some drive on the inside line. His bike took off and reared high into the air, heading at speed towards the outside, and the wide running Bunyan. Between them they avoided contact as Kramer got his mount back under control. The upshot was that he shot across the nose of his opponent, and into the lead as they entered the back straight. Bunyan came powering back up the inside to grab the lead inside bend 3. Kramer wasn’t done for, and piled on the power to sweep round the outside of the reigning New Zealand Champion to lead for a second time, to complete a stunning opening lap, that left the crowd gasping for breath. Nick Simmons chased Bunyan in the latter stages of the race, but couldn’t get in a position to strike a blow, as Kramer cruised to an easier win than the opening exchanges suggested. Another 4-4 shared heat left the Tigers with the same 12-point deficit, and no more tactical rides left in the tank.

In Heat 10 Steve Johnston showed why he was always going to be a firm favourite at the Highbridge circuit, and that reason is entertainment. He will feely admit he has a problem with producing a consistent gating technique> Tonight was no exception as he made his worst start of the night to be last away from the tapes, when the race was called back for an unsatisfactory start after he had, ironically, made a great start to lead the original running.

This time Simon Walker made the best start, closely followed by Rusty Harrison. As Johno got into gear, he challenged Paul Fry on the outside, only for Fryer to run him wide in the turn. As Fry passed Harrison, Johnston was also on the Harrison’s case cutting inside him to take third spot on the final bend of the lap. Sticking to the inside line he worked a position on ‘The Fryer’, blasting through the inside as the pair reached the second bend on Lap 2. Once at the front with Walker the pair raced side-by-side to the line, with Si-Co just getting the nod.

 James Grieves recent history at the home of the Rebels is not a glorious one, and so far he had done nothing to alter that, so it was to everyone’s surprise when he flew from the traps in Heat 11. What wasn’t a surprise was that referee Dave Robinson called them back after such a blatant ‘flyer’. Then to everyone’s shock he repeated his great start again, but this time legally. Cory Gathercole was his nearest challenger, and for two laps Grieves held the sway, as Gathercole worked extremely hard to narrow the gap. By lap three he was closing on the Paisley born rider, who was sticking close to the white line. Grieves proximity to the line didn’t matter as Gathercole steamed into the narrowest of gaps on the inside of the Scotsman, on the third bend of Lap 3. Grieves resistance was over, as Gathercole streaked away to win with some ease. Tom Brown took an easy third spot to give the Rebels a 4-2 advantage.

The Tigers mathematical chances of still winning the tie ended with the Rebels banging in their fifth maximum advantage of the night in Heat 12. Nick Simmons got what appeared to be an outrageous ‘flyer’ from the tapes, but it must have been legal, as Dave Robison let it go, unlike Grieves transgression in the previous heat. As Simmons stormed away, Justin Sedgmen was getting amongst them, with a fantastic move up the inside to take him from stone last to second place before the field reached the third bend for the first time. Mitchell Davey got himself in a position to take back his second spot a lap later, but Sedgmen cleverly clamped him to the kerb as Davey moved inside, and that was the end of his challenge as the Rebels took the full house.

Heat 13 promised to be one of the races of the night, but in the end it descended into something of a Whitehall farce. In the first running Cory Gathercole moved as the tapes rose, and the field were called back and Gathercole was warned. In start two he moved again, setting off Grieves on the inside, who careered into the tapes. The crowd were stunned when it was Gathercole who was excluded, but they had missed him just touch the tapes before Grieves went. The two-minute light was on as soon as the riders left the track, but it appears that some of the riders were unaware. With Grieves sat at the line, Bunyan on the opposite side of the track, having been to the line, and the Rebels riders still in the pits, Dave Robinson put on the red lights, and excluded both Rebels riders for failing to meet the 2-minutes, just as Johno returned to the track. Totally unaware that he was excluded he sat at the start waiting for the race to begin, and was clearly shocked when he was told of his exclusion. At the same time the Rebels sent out Tom Brown as a replacement for Gathercole’s first exclusion, but the referee unaware they were tracking a reserve had already excluded Gathercole for the second time, so the replacement was sent back to the pits. The upshot of it all was Johno off 15-metres, no second Rebel, and James Grieves winning his first race at the Oak Tree Arena since only god knows when. Johno tried hard to get into the race, and had caught the Tigers pair by the final bend of the opening lap, but some strong team riding by the excellent Jason Bunyan thwarted him, as the Tigers took a totally unexpected 5-1.

The Rebels hit back immediately with a maximum of their own, as Tom Brown took Heat 14 from Emil Kramer. Rusty Harrison made the best start, only to be challenged by Brown on the second bend. As Brown moved inside to deliver his challenge, he blocked his partner Kramer who had made a superb cut back to deliver his run on the inside. Kramer dropped back to third as Brown battled Harrison at the front. With Brown running inside Harrison the pair raced together for the next two laps, and with Kramer now back on their wheel, Brown cleverly moved Harrison wide on the second bend of Lap 3 to allow Kramer his run up the inside. Once there it was plain sailing for the Rebels as the laid back Kramer rode shotgun for the front running Welshman to take a well deserved win.

The nominated heat was a repeat of Heat 13, but thankfully without the comedy element. In the end James Grieves shocked the home fans for a second time as he bolted from the gate to lead. For a rider who is flying everywhere else it has taken Grieves a long time to get going at the Oak Tree Arena, about 6 years at the last count, but tonight he had given a glimpse of what he is capable of, and he took this race relatively untroubled. As Grieves dived out of the start, Cory Gathercole was last away, but he was a man in a hurry as he drove through the tightest of gaps on the second bend, with almost half the bike over the white line, bringing back memories of Matthias Kröger for the home fans. It was a hard move that made Jason Bunyan the meat in a very tight packed Aussie sandwich as they ran onto the back straight. Gathercole chased Grieves, and did get within striking distance, but once he had been repelled Grieves pulled out a clear gap to the end of the race. Johno took third place to share the points. Many riders might have taken exception to Gathercole’s aggressive tactics, but not Bunyan, who is not averse to being forceful when he thinks it is required, and after the race he waited for Gathercole, and warmly offered his hand on the warm down lap.

Despite the seemingly one sided scoreline, it had been a match full of high quality exciting racing from two teams fully committed to their own respective causes. On the night it was the Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels who prevailed, but on another night who knows who could have gone away with the victory, it was that kind of match. For the visitors the guests had performed well as we expected they would, with Jason Bunyan top scoring with 9+1, and Paul Fry posting 8-points. James Grieves, after another dreadful start, must have been pleased with his final tally. In the lower echelons of the team the stand out was Mitchell Davey, who started the meeting like a man possessed, before fading slightly at the end, despite this he underlined his potential as a future start for the Tigers.

On the home front it was difficult to single out anyone performer, as the top four all retuned a 10-point haul, with only Cory Gathercole failing to add any bonus points. However it was Simon Walker who took the ‘Rider of the Night’ award from match sponsors ‘Fightclub Super Fights’. Nick Simmons had a superb meeting, with a 7+2 tally that underlined how well he rode last week, without just reward. The two reserves were good, doing what they had to by outscoring their counterparts. All in all, a great team performance to send the Rebels away on their Scottish tour