Mike's Jottings:

A great start to the season, if a little wet!

Fortunately the rain held off just enough to give a reasonable crowd (considering the weather forecast) a thoroughly enjoyable start to the season.

All of the Rebels showed well except poor Tommy, who struggled all night with a motor that was as flat as a really flat thing that Dave T had sat on!
Tommy lent his bike to Stevie B in heat 9 who immediately scored a big nought on it.
Tommy looked really dejected at the end of the evening but with a decent motor under him he will be fine. Give him an extra cheer next time!

Young Sam looked every inch the find that we all had hoped for, even if he did hug the white line most of the time. A stylish and confident rider!

Jay had a bit of a mare with a tape exclusion (unusual for him???) and an engine faiure but his win in heat 3 over an 'extremely' hard charging Kyle Legault was a joy to watch.

Cory looked really 'grown up' tonight. Smooth and forceful. He really seems to have matured this year.

Ritchie was 'Chopper 'Awkins' once again. A seriously aggressive (but safe looking) series of rides from our Ritchie showed that the boy is BACK!

Shane also had bit of a mare, his Heat 6 completely blown as he was watching the furthest green light that decided to go faulty. His Heat 10 win was a true classic round the boards sweep. From knowhere to first in two bends..Wicked!

And of course, rider of the night Stevie Boxall! This was vintage Boxall, and he was loving it.

It was really good to see that Newport has a team that, I feel sure, will do them proud this year. There was a buzz (whoops...sorry!!) about them that has been missing for some time now. Well done Kev B and his boys!

Mike

In far from ideal conditions with rain before and during the evening, this meeting still provided the fans with a good close encounter with some good racing, none more so that Shane Parker’s last to first ride in heat 10, as well as bouts of controversy.

It was Newport who drew first blood as they capitalised on Jay Herne’s over eagerness at the start that saw the Somerset reserve forced to start off a 15 metre handicap, but any hope that the visiting fans harboured of their side building on this early advantage were quickly dashed as Steve Boxall and Sam Masters immediately ht back with a maximum heat win of their own to bring the scores level at 9 a-piece.

A pattern then quickly emerged as although Somerset riders took the chequered flag in each of the next heats, the minor places were generally filled by the visitors, thereby not allowing the Rebels to gain any sort of telling advantage, so much so that as the meeting entered its final third, the Rebels only held a slender two point lead.

Heat 6 was to provide the first talking point as Shane Parker remained rooted to the spot at the tapes went up. As the three remaining riders sped away, the Somerset skipper was left gesticulating to referee Dave Robinson, claiming that the second of the two green start lights had not come on, Robinson, however, was unmoved by the protests.

Things seemed to have got no better for Parker when next out in heat 10 as he lifted badly at the start, leaving him stone last. Eager to make up for his error, Parker set about chasing down the field and in a superb exhibition of determined riding first picked off Craig Watson and then Kyle Legault just as the riders started their penultimate lap, earning the Somerset number the rapturous applause of the home fans.

If heat 6 had controversy, that as nothing compared to heat 14 that saw Newport’s Alex Davies, who looked very impressive on this showing at least, doing his own version of the ‘Okey-Cokey’ as was in, out, in, out, the only thing he didn’t do was shake it all about!

Replacing fellow reserve Todd Kurtz, Davies was then excluded for failing to beat the two minutes, and it was then that confusion reigned as Newport elected to replace the excluded Davies with Kurtz, only for Davies to then re-appear. As the tapes rose, Boxall was left stranded at the start, but with the race less than a lap old, Referee Robinson put the red lights on and excluded Davies for being an ‘illegal rider’ in the heat.

With Davies now excluded twice it meant that Newport could not replace him and so had to run with Legault as their sole representative, and to add insult to injury, Boxall was allowed back in the re-run as although he was not under power when the heat was stopped, the referee deemed that as it was not a ‘legal’ race, and as such the Somerset rider could take his place in the re-run – all this and it was only the first meeting of the season!

As it was Somerset took a maximum 5-1 race win in heat 15 to give themselves victory by eight points, which was probably a true reflection of the match, with all bar the under-powered Tommy Allen showing well for the Rebels, Gathercole, Boxall and Hawkins all having an excellent night, with Sam Masters having an impressive debut in Somerset colours which augers well for the season ahead.

Report Courtesy of Ian Belcher