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Although still in the early weeks of the season the Somerset ‘Dickies’ Rebels were meeting the Newport ‘Darlows’ Wasps for the third time, in this Premier Trophy clash. With the Wasps coming off three under par performances, the Rebels would have been forgiving for thinking they were in for an easy time, but nothing could have been further from the truth. The Wasps, still without injury victim Alex Davies, had booked 2009 Rebel Justin Sedgmen for this, and Sunday’s return leg. Since his winter move to Birmingham Sedgmen has been firing in the points for the Brummies, and his presence in the Wasps side was sure to cause the Rebels problems.
With the country swathed in ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, it was the Wasps who erupted in the opening stages of the match, as Craig Watson and Leigh Lanham left the Rebels skipper Shane Parker, and partner Brent Werner for dead in Heat 1. The pair sped clear, never giving the Rebels pair any chance to recover, pulling clear to take bloodless 5-1.
With Ritchie Hawkins in the reserve berth, there are not many sides who will come to the Oak Tree Arena and take Heat 2, but the booking of Justin Sedgmen gave the Wasps the advantage in that department. Sedgmen made a flying start to lead straight off the bat, with Hawkins taking up second spot. The Rebels powerful reserve chased down Sedgmen, but could not get in a blow as the young Milduran made his way home. Behind them Tommy Allen was closing down Todd Kurtz, but in the end could not find the power to drive passed the Wasps man.
The Rebels recorded their first advantage in Heat 3, as Kyle Legault, Sam Masters and Steve Boxall broke level. Legault just shaded the early running, but was soon under pressure from the Rebels pair on the back straight. Boxall made a neat cut back on the final bend of the lap to pull alongside the Canadian, and completed the move, as he got a huge lift coming out of the second turn of Lap 2. From there on he pulled clear, showing blinding speed. Masters was the next on Legault’s case, pressurising him all the way to the line.
Over the next three heats the Wasps pressed home their advantage to pull out an 8-point lead by Heat 6. Kim Nilsson recorded the Wasps third win taking Heat 4 with a fast start. Todd Kurtz put the visitors on a 5-1 as he dropped in behind Nilsson. Cory Gathercole came storming round the outside on the final bend, and then quickly cut back to the inside to demote Kurtz to third on the opening bend of the second lap. By this time Nilsson had built an advantage that he wouldn’t lose, despite the efforts of Gathercole. As in the second heat Tommy Allen once again put Kurtz under pressure in the closing stages and as before appeared not to have the power to press home the attack.
Heat 5 was shared as Leigh Lanham just got the better of Steve Boxall in a tough battle for supremacy in the opening turns. Boxall kept Lanham up to the mark for all four laps, but could not gain the advantage. Sam Masters took an easy third place as Craig Watson tailed off at the rear.
Justin Sedgmen powered of the tapes with Kim Nilsson on his shoulder, as once again the Wasps powered to what looked to be a second 5-1 in Heat 6. However they figured without Shane Parker, as the Rebels skipper pulled of a superb pass on Nilsson on the final lap. Driving hard around the outside of the closing bends of Lap 3, Parker cleverly made a long straight, cutting back off the final turn, and making a bee-line for the inside of the opening bend, and driving up the inside of the Swede. With Nilsson looking for him on the outside, he completely outfoxed the Wasps man to foil the full house with the stunning move.
Now 8-points down, and with Wasps riding extremely well, it was getting a bit squeaky for the Rebels, and they needed answers. Enter Ritchie Hawkins and Cory Gathercole. Hawkins exploded from the tapes to lead from the remaining three, who were now engaged in a tough battle for the second spot. It was Gathercole who muscled passed Legault and Mellgren, and then had to control a huge lift off the second turn, to take up station behind Hawkins as the Rebels pair took a vital full house, despite Legault’s persistence.
Steve Bishop swapped the reserves in Heat 8, sending out the busy Hawkins in an effort to stem the Wasps further, but this was immediately countered, as Kevin Brown introduced Sedgmen for Kurtz. It was Brown’s move that paid off as his riders took the lead from the tapes, but any thoughts of a third 5-1 faded as Hawkins powered inside Craig Watson off the second bend. He immediately pressed Sedgmen for the lead, never giving him a moment’s peace, as he attacked both inside and out until the line came to end his challenge, with Watson taking third.
Heat 9 saw a change in the tidal flow of points scoring, as Steve Boxall added his second victory of the night. Trapping alongside Justin Sedgmen, he blazed a wide trail around the fence to relegate the Wasps guest to second spot, with Kim Nilsson holding third. Sam Masters trailed the pair until he quickly closed, and fired himself between the two visiting riders coming off the final turn of the lap, with a move that stunned the Wasps pair, and put the Rebels on a much needed 5-1. Justin Sedgmen harried Masters for the remainder of the race, but could not stop the home side taking the maximum.
A second heat advantage quickly followed for the Rebels as the skipper got the better of Kyle Legault after a level break. Legault just lead at the first turn, but Parker stuck it out in the dirt and hauled himself to the front on the back straight. It was nip and tuck between Legault and Ritchie Hawkins, after the Rebels man briefly took second spot off the final turn of the opener. The pair passed and re-passed each other in a thrilling battle over the next couple of laps, until Legault finally got the upper hand late on.
Back on level terms at 30-30, the Rebels suffered another huge blow as Newport slammed in another 5-1 in Heat 10. Cory Gathercole trapped with Craig Watson, but could not make it to the front. He charged up the inside but was blocked all the way as Watson cleverly clamped him to the kerb. Gathercole was clearly the faster man, but Watson continued to hold him off, as Leigh Lanham slowly closed the gap from third. Watson’s clever riding paid dividends as his skipper came sailing through on the wide line at the start of the last lap, giving Gathercole no time to respond.
Heat 12 proved to be a crucial stage of the match, as the Rebels put together a run of points that was to eventually prove too much for the Wasps. As often happens the Rebels run started with a little good fortune, as Justin Sedgmen lost his front shock on the line. Although he started the race it soon became obvious that he couldn’t carry on, and had to retire. The Rebels took full advantage, but not before a fast starting Todd Kurtz had almost stolen the race. He bolted from the tapes to lead, and held the advantage right until the final bend of the final lap. Sam Masters had worked himself into a position on the inside of Kurtz and moved him wide on the penultimate bend, as he took up the lead. This allowed a closely following Ritchie Hawkins to drive inside the final bend and pull a couple of lengths clear of Kurtz. Kurtz tried to recover his position with a strong run up the outside, and attempted to force his way in to an ever-narrowing gap as Hawkins line around the bend carried him back to the outside. It was an impossible move and Kurtz struck the fence crashing to the ground, crossing the line in the process.
Heat 13 put the Rebels further in front as Cory Gathercole made a jet-propelled start from the tapes to lead before they had gone a bikes length. Shane Parker was soon on his tail as he held off an early strong challenge from Leigh Lanham. As the home pair consolidated their lead, Kim Nilsson retired at the back, leaving the Rebels to take full advantage.
Heat 14 put the matter beyond doubt with the Rebels hammering in their third maximum on the trot. It was that man Ritchie Hawkins again taking the win, backed up by the flying Steve Boxall. The duo broke quickly with Hawkins taking up the running on the back straight, slightly hampering his partner in the process. Boxall took it in his stride, and was soon riding shotgun for his partner, holding off the challenge of Kyle Legault for two laps, before the former Canadian Champion capitulated, and Sedgmen took up the challenge.
The Rebels were now set to take all three points on offer, but the Wasps had a final sting in their tail as the took a maximum of their own in Heat 15. The race was re-run after Cory Gathercole fell in the opening turn of start one. As they had done in the original running the Wasps pair of Leigh Lanham and Justin Sedgmen flew from the gate to lead all the way. Gathercole gave chase, but could never peg back the flying Wasps, as the visitors snatched a point for themselves. In the light of the early part of the match they may be forgiven for feeling disappointed with just one point, but a match is run over 15 heats, and not six or eight. This is the best chance for a long time they have had to beat the Rebels at the Oak Tree Arena, but in the end they came up short, despite the inclusion of the superb Justin Sedgmen. Undoubtedly they will be looking to put that right on Sunday, but with their recent inconsistent performances only Sundays final heat will tell.
For the Wasps the stars were their guest, and top scorer, Justin Sedgmen (12+1), who reeled off three straight wins before anyone lowered his colours, and skipper Leigh Lanham (11+2). For the second week running the Rebels top man was Ritchie Hawkins with a 13+1 haul. As with last week he also lifted the Rider of the Night award from meeting sponsors ‘The Oaktree’. Once again the fans had been treated to a highly entertaining match, with some high class racing and passing, however riders and team managers will be only too aware just how close they came to losing. However they once again displayed the determination and team spirit that had characterised the Rebels septets of recent years, and overcame a strong challenge from the Wasps.
Report courtesy: Dave Thompson |
Rebels
Wasps
