As speedway’s Premier League season heads towards a thrilling finale, the Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels have a busy week of action, one that could determine whether or not they lift the Premier League Championship.

Whilst Edinburgh remain favourites for the title, the Rebels still have a chance of snatching the title away from under the Monarchs noses, but it will require them, as things currently stand, to win at least two out of their remaining 5 away matches.

Believe it or not, Somerset will be contesting four of those away matches in the next 6 days, starting with the visit to Reading tomorrow [Monday] night in what will be the last ever Premier League match to take place at the Smallmead Stadium, as the Racers take a year’s sabbatical from the sport whilst they wait for their new track to be built.

The two sides have met on no less than three occasions at Smallmead already this year, Reading coming out on top in the early season challenge match, before the Rebels took victory at Reading in their Premier Trophy encounter.  Although Reading gained revenge for that defeat by beating Somerset in the second leg of the Knock Out Cup quarter final, their margin of victory was not enough to stop the Rebels progressing through on aggregate.

Reading have, of late, however, shown some vulnerability on their home track which could give the Rebels hope of gaining something from this match, especially as their main title contenders, Edinburgh, won at Smallmead earlier in the year.

After the relatively short trip to Reading, Somerset move on the following night to the Isle of Wight, who, like the Rebels, have been unbeaten at home in the Premier League this year.  Add to that the fact that the Islanders comfortably beat Somerset when the Rebels visited Smallbrook in the Premier Trophy earlier in the year and it is easy to see that the Rebels will have to be at their very best if they are to come away from Smallbrook with an away victory and three precious Premier League points.

The team then have a day’s rest on Wednesday, before heading up the M1 on Thursday and another important Premier League encounter, this time against Sheffield.  The Tigers have not had the best of seasons by their normally high standards, and what was once deemed to be ‘fortress Owlerton’ in previous years has been breached twice in the League this year, so the Rebels will be aiming to add to that tally come Thursday night.

Finally, as far as this week’s away matches are concerned, Somerset travel to Hertfordshire on Saturday to face Rye House for their Premier League match that was postponed last Saturday due to the bad weather that engulfed the country.

Somerset will be without both Stephan Katt and Matthias Kröger for this match as they will be competing in Germany in the final round of the World Long Track Championship.  The Rebels are, however, entitled to use guest replacements to cover for their German duo, Glasgow’s Robert Ksiezak will replace Katt, whilst the guest for Kröger has yet to be confirmed.

The Rebels will look back on their recent Knock Out Cup tie at Rye House for inspiration as they posted the best performance by a visiting team to Hoddesdon so far this year, and will, no doubt, be hoping to go that bit better in Saturday’s league encounter to inflict the first home defeat of the season on the current Premier League Champions.

Whilst the Rebels are not in action themselves at the Oak Tree Arena this coming Friday (12^th), the club will be staging the third, and possible deciding Test Match of a three match series at under 23 level between England and Australia.  The first two Test Matches are being held at Wolverhampton tomorrow [Monday 8^th] and Swindon on Thursday [11^th].

Further details of the meeting and teams will be released during the week leading up to the match itself, suffice to say that two of the current Somerset side will be taking part in Friday’s meeting, Jordan Frampton lining up at number 2 for England with Jason Doyle being part of the Australian septet.

Somerset Rebels Diary w/c 8^th September

 Monday 8^th September – away at Reading (Premier League) 7.30pm

Tuesday 9^th September – away at Isle of Wight (Premier League) 7.30pm

Thursday 11^th September – away at Sheffield (Premier League) 7.45pm

Friday 12^th September – England under 23 v Australia under 23 at Oak Tree Arena 7.30pm

Saturday 13^th September – away at Rye House (Premier League) 7.00pm*

*this meeting follows Rye House v Mildenhall which commences at 6pm, therefore start time of the Rye House v Somerset match is an approximation

For those fans who wish to avoid the queues, advance tickets for the 3^rd, and quite possibly decisive, under 23 Test Match between England and Australia to be held at Somerset’s Oak Tree Arena on Friday 12^th September, will be on sale during the Rebels match against Mildenhall this Friday. 

Admission for this prestigious meeting will be; Adults £15.00, Concessions £11.00, Children £4.00, under 5’s free.  There is also a Family Ticket (two adults, 2 children) at £34.00.  Somerset fans are reminded that season tickets are not valid for this meeting.

Rebels Facing Busy Week

The Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels will be looking to put a disappointing weekend, which saw them lose at both Edinburgh and Berwick, behind them with three further matches this week, the results of which could see them continue to put pressure on Edinburgh at the top of the Premier League table.

First up for the team is the trip to Birmingham where both teams will be hoping that it will be third time lucky as far as staging the meeting is concerned as the previous two attempts have fallen foul of the weather.

Birmingham have suffered by way of some horrendous injuries to their riders throughout the season, but it is to their credit that they have battled their way through to the final of the Premier Trophy, though a heavy defeat in the first leg at Edinburgh has probably left them with far too much to do in the second leg if they are to snatch the title away from the Monarchs.

Next up for the Rebels will the visit to the Oak Tree Arena of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers on Friday [5^th] for what amounts to Somerset’s final home league match of the season.  Mildenhall have had a torrid time of it this season, having lost all 26 of their Premier League matches this year, and have only won one meeting all season, that, somewhat surprisingly, was at home to King’s Lynn in the Premier Trophy.

The Fen Tigers have recently acquired new owners, ironically enough the King’s Lynn promotion of Keith and Jonathan Chapman, who have already rung the changes as far as the team re concerned, bringing in Paul Lee to replace the injured Marek Mroz and recalling ex-Rebel Henning Loof to the side.

Finally for this week, the Rebels travel to Rye House on Saturday [6^th] in the Premier League, just two weeks on from their aggregate victory over the Rockets that took Somerset through to the KO Cup Final, losing by just 7 points at Hoddesdon, the best performance by a visiting team this season.

Somerset will be missing both Stephan Katt and Matthias Kröger who will be on World Longtrack duty, but are eligible to use two guest riders in their place, the names of whom will be revealed later in the week once confirmation from the two riders concerned has been received.

The new September rider averages see Stephan Katt move into the main body of the team with Kröger replacing him at reserve, other than that there are no changes to the Somerset riding order.

The club are awaiting news on the fitness of their captain, Simon Walker, who has under-gone a period of intensive physiotherapy in order to try and relieve the back problems that have seen him ride just once since he sustained the injury at the end of June and a decision as to whether he will return to the side for Friday’s home meeting against Mildenhall will be taken on the day of the match itself.

Somerset Rebels –v- Mildenhall Fen Tigers [Premier League; Friday 5^th September]

Somerset Rebels 1) Jason Doyle (9.83); 2) Simon Walker or Rider Replacement (6.69); 3) Emil Kramer (8.51); 4) Stephan Katt (6.57); 5) Jordan Frampton (6.46); 6) Matthias Kröger [r] (5.91); 7) Brent Werner [r] (5.57) – Team managers; Steve Bishop & Garry May

Mildenhall Fen Tigers (provisional) 1) Sebastian Truminski (6.07); 2) Barrie Evans (4.40); 3) Paul Lee (6.36); 4) TBC; 5) Jan Graversen (4.20); 6) Henning Loof [r] (3.00); 7) Casper Wortmann [r] (3.00) – Team manager; Richard Knight

Following Friday’s Somerset v Mildenhall Premier League match at the Oak Tree Arena, the Somerset Giants will be staging an individual meeting featuring eight of the Giants’ squad members who will meet over 6 heats, the highest points scorer being the winner.

The Giants have provided some classic entertainment and racing for the fans at Somerset this year, and the development of the riders, under the guidance of Ray Dickson and Kevin Brown has been evident to all.

Somerset Giants Individual Meeting riding order; 1) Stephan Maunder, 2) Steven May, 3) Kyle Newman, 4) Rikki Mullins, 5) Andy Braithwaite, 6) Mitch Mullins, 7) Paul Derreck, 8) Tom Young.

Rebels To Usurp The Monarchs?

Having booked their place in the Premier League Knock Out Final for the third time in as many years with their stunning aggregate semi-final victory over Rye House, the Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels turn their attentions back to their quest for the Premier League Championship and the visit on Wednesday [27^th] of the Edinburgh Monarchs to the Oak Tree Arena, in what amounts to a real ‘top of the table’ clash.

Edinburgh have been hot on Somerset’s heels at the top of the Premier League table all season and so Wednesday’s match could have a real bearing on the final destiny of the league title come the end of the season. 

Edinburgh come to Somerset with an excellent away record, but they will be facing a Rebels team that have yet to have their colours lowered at the Oak Tree Arena in the Premier League this year, so everything points to this meeting as being one not to be missed.

Like Somerset, Edinburgh have built their team this season based on strength in depth with a very solid look about their team right through from 1-7, a moved which has paid dividends for both teams this year.  Unfortunately both teams have injury problems to contend with for Wednesday’s match, Somerset continue to be without Simon Walker, who’s well documented back injury has kept him from the side since the end of June, the Rebels using rider replacement facility in his place.  Edinburgh will be without their number 1, William Lawson, who has not yet fully recovered from a broken collarbone, and Reading’s Mark Lemon will guest in place of Lawson.

Edinburgh will, however, have two riders making their Oak Tree Arena debuts, namely the promising Swede, Tomas H Jonasson, who was third in the recent Swedish national championships, and the exciting American, Ryan Fisher.

Wednesday’s match at Somerset is followed two days later with the sides meeting again, this time at Edinburgh’s Scotwaste Arena, the Rebels then moving on to Berwick the following night [Saturday] to take on the Bandits, although they will be going into that match without the services of Stephan Katt at reserve as he will be competing in the European Grass Track Championship in Holland the same day. 

As the British speedway authorities do not allow any replacement facility for this particular Championship, Katt’s place at reserve for the Rebels can only be taken by a Conference League rider, and in this instance Somerset are calling upon the services of Adam McKinna, who, ironically enough, started the season out as part of the Berwick team.

Somerset Rebels –v- Edinburgh Monarchs
Premier League
Wednesday 27^th August

Somerset Rebels 1) Jason Doyle (9.63); 2) Rider Replacement [for Simon Walker] (6.69); 3) Emil Kramer [c] (9.10); 4) Matthias Kroger (6.67); 5) Jordan Frampton (6.71); 6) Stephan Katt [r] (6.40); 7) Brent Werner [r] (5.80)

Edinburgh Monarchs 1) Mark Lemon [g] (8.63); 2) Derek Sneddon [c] (6.88); 3) Tomas H Jonasson (7.04); 4) Matthew Wethers (6.88); 5) Ryan Fisher (6.81); 6) Andrew Tully [r] (6.75); 7) Aaron Summers [r] (5.11)

Walker Injury Setback

The Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels have been rocked by the news that their captain, Simon Walker, faces even longer on the sidelines due the back injury that he sustained as a legacy of his heat 12 fall in the team’s Cup match at Reading at the end of June.

Walker’s visit to hospital for a further progress report ended with him being told that the injury is such that he may well require an operation to rectify matters;

“No, the outcome of my visit was not good,” said Walker, “they took even more fluid off the back, but I have a problem with a muscle in the lower back, so I now have to go for an MRI scan to see whether or not I need an operation.”

“I can tell you that I was really gutted to get that news, he continued, “and it was a real setback to my plans.  I am hoping that a course of intensive work with my physio might ease things enough for me to be able to get back racing, and then hopefully have any operation once the season has finished.”

“Of course I have to balance coming back racing to that of suffering further, longer term, damage, plus the needs of the team, the last thing I want to do is to let my heart rule my head and end up with the team suffering because of it.”

“It is so difficult to be sitting on the sidelines whilst the team are doing so well.  Although it was great to be down in the pits for the recent match against the Isle of Wight, it is just so frustrating not to be going out there doing my bit as we come to the ‘business end’ of the season.”

In the meantime, Somerset will continue with utilising the rider replacement facility for Walker during his absence, one bright note here for the team is that upon the application of the new rider averages for September, Walker should move to third in the Rebel standings, which will mean that Emil Kramer will now become eligible to take one of Walker’s rides, which could prove vital given the plethora of away matches the team face during the month as they continue their push for the Premier League Championship title.

Rebels ‘Up For The Cup’

The Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels take a break from Premier League action next weekend as they face old adversaries, Rye House, in the semi-finals of the Premier League Knock Out Cup. 
Originally the 1^st leg was due to be staged at Rye House, but the weather put paid to those plans with the result that the Friday’s [22^nd] match at the Oak Tree Arena constitutes the 1^st leg, with the 2^nd leg at Rye House taking place on Bank Holiday Monday. Rye House come to Somerset still smarting from their comprehensive defeat at the Oak Tree Arena in May’s Premier League encounter between the two sides, the Rebels taking victory 66-27, Tai Woffinden scoring 17 of the Rockets points on the night. Despite this, plus the fact that Rye House have had one victory on their travels in Premier League so far this year, and that coming at bottom of the table Mildenhall, Somerset will not be letting complacency to set in as they look to make the final of the Knock Out Cup for a third year in a row, and will, naturally enough, be looking to take as big a lead as possible to Hertfordshire with them for the 2^nd leg, especially given that Rye House have yet to have their colours lowered on their tight Hoddesdon raceway.
 “This has all the makings of a classic cup tie,” said Somerset captain Simon Walker, “Both teams have been fairly dominant on their own track, so a lot will depend on how much of a lead we can build up for the second leg.”  “It should be a cracker of a meeting and I urge all the Somerset fans out there to get along to the Oak Tree Arena for this one and really get behind the team.” The obvious danger to the Rebels will be Rye’s teenage sensation, Tai Woffinden, but as was proved in the drubbing handed out to the Rockets back in May, one rider does not make a team, and the visitors will be looking for much better support for Woffinden from the likes of in Chris Neath, Stefan Ekberg and Tommy Allen, though the latter was missing from that Premier League match due to injury. 

Somerset’s only fitness doubt is the ongoing situation regarding Simon Walker who is still suffering the back and vertebrae injuries that have plagued him since the end of June. 
The Rebel captain is due to have an operation on his back tomorrow [Monday], but both he and the team will have to wait to see the outcome of this before it is known whether he can take his place in the Somerset line up. 
Bank Holiday Monday’s 2^nd leg with the Rockets forms the second half of a double header meeting at Rye House, first up at 2pm will be Stoke in a Premier League match, the match with Somerset taking to the track upon the conclusion of that meeting, with an advertised start time of 4pm.

Somerset Rebels –v- Rye House Rockets [Premier League KO Cup – Friday 22nd August]

Somerset Rebels; 1) Jason Doyle (9.73), 2) Simon Walker or rider replacement (6.69), 3) Emil Kramer (9.10), 4) Matthias Kröger (6.67), 5) Jordan Frampton (6.71), 6) Stephan Katt [r] (6.40), 7) Brent Werner [r] (5.80).

Rye House Rockets [provisional]; 1) Stefan Ekberg (7.07); 2) Robert Mear (5.55); 3) Tai Woffinden (9.71); 4) Tommy Allen (6.81); 5) Chris Neath [c] (6.76); 6) Daniel Halsey [r] (3.41); 7) Luke Bowen [r] (4.38)

Somerset To Stage Speedway Test Match

Somerset speedway has been given honour to stage the 3^rd and final test match of a three match series between England and Australia at under 23 level.

The Series, all 3 Meetings of which will be run in the same week, will take the form of the standard 15 Heat 7 Rider Team format.

Venues and dates are as follows:

1st Test: Wolverhampton - Monday 8th September 2008

2nd Test: Swindon - Thursday 11th September 2008

3rd Test: Somerset - Friday 12th September 2008

A short list of Riders, likely to be used in the England U23 Squad, will include Lewis Bridger, Tai Woffinden, Josh Auty, Ben Barker, Edward Kennett, Daniel King, James Wright, Jason King, Joe Haines, Rob Mear and Somerset’s Jordan Frampton.

 "The intention, apart from winning, is to try and give some of the younger riders a bit more experience at this level as the Under 21's went out of the World Team Cup this season.” Said British Speedway’s Development Coach Dave Croucher, “It will give them something meaningful to race for as a Team and they will benefit from the guidance and help of 2 or 3 of the more experienced younger Riders who have recently moved into Elite League and have been former U21 Team Members."

"One hopes that this will help for the 2009 Season when we will be expecting to make the Final."

"The list of riders is not definitive and they are all being contacted about their availability as this Press Release goes out. We have Tai Woffinden as Captain again, as we did in the Under 21's, and the intention is to use Josh Auty, Joe Haines, Robert Mear and Jordan Frampton at 1 or 2 of the 3 meetings at reserve. Clearly, availability will dictate a certain amount of our plans and we will know more on this next week."

"I have spoken with Josh and Tai, who are both as keen as mustard, and I know Robert Mear will be thrilled as he missed out so narrowly on a place in the U21 Final after the qualifier at Plymouth was rained off after 14 Heats."

"We keep saying that there is a wealth of talent in the younger riders and I hope that this Test Series will help to demonstrate to Speedway Fans everywhere, that our beliefs are not unfounded, that there IS the talent out there and that we are working hard to encourage it to flourish.

None of these lads will be under any illusion that the opposition won't be tough as the Aussie list of eligible Riders is topped by Chris Holder, and includes Troy Batchelor, Cameron Woodward, Cory Gathercole and Somerset’s Jason Doyle amongst the 15 other names, all of whom would be tough opposition.

Who Boycie will be choosing, I don't know, but you can be certain he will want to win this as much as we do."

Turning to events closer to hand, Somerset face the Isle of Wight at the Oak Tree Arena on Friday [15^th] in what promises to be yet another entertain fixture.  Having been run close by Redcar last Friday, the Rebels will be looking to continue their unbeaten home run in the Premier League, and hope to welcome skipper Simon Walker back to the line up after his lengthy absence from the team due to a back injury.

Matthias Kröger is also expected to be fit for action after suffering a rib injury in a first heat fall against Redcar which saw him withdraw from the meeting after just three rides.

The Isle of Wight have always performed well on their visits to Somerset, and with two ex-Rebels in their line up, namely Paul Fry and Glen Phillips, alongside renown Oak Tree Arena specialists Jason Bunyan and Krzysztof Stojanowski, the Rebels know that they are in for another tough encounter.

Somerset Rebels –v- Isle of Wight Islanders [Premier League – Friday 15^th August]

Somerset Rebels; 1) Jason Doyle (9.73), 2) Simon Walker (6.69), 3) Emil Kramer [c] (9.10), 4) Matthias Kröger (6.67), 5) Jordan Frampton (6.71), 6) Stephan Katt [r] (6.40), 7) Brent Werner [r] (5.80).

Isle of Wight Islanders; 1) Jason Bunyan [c] (7.14); 2) James Holder (5.40); 3) Glen Phillips (7.24); 4) Paul Fry (6.29); 5) Krzysztof Stojanowski (6.40); 6) Andrew Bargh [r] (3.42); 7) Richard Sweetman [r] (5.00)

Although the Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels won through in a hard fought contest last night against Redcar to remain at the head of the Premier League table, the victory was marred by the news that their German star, Matthias Kröger suffered a rib injury as a legacy of a first heat fall and will miss Somerset’s Premier League match at Reading tomorrow [Sunday 10^th].

Despite initially riding on the complete two further rides, Kröger was forced to withdraw from last night’s match after his third ride, and was declared by the medics as being unfit for what should have been Somerset’s two away matches over this weekend.

Weather has intervened as far as tonight’s 1^st leg of the Rebels KO Cup match at Rye House is concerned, the Premier League match at Rye House originally scheduled for Bank Holiday Monday [25^th] will now become the 2^nd leg of this eagerly awaited tie, the 1^st leg being at Somerset’s Oak Tree Arena the preceding Friday.  The league match at Rye House will now be re-arranged for September, although a date has yet to be confirmed.

Moving on to Somerset’s Premier League match at Reading on Sunday [10^th], the Rebels have moved quickly and secured the services of Birmingham’s Craig Watson to come into the side as a guest replacement for Kröger, Somerset already utilising the rider replacement facility for the injured Simon Walker. 

Reading Racers –v- Somerset Rebels [Premier League – Sunday 10^th August]

Reading Racers; 1) Mark Lemon [c] (7.56); 2) Tomas Suchanek (5.26); 3) Ulrich Ostergaard (10.02); 4) Chris Mills (5.47); 5) Tom P Madsen (6.49); 6) Nicki Glanz [r] (3.00); 7) Danny Warwick [r] (4.46)

Somerset Rebels; 1) Jason Doyle (9.73), 2) Rider replacement (6.69), 3) Emil Kramer [c] (9.10), 4) Craig Watson [g] (6.67), 5) Jordan Frampton (6.71), 6) Stephan Katt [r] (6.40), 7) Brent Werner [r] (5.80).

GIANTS TO HOLD THEIR SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

As well operating the Somerset Rebels in the Premier League of British Speedway, the club also run a junior team known as the Somerset Giants the aim of which is to bring through young British talent, as .Joint Team Manager Ray Dickson explains;

“The Somerset Giants were evolved when Mike Golding took over the reigns at the Oak Tree Arena in 2007.  Prior to that, during the Pete Toogood era, they known as the Somerset Junior Rebels, so in fact they have been in existence for around 4 seasons and previous to that we had been running second halves for up and coming riders from when Somerset first evolved in 2000.”

“The main objectives are to find riders to progress as assets of the club and to hopefully to ride for the Rebels, you only have to look at the Rebels team in 2007, Simon Walker, Danny Warwick and Jordan Frampton all came through the Somerset second halves training, riding more at the Oak Tree than anywhere else.  There are some who say second halves are a waste of time, but where do we find young British riders to ride for the Rebels?  There are clubs around in the leagues who just seem to concentrate looking for foreign riders but here at Somerset we do keep coming up with riders, as the above proves, to do a job for the club.”
 
“During 2007 there was the Academy League which due to not having clearly defined rules was only helpful to a degree. Unfortunately in 2008 there is no official league but some clubs are making the effort to run second halves junior meetings in which the Somerset Giants take part, after all it is a show which costs supporters money to get in and we look at it as a professional business so put on 21 heats of racing rather than 15 so more heats for the supporters money.”
 
"The Giants have already raced a number of meetings this season, home and away at Poole, home against Reading home and away at Swindon, we have a squad of riders at around 16 riders who cannot ride every week but we do have some of the squad riding at Weymouth and Plymouth in the Conference League, so not everyone is available to us due to their commitments with these clubs.”
 
This coming Friday the  Giants stage their Senior Individual Championship after the Rebels Premier League match with Redcar and will include the top riders from the Giants squad.  Then, on Monday 11th August  the Giants are at Coventry in an Academy Challenge with the return meeting between the two sides at the Oak Tree Arena on the 15th August this following the Rebels match against the Isle of Wight.
 
Line Up for Somerset Giants Individual Championship (8^th August); 1) Jay Pickard, 2) Nicky Mallett, 3) Alex McLeod, 4) Andy Braithwaite, 5) Kyle Newman, 6) Brendan Johnson, 7) David Gough, 8) Matt Bates

Line up at Coventry (11^th August) 1. Kyle Newman 2. Jay Pickard 3. Andy Braithwaite 4. David Gough

Rebels Ready For Another Busy Weekend

Although disappointed to come back from their Northern Tour of Workington and Glasgow without adding to the Premier League tally, the Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels will be fully focused for the visit of the Redcar Bears to the Oak Tree Arena on Friday [8^th].

Redcar will, no doubt, be looking to avenge the heavy home defeat the Rebels inflicted upon them back in May, the Bears win at Newcastle on Sunday showing that they have the potential to give Somerset a stern test on Friday night.

The Bears boast a spearhead at the top of the team that can rank alongside the best in the Premier League, the 1992 World Champion, Gary Havelock, and Scot James Grieves.  Both bring a great deal of experience to the Redcar side that, this pair apart, is one of youth, but with bags of potential.

New to the UK speedway scene this year, Australian Ty Proctor is certainly making his mark, and has made rapid strides this year, so much so, that he finds himself third in the Redcar averages.  Proctor made an impressive showing at the recent Premier League Pairs Championship held at the Oak Tree Arena and could be a real threat come Friday’s meeting.

Returning to the Redcar side after breaking his leg early on in the season is American Chris Kerr, who is now in his third season with the Bears, making his debut with them back in 2006. Rounding out the top 5 is young British star Josh Auty, the 2004 and 2005 British under 15 Champion.

At reserve Redcar track another young Australian, Arlo Bugeja, who rode for the Bears at the tail-end of 2007 and bring in guest Jay Herne as replacement for the injured Daniel Giffard.

As far as the Rebels are concerned they are hopeful that Emil Kramer will have shaken off the knock he sustained at Glasgow over the weekend, when he appeared to aggravate the leg and hip injury from which forced him from the side recently.

The main concern, however, remains with Simon Walker who is still being troubled by the back and vertebra injury which followed his fall at Reading at the end of June.  Walker has a further appointment with the hospital later this week, and a final decision as to whether he will ride or not will not be made until possibly Friday itself.  Should he prove to be unfit to ride, then Somerset will continue with the rider replacement facility in his absence.

Somerset then travel to Hertfordshire on Saturday and for a date with Rye House in the first leg of their KO Cup semi-final against the Rockets.  Rye House suffered a heavy defeat on their visit to Somerset in the Premier League back in May, but will be a different proposition on their own, tight, Hoddesdon raceway. 

With the tie being decided over two legs, the second leg being at the Oak Tree Arena on Friday 22^nd August, Somerset will be keen to ensure that they keep the scores close come the end of Saturday’s meeting to give them the chance to reach the Cup Final for the third year in a row.

The weekend is then completed on Sunday with Somerset travelling to Reading for the fourth time this year, Sunday’s meeting being in the Premier League, and the Rebels will be looking to emulate their Premier League title rivals, Edinburgh, who recently came away from  Berkshire with an impressive away win under their belts.

Somerset will keep the same line up and riding order for the matches as shown below for Friday's home meeting with Redcar when they travel to Rye House and Reading on the Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels –v- Redcar ‘TLS’ Bears [Friday 8th August]

Somerset Rebels; 1) Jason Doyle (9.73), 2) Simon Walker/rider replacement (6.69), 3) Emil Kramer [c] (9.10), 4) Matthias Kröger (6.67), 5) Jordan Frampton (6.71), 6) Stephan Katt [r] (6.40), 7) Brent Werner [r] (5.80).

Redcar Bears; 1) Gary Havelock [c] (9.21), 2) Josh Auty (4.52), 3) James Grieves (9.05), 4) Ty Proctor (7.21), 5) Chris Kerr (7.20), 6) Jay Herne [r] (3.00), 7) Arlo Bugeja [r] (3.22)

Double Blow For Rebels

The Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels have been hit by a double blow ahead of their busy weekend of Premier League action.

The first is the news that Rebels Captain, Simon Walker, has still not sufficiently recovered from his back injury and as a result will miss Somerset’s three matches this weekend, starting with the home match against Reading on Friday night.  With Emil Kramer making a return to the line up, Somerset only have the rider replacement facility available to them as cover for Walker’s absence, all the team members bar Jason Doyle and Emil Kramer being eligible to take Walker’s rides.  As Walker will be missing from Somerset’s away matches at Workington and Glasgow on Saturday and Sunday respectively, rider replacement is, once again, the only option available to the Rebels.

The second setback for the Rebels is that the club have been told by the BSPA that they are not entitled to a guest facility to cover for Stephan Katt at Glasgow on Sunday, when Katt will be contesting his European Grass Track semi-final in Germany.  Although the European Grass Track Championship is an official FIM event, the BSPA only allow a guest facility when a rider is absent for World or National Championship events, Katt’s meeting on Sunday, unfortunately, coming under neither of these headings.

With no facility open to the Rebels, their only option is to use a Conference League rider in place of Katt, Buxton’s Ben Taylor will, therefore, replace him at Glasgow, riding in the number 7 berth now that Katt has moved into one of the reserve berth’s following the application of the August rider average.  For Taylor it will be his second meeting in Somerset colours in as many days as he will be riding at number 2 for the Rebels at Workington on Saturday as replacement for Matthias Kroger who, as reported earlier, will be unavailable due to a previously arranged Continental commitment.