REPORT: PIRATES RETAIN KO CUP!

12/10/22

The Knockout Cup trophy will be staying at Wimborne Road after the Pirates secured an aggregate victory after just eleven heats of the second leg.

Redcar Bears, without key rider Charles Wright who had been ruled out forty-eight hours earlier after crashing in the Premiership Final at Belle Vue, knew they had to find some early heat advantages if they were to overturn the seven point deficit they suffered in their home leg, but had to wait until the second-half of the meeting before they could even find a race winner, by which time the Pirates had extended their aggregate lead to nineteen points and their grip on the silverware had tightened significantly.

Whilst the Pirates were not quite as free-flowing with their big heat scores as they had been over the course of their past three home meetings, they were always in command , content to share the first two heats with the Cook brothers taking a race win each. Ben beat Erik Riss by a comfortable margin as skipper Danny King, struggling with the broken finger on his clutch hand , trailed at the back. Zach was the runaway winner in heat two whilst Kyle Newman and Jordan Jenkins packed in the minor placings.
Poole opened up a second leg lead when Steve Worrall used the outside line well, showing plenty of energy, quality and determination. Early leader Drew Kemp, on a borrowed engine from Danny King, drifted back to third but recovered his momentum well by making long straights to try and find the pace to challenge Bears' guest Kye Thomson but eventually lost out on second place by 'a short head'. Lewis Kerr produced an unbelievable 'save' in heat four as he went round the fourth turn on one wheel and looked destined to hit the fence, but somehow managed to get the bike under control and continue his pursuit of Richard Lawson. Earlier, around turn two, Ablitt over slid the turn ending his chance of grabbing a third place. 

Steve Worrall enjoyed a tapes to flag heat five victory, Kemp putting in plenty of effort but never truly close enough to be in a realistic chance of scoring. An improved ride from King in heat six was supported by a great line switch at turn one by Ben Cook to set up a 5-1 which Kerr did his best to try and break. Jordan Jenkins caught Lawson unaware at turn two but the Poole man managed to find another gear as he hunted down and made a clean pass at the end of the third lap. Ben Cook put in a real battling effort to try and get by Kasper Andersen but he just missed out on joining his brother, in as part of a reserve shuffle, at the front. Worrall's maximum hopes were blown away in heat nine as he was pushed out wide for a second time, the heat having been restarted after Kerr made early movement at the start first time of asking. Kerr banked the Bears' first race win and a defiant Newman in third converted it into a Redcar advantage. King and B.Cook made all the running in heat ten and the visitors now needed maximums through to the end but it was the Pirates who collected one after Zach Cook made a super move on the second turn to get by Riss and join Lawson in the cup-winning 5-1.

A fine win in the heavy fine rain from Worrall was impressive but a sixty-score fell beyond the Pirates as Ablitt failed to score. Zach Cook replaced King in heat thirteen and Kerr offended for the second time at the start to earn a disqualification, so his place was taken by Newman. Lawson tried to slip inside Riss at turn two but the German held on. Then was given a bit of breathing room as Lawson almost parted company with his machine on the fourth turn but recovered well. It cost him, temporarily second place as Newman moved in to fill the void, but determination again from Lawson saw him regain the position a lap later.

Kemp again showed his best gating skills in heat fourteen, but it was Zach Cook who had plenty of work to do at the back, Edwards and Jenkins proving too strong this time out for the Aussie. Lawson had a heat fifteen victory under his belt when Thomson fell on the fourth turn of lap two, as Lawson was into his third circuit. Thomson was disqualified as the cause of the stoppage with the heat having to be re-run. Second time around, Riss made the cleanest and sharpest of gates and to close his night out with his second win, both of which coming at the expense of his old adversary Lawson.

POOLE  52
Danny King,0,3,3,RS=6 (3)
Ben Cook,3,2',1,2',1'=9+3 (5)
Steve Worrall,3,3,0,3=9 (4)
Drew Kemp,1,0,2,3=6 (4)
Richard Lawson,3,3,3,2,2=13 (5)
Zach Cook,3,1,3,2',0,0=9+1 (6)
Nathan Ablitt,0,0,RS,0=0 (3)
.
REDCAR 38
Erik Riss,2,2,1,3,3=11 (5)
Kasper Andersen,1',1',2,R=4+2 (4)
Kye Thomson,2,0,0,1',FD=3+1 (5)
Jordan Jenkins,0,2,1,1'=4+1 (4)
Lewis Kerr,2,1,3,XE=6 (4)
Kyle Newman,2,0,1,2,1=6 (5)
Jason Edwards,1',1',0,2=4+2 (4)
.
Ht 1:  B.Cook, E.Riss, K.Andersen, D.King 3-3 3-3 [59.09]
Ht 2:  Z.Cook, K.Newman, J.Edwards, N.Ablitt 3-3 6-6 [60.56]
Ht 3:  S.Worrall, K.Thomson, D.Kemp, J.Jenkins 4-2 10-8 [60.72]
Ht 4:  R.Lawson, L.Kerr, J.Edwards, N.Ablitt 3-3 13-11 [60.63]
Ht 5:  S.Worrall, E.Riss, K.Andersen, D.Kemp 3-3 16-14 [59.96]
Ht 6:  D.King, B.Cook, L.Kerr, K.Newman 5-1 21-15 [60.83]
Ht 7:  R.Lawson, J.Jenkins, Z.Cook, K.Thomson 4-2 25-17 [61.02]
Ht 8:  Z.Cook, K.Andersen, B.Cook, J.Edwards 4-2 29-19 [60.28]
Ht 9:  L.Kerr, D.Kemp, K.Newman, S.Worrall 2-4 31-23 [59.65]
Ht 10:  D.King, B.Cook, J.Jenkins, K.Thomson 5-1 36-24 [61.28]
Ht 11:  R.Lawson, Z.Cook, E.Riss, K.Andersen [rtd] 5-1 41-25 [59.96]
Ht 12:  S.Worrall, K.Newman, K.Thomson, N.Ablitt 3-3 44-28 [62.06]
Ht 13:  E.Riss, R.Lawson, K.Newman, Z.Cook, L.Kerr [tapes exc] 2-4 46-32 [62.82]
Ht 14:  D.Kemp, J.Edwards, J.Jenkins, Z.Cook 3-3 49-35 [62.24]
Ht 15:  E.Riss, R.Lawson, B.Cook, K.Thomson [fell exc] 3-3 52-38 [62.78]
REFEREE:  Chris Gay 
POOLE  won toss and chose gates 1&3 | REDCAR choose gates 1&3 in heat 15  
Poole win 100-79 on aggregate

Photographs: Anthony Burchell

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