RESULT: POOLE V LAKESIDE

Paul 'The Pirate' Starke took his tally to a paid 32 points haul in just 12 rides as a Poole guest against Lakeside opposition with an superb unbeaten performance for the 6-man Pirates.

Thwarted in their attempt to use Charles Wright as cover for the absent Adam Ellis the Pirates rode a man short which meant that in three of the heats they were restricted to just one rider. That proved no major handicap to the Dorset side who were on sharp form and rapidly built up a comfortable advantage with Starke unstoppable.

The Somerset and Leicester rider, standing in for the injured Kyle Newman who was generously presented with a cheque for £300 from the Riders' Equipment Fund,   completed his paid maximum with a blistering last lap ride in heat 12 to partner fellow reserve Bjarne Pedersen home for the 5-1 that gave the Pirates a 13 point advantage with just three heats remaining.

Starke who had been very alert from the tapes had conceded ground to the battling Robert Mear but patiently he prepared the late assault that had the Poole fans on their feet, highly appreciative of his efforts in both his guest appearances for Newman.

Poole boss Matt Ford said "What can you say about Paul. He has been a fabulous stand-in for us. After the late objection to us declaring Charles Wright and thus having no time to reconsider any options we had to go with just 6 men, but to be honest Paul was good enough for two men and it was a delight to see him picking up the points. The rest of the lads all rode well too and I am very satisfied with the outcome. We were always in control and even though there was a mid-meeting recovery to some extent by Lakeside I was confident that we would come through that and be strong enough to get the win."

As well as a terrific haul from Starke the Pirates were also well served by Bjarne Pedersen who was clearly relishing his position at reserve dropping just the one  point when Richard Lawson passed him in heat 9.

Chris Holder ended up riding as a lone Pirate in no fewer than three of his five rides the final time being in heat 15 when team-mate Hans Andersen was adjudged to have caused the fall of visiting skipper Andreas Jonsson.

The Poole captain was just completing an excellent move down the back straight and entering turn three to pass Jonsson when the GP rider fell heavily. Andersen was a bit surprised at his disqualification claiming "I think we will need to ride with wing mirrors in the future, I was unaware that I had done anything wrong and that anything had happened behind me. It was a disappointment to be disqualified but that was the way the referee saw it and so what can you do."

Jonsson withdrew from the re-run and was replaced by Lawson but Holder was enjoying the responsibility of carrying the Poole colours solo and scorched to his third win of the night.

The Pirates who have now moved to within one point of fourth placed Lakeside, but with 5 matches in hand over the Hammers, visit Coventry on Friday.

Poole 52
C. Holder 3,1',3,0,3=10+1
No Rider
K. Buczkowski 1,2,0,3=6
B. Kurtz 2',1',2',1=6+3
H. Andersen 3,2,1,1,Dq=7
B. Pedersen 3,2',2,3=10+1
P. Starke 2',3,3,3,2'=13+2
LAKESIDE 41
A. Jonsson 2,6,2',3=13+1
L. Bridger 1,1,1,1,3=7
R. Lawson 0,3,3,2,0,1'=9+1
R. Replacement =0
K. Nilsson 2,0,1',2',2=7+2
R. Mear 1,0,0,1,1,2=5
L. Kerr F,0,0,0=0

Ht 1 C. Holder A. Jonsson L. Bridger  .  3-3 (3-3) (59.87)
Ht 2 B. Pedersen P. Starke R. Mear L. Kerr (Fell) 5-1 (8-4) (61.47)
Ht 3 H. Andersen K. Nilsson K. Buczkowski R. Lawson 4-2 (12-6) (60.56)
Ht 4 P. Starke B. Kurtz L. Bridger R. Mear 5-1 (17-7) (60.9)
Ht 5 P. Starke B. Pedersen L. Bridger L. Kerr 5-1 (22-8) (61.22)
Ht 6 A. Jonsson (TR) K. Buczkowski B. Kurtz K. Nilsson 3-6 (25-14) (60.93)
Ht 7 R. Lawson H. Andersen C. Holder R. Mear 3-3 (28-17) (61.09)
Ht 8 P. Starke B. Kurtz L. Bridger L. Kerr 5-1 (33-18) (61.29)
Ht 9 R. Lawson B. Pedersen R. Mear  .  2-4 (35-22) (61.44)
Ht 10 L. Bridger A. Jonsson H. Andersen K. Buczkowski 1-5 (36-27) (61.87)
Ht 11 C. Holder R. Lawson K. Nilsson  .  3-3 (39-30) (61.06)
Ht 12 B. Pedersen P. Starke R. Mear L. Kerr 5-1 (44-31) (62.03)
Ht 13 A. Jonsson K. Nilsson H. Andersen C. Holder 1-5 (45-36) (61.1)
Ht 14 K. Buczkowski R. Mear B. Kurtz R. Lawson 4-2 (49-38) (61.75)
Ht 15 C. Holder K. Nilsson R. Lawson H. Andersen(D/Q) 3-3 (52-41) (61.68)

Referee Dave Robinson
Gates: Poole win toss and take 1&3. Lakeside took 1&3 in heat 15
League Points: Poole 3 Lakeside 0.