REACTION: CHANGES FOR SKIPPER KING BRING UP A TREBLE

Poole skipper Danny King admitted he "mis-gauged" the Wimborne Road track after his pre-meeting track walk and had to desperately change his set-up after two rides that had yielded him just three points. Those changes however paid dividends as he finished with three unbeaten rides, as the Pirates banked another three league points, defeating Birmingham by 54-36.

King, who will assume the number one race jacket from the turn of the month, following the release of the first set of averages for the season explained "I had a little bit of a sulk after my first two rides and had to make some changes. The track caught me out a bit as there wasn't quite as much material on it as I had thought during the track walk and so we just had to de-tune the bike a little bit after I persevered for two rides, and in doing that I was able to make better starts."

King's treble to sign off his night with, provided excellent support to his two fellow heat leaders, Steve Worrall and Richard Lawson, both of who went through the card unbeaten by an opponent,  Lawson now having strung together a sequence of twelve Wimborne Road rides without defeat and only dropped a single point in his last fourteen home rides, evidence that he is enjoying his move to Poole.

The Cumbrian had to attack from behind in three of his four outings as the Pirates saw off the Brummies, who relied heavily on British Champion Adam Ellis (12) and 2021 Pirate Stefan Nielsen (7+2), whilst their skipper Ashley Morris chipped in with a paid eleven return from six outings.

Poole had built up a ten point lead by the interval, which came after heat ten and with the two Poole reserves, Drew Kemp and Nathan Ablitt, both failing to score in their immediate respective rides after the break the Brummies were able to keep their hopes of a consolation away point alive. But King and Worrall twice paired up for maximum points in heats thirteen and fifteen to send the Brummies home pointless, a journey they will make in the knowledge that they have posted the highest opposition score to-date at the Pirates' fortress.

POOLE 54 ,S.Worrall 13+2 (3,3,3,2',2') ,D.King 12 (2,1,3,3,3) ,R.Lawson 10+2 (2',2',3,3) ,B.Cook 9 (3,3,1,2) ,Z.Cook 6+1 (2',1,3,0) ,D.Kemp 3+1 (2,0,0,1') ,N.Ablitt 1+1 (0,1',R,0) 
BIRMINGHAM 36 ,A.Ellis 12 (3,2,3,2,2,R) ,A.Morris 9+2 (1,2',1',2,3,R) ,S.Nielsen 7+2 (3,0,2,RS,1',1') ,C.Vissing 5 (0,1,2,1,1) ,J.Shanes 2+1 (1,0,0,1',RS) ,J.Pearson 1 (1,F,RS,0,0)

Full heat details and report here