2023 THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

Poole promoter Dan Ford reflects on the 2023 Wessex Marine Pirates' season which has officially come to a close following the recent downturn in the weather, which resulted in the double postponement of the Jubilee Final.
 

Reviewing the season, Ford, whose tenure at the helm had for the past two seasons been dominant in terms of success, admitted "When we look back on the 2023 record then obviously by our standards it finished as a relatively disappointing season despite winning the BSN Series, finishing top of the league and reaching all three major finals. Our season just kind of imploded at the end and we came up short in both the Grand Final and the Knockout Cup. We have been left wondering what might have been had the season finished a month earlier but overall it wasn't a complete disaster. We did remain unbeaten at home all season and I am told that we have now gone thirty-one official home meetings without a defeat which is some statistic in my view. 

"On behalf of myself and my dad, I would like to thank all our partners and sponsors for their backing throughout the season, our incredible staff and to express our sincere thanks to the terrific supporters we have here at Poole. We have been delighted to have seen our attendance increase this season and we are just very disappointed that we could not secure those two big trophies for them. 

"The hard work now begins as we look ahead to 2024 and build a team strong and exciting enough to bring the silverware back to where we want it to be."

Ford is correct in his comments that the 2023 was not a total disaster. From the official competitions, Poole rode 37 meetings (including one abandoned) and won 28 of them, with three draws (two of which were decided by victorious Superheat race-offs) and just six defeats.

By competition, the statistics read

SGB Cab Direct Championship - 16 completed fixtures, 14 wins*, 2 losses (* Poole won 5-4 at Redcar in Superheat after 45-45 scores from the fifteen programmed heats) 
Race Points For 815 (+5)
Race Points Against 825 (+4)

SGB Cab Direct Championship Play-Off - 6 completed fixtures, 5 wins*, 1 loss (*Poole won 6-3 at home against Scunthorpe after 45-45 scores from the fifteen programme rides)
Race Points For 289 (+6)
Race Points Against 251 (+3)

BSN Series - 8 completed fixtures 6 wins, 2 losses
Race Points For 410 
Race Points Against 308

Championship Knockout Cup - 6 completed fixtures 3 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses
Race Points For 289 
Race Points Against 251

Overall 
Race Points For 1803 (plus 11 in Superheats)
Race Points Against 1435 (plus 7 in Superheats)