REACTION: SUPERB TOM SCORES BIG AGAIN

Another masterclass performance from Tom Brennan saw the Poole 'Wessex Marine' Pirates stun their hosts the Monarch Oxford Cheetahs as they came from eight points down to hold an advanatage of three points by the heat eleven interval and remain on course for qualification in the BSN Series.

Poole promoter Dan Ford was quick to heap praise on the rider who, for part of the winter wasn't even in their thinking for 2024 "Tom is in such superb form at the minute and riding with so much confidence and ability. He is winning races that you wouldn't expect him to and he is doing it the hard way, with some tenacious riding. His win over Sam Masters tonight in heat ten was sublime. What is the saying, "speedway from the top drawer"
"We didn't quite manage to pull off the win but we all knew it was going to be a tough place to come and get a result. Just last week here  they turned over Glasgow in the Knockout Cup after being twelve points down from the first leg, so to run them as close as we did was a credit to the team as a whole and the meeting really came alive in the second half."

As well as Brennan's solid fourteen out of a possible fifteen return, Richard Lawson also weighed in with thirteen from six rides including that lead-taking 5-1 with Tobias Thomsen (paid 5) in heat eleven. Lawson was also prominent in heat thirteen, pulling off a tremendous pass to get by Masters and chase Scott Nicholls home, whilst his effort to try and join Brennan at the front in heat fifteen, which if attained would have secured the win for Poole, was only thwarted by a defiant Nicholls again.

Ben Cook (paid seven) and Sam Hagon (6) worked hard for their respective contributions whilst Zach Cook scored paid four, hampered somewhat by the ill-effects of his track crash at Berwick on Saturday night.

Although Oxford's victory on the night moves them to the top of the three-team Southern Group they will only be temporary occupants of that spot as the group winners will be decided by the aggregate point winners between Poole and Plymouth when they meet later this month (22nd at Poole and 25th at Plymouth).

OXFORD 45 ,Scott Nicholls 12 (3,3,1,3,2) ,Sam Masters 9 (3,3,2,1,0) ,Cameron Heeps 8 (2,3,1,2) ,Luke Killeen 6+2 (2',1,2,0,1') ,Ashton Boughen 6 (3,0,F,RS,3) ,Jordan Jenkins 4+2 (1',1,FD,2') ,Henry Atkins 0 (0,0,XD,RS) ,
POOLE 44 ,Tom Brennan 14 (3,2,3,3,3) ,Richard Lawson 13 (2,2,3,3,2,1) ,Sam Hagon 6 (1,2,3,TS,0) ,Ben Cook 5+2 (2,1',2',0) ,Tobias Thomsen 3+2 (1',0,FD,2') ,Zach Cook 3+1 (0,1',1,1) ,Max Perry 0 (F,0,RS,0)

Full heat details and match report here