REACTION: BATTERED STARKE DELIVERS FINAL BLOW

The Wessex Marine Pirates signed off their regular 2025 SCB Cab Direct Championship league fixtures with a fourth away and had an unlikely hero to thank - reserve Paul Starke.

After a first ride retirement, when his bike packed up moments after Jonas Knudsen had suffered a similar fate, Starke made valuable contributions in each of his remaining five rides, including the lead role in the match-clinching heat fourteen.
In between that retirement and the penultimate heat win, Starke had been on the deck twice but finished the night with a broad smile on his face and in his own words "a happy man". 

Reflecting on his heat fourteen ride, brought in as a replacement for Will Cairns he summed it up, saying  "We got there in the end. For me it was one of those nights, being on the floor twice, and suffering a  breakdown. But we knew we needed to try and relieve the pressure for heat fifteen and we gave ourselves a chance and the boys went and did it in the end " 
"I  knew in fourteen that we had to do something in so I just sent it. I had the confidence because Zach was there so it was just a matter of holding on and we got there in the end and I'm happy, a bit sore, but happy and I'll be back to bricklaying in the morning" 

The 5-1 from Starke and Cook sealed the bonus point, leaving Richard Lawson and skipper Cook to avoid a 5-1 defeat to secure the league win, that sees the Pirates finish on 31 points, a total that can only be bettered by Glasgow, who are currently on 27 points and have three matches to complete. They have to face their arch-rivals Edinburgh home and away, as well as a trip to Workington. 

Poole had been looking very comfortable for much of the meeting and had even seen off a tactical ride from Sam Masters in heat nine, that didn't allow the host to claw any of the seven points they were trailing by at that stage.  But four heats later, with two 5-1's being posted, both Masters-centric, the Cheetahs found themselves holding a single point lead, but Starke and Cook stepped up to the plate and Oxford joined Edinburgh, Glasgow and Scunthorpe as sides beaten at home by the Pirates this term.

OXFORD 43 -Sam Masters 16+1 (2,3,3,3,2',3) ,Luke Killeen 8 (3,2,2,1) ,Jonas Knudsen 6+1 (R,1',2,3) ,Cameron Heeps 6+1 (2,0,1',3,0) ,Jacob Hook 4+3 (1',0,1',2') ,Jordan Jenkins 2 (R,2,0,FD) ,Mitch McDiarmid 1 (1,0,TS,0)
POOLE 46 -Richard Lawson 12 (3,3,3,1,2) ,Zach Cook 10+2 (3,3,1,2',1') ,Paul Starke 8+1 (R,1,1,1',2,3) ,Lewis Kerr 7+2 (2',1,3,0,1') ,Anders Rowe 7 (3,2,2,0) ,William Cairns 2 (R,2,0,0,0,RS)

Match Details

Photo credit Liam Cockwell