PIRATES EXPLAIN CALL-OFF DECISION

POOLE promoter Dan Ford has moved to clarify the circumstances of Tuesday’s postponement at Wimborne Road.

The Pirates called off the first leg of their Cab Direct Championship play-off semi-final against Redcar in late morning due to a forecast of heavy rain, with the meeting now set to take place next Tuesday.

That will now be the second leg assuming the weather does not intervene on Teesside this Sunday, but Ford has stressed the original schedule had been very much their own choice.

He said: “We made the early decision in order to save travelling supporters a wasted journey, and to avoid unnecessary disruption for the riders. Our concern was not only getting the meeting started, but also whether we could complete all 15 heats.

“I also want to address any suggestion that we postponed to gain the advantage of staging the second leg. That simply isn’t the case.

“Having finished above Redcar in the league we were entitled to the choice of leg and had no issue with going first, and wanted to get the semi-final underway as soon as possible.

“As it turned out, the forecast proved unreliable and the rain didn’t arrive until around 9pm. While we may have managed to get underway, there was no guarantee of completing the full meeting.

“For a play-off semi-final, we want 15 heats of proper racing on a track that gives the riders the chance to race, not just circulate on a wet surface.”