Poole Pirates v Plymouth Gladiators

POOLE edged out Plymouth 47-43 in a tight BSN Series opener in front of a bumper Bank Holiday crowd at Wimborne Road.

The meeting was subject to an extensive early delay after a crash involving former Pirates rider Tobias Thomsen, who was taken to hospital, and Richard Lawson who was able to continue.

There was not a single 5-1 in the entire 15 races with Poole taking the lead for the first time with a 4-2 in Heat 10, before recording the same result in Heat 11.

The final four races were shared with Lawson’s Heat 15 win over Danny King and Scott Nicholls securing the home victory.

Lawson recovered from his crash to score 10+1 with captain Zach Cook on 11, and recent signing Kyle Newman notched six points. King scored 13 from five rides for Plymouth and reserve Daniel Klima picked up 9+2 from seven.

Newman said: “Obviously it’s been some time since I have been on a bike regularly, so to be competitive is a good platform to build from.

“I felt pretty good, just I lack a bit of race fitness to be fair. It’s just tensing up a little in the dirt and you probably saw some sort of shapes, a bit of everything going on!

“But I think (on Saturday) I’ll just sort of relax and calm down. I’ll look to move forward.”

BSN SERIES (SOUTHERN)
POOLE 47: Zach Cook 11, Richard Lawson 10+1, William Cairns 7+1, Lewis Kerr 6+1, Kyle Newman 6, Fraser Bowes 5+1, Cooper Rushen 2.
PLYMOUTH 43: Danny King 13, Daniel Klima 9+2, Ben Barker 8, Scott Nicholls 6+1, Joe Thompson 6+1, Tom Spencer 1+1, Tobias Thomsen 0.

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Photo credit: LIAM COCKWELL