SPEEDWAYWeymouth 45, Wightlink Islanders 43
FOR a second successive match, the patched-up Wightlink Islanders came tantalisingly close to winning only to miss out, going down to a two-point defeat in a last-heat decider in their National Trophy match at Weymouth, on Saturday.
Skipper Nick Simmons was the latest victim of the team’s injury jinx, ruled out prior to the match after injuring himself in a crash while guest riding for Somerset in the Premier League. Thankfully, Bournemouth’s Jerran Hart readily agreed to step in and deputise.
Hart did a great job earning 12 points over the evening but he was unable to join race leader Ben Hopwood in heat 15. Had he come second, instead of third, the Islanders’ would have gained a 5-1 heat maximum and forced a 44-44 draw.
However, it emerged after the race that Hart had managed to finish third while sitting on a broken saddle.
Team manager Chris Hunt said afterwards: "All my riders, including Jerran who was gutted not to have finished second behind Ben in that race, gave maximum effort."
He added: "Jerran, Ben and Matt Wright, who was out to prove something to his ex-club, were superb but I suppose we’ll always look back on tonight with a little disappointment. And most certainly we will feel sad as we look back on the 2009 season overall wondering, as I am doing here tonight, what might have been."
The season concludes on Tuesday at Smallbrook Stadium when the Islanders host Buxton Hitmen in the National Trophy. The meeting starts at 7.30pm.