WITH home matches for both Berwick Bandits and Newcastle Diamonds called off due to waterlogged tracks over the weekend, the latter were fortunate to have their match in South Wales on Saturday survive the wet weather.
The Diamonds took on the might of the new-look Newport Wasps in the Premier League at a track where they have a very proud record.
However, the Wasps were not overawed early on, hitting two massive 5-1 heat wins over the Diamonds to go 10-2 up – including a demolition of the visitors’ guest Cory Gathercole who was stuck at the rear of heat one.
A Diamonds revival began in heat three as Stuart Robson, freshly back from injury, shot out to lead and was joined up front by Kyle Newman.
The pair superbly rode their way to keep Robin Aspegren and Charlie Gjedde at the back of their own 1-5 to get the score back on track at 11-7.
For a while in heat four it looked like another Newcastle 5-1 with Richie Worrall and Claes Nedermark taking the lead.
However, this time both Leigh Lanham and Todd Kurtz passed the Dane on bend two.
Lanham took Worrall in similar vein one lap later as the Diamond reserve succumbed to Kurtz to reverse the result completely.
Gathercole finally found his expected form, winning heat five in style in a Newcastle 2-4 – nullified by Jason Doyle who took the sixth in a Newport 4-2 to move the score on to 22-14.
Nedermark made rapid amends in the seventh, holding out Lanham from first place, but the battle between Robson and Lanham for second was exceptional with passing and re-passing throughout to put another Newcastle maximum in the bag and tighten the score to 23-19.
Skipper Sneddon held off a major rearguard assault from Kurtz right through heat eight and, with Worrall keeping Sedgmen at bay, the Newcastle 2-4 brought them to within two of the Wasps in a scintillating encounter 25-23,
It was even closer after a heat- nine Newcastle 2-4, won again expertly by Nedermark over the forceful Gjedde to level the knife-edge match 27-all.
Robson and Newman projected Newcastle into a sensational lead in heat 10, taking Doyle apart from the gate.
Sedgmen had already been excluded for falling when Robson had passed him cleanly beneath, the 1-5 progressing the score to 28-32.
Gathercole became the local fans’ bad guy in the 11th when he went under Mark Jones who fell and was excluded by the referee.
In the re-run, Newcastle could only take the shared 3-3 behind Lanham.
Doyle held out Gathercole in the 13th, a race where Nedermark struggled to keep up with third placed Lanham in a home 4-2, as the gap tightened again to 40-38.
Gjedde and Kurtz hit hard in the penultimate race to team-ride a 5-1 over Robson and Newman, putting the home side back in front 43-41.
Doyle did the deed over Newcastle again in the final race. Alongside his equally fast-gating partner Lanham, they overwhelmed the Diamonds’ Robson and Gathercole – handing the win to the Wasps 48-42.
NEWPORT WASPS: Jason Doyle 13, Justin Sedgmen 3+1, Robin Aspergren 1+1, Charlie Gjedde 8, Leigh Lanham (Captain) 10+1, Mark Jones 2+1, Todd Kurtz 11+2
NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS: Cory Gathercole (Guest) 7, Derek Sneddon (Captain) 6+1, Jason King – Rider replacement, Stuart Robson 10+1, Claes Nedermark 8, Kyle Newman 9+2, Richie Worrall 2
