Poole 'Castle Cover' Pirates Lose First Leg of Elite League Final

    DORSET, ENGLAND, October 01, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Poole Pirates, sponsored by over 50s insurance specialist Castle Cover, last night lost the first leg of the Elite League final. The final showcased the most consistent team of the season, The Poole 'Castle Cover' Pirates, against the inform Coventry Bees who now take a 12 point advantage into the second leg.

It was a tough night for the riders of both teams as the wet and muddy track left the riders out of control at times. The Pirates really struggled to find their rhythm early on with a very poor start and were trailing by 12 points within the first 5 heats.

It was the Pirates captain Davey Watt who finally steadied the ship with their first win of the night. This was then quickly followed up by Bjarne Pedersen's with his first of three wins throughout the night. It wasn't until the 9th heat of the evening before the pirates finally got their first advantage (4-2).

Poole tried to gain some additional points to catch up with Coventry by using two tactical rides. But with Darcy Ward pushing too hard and sliding out and Pedersen only managing to finish second Poole were left with just 4 points from the two rides.

As conditions worsened it became harder and harder for the riders to keep consistent control and many riders ended up falling off in the final few heats. This led to quite a few restarts and some tough decisions for the referee as the riders were left frustrated with the conditions.

The evening finished with the Poole 'Castle Cover' Pirates trailing by 12 points with a big performance now needed next week in the second leg at Wimborne Road.

Castle Cover, who specialise in home insurance for the over 50s, renewed their sponsorship deal with the Pirates at the beginning of the season with the team also being offered incentives for finishing either first or second in the league. This incentive seems to have spurred the pirates on this season and the fans will be hoping that it will push them to fight back the deficit next week and take the league title back to Wimborne Road.

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