Robins humbled by rampant Pirates

8:47am Friday 8th August 2008

Swindon Robins 42, Poole Pirates 51

SPEEDWAY: Swindon slumped to a disappointing nine point home defeat at the hands of a rampant Poole septet last night.

An impeccable paid 18 point maximum from captain Leigh Adams and an impressive paid 13 point haul from Jurica Pavlic wasn't enough to halt the Pirates' spirited charge.

For Poole it was their second Abbey Stadium victory of the 2008 season and in they bolstered their lead at the top of the Elite league standings.

The Pirates ripped Swindon apart in the middle sector of the meeting and had roared to a 14 point lead after heat12.

A Leigh Adams tactical ride in heat 13 temporarily halted the Poole charge but the damage had already been inflicted and the Dorset side cruised to a comfortable nine point victory.

Adams once again headed the Swindon score chart with a flawless paid 18 point maximum. The bumper haul means the Robins skipper is now just 10 points away from overtaking Martin Ashby as Swindon's all time points scorers.

The dependable Australian received brilliant support from Blunsdon debutant Jurica Pavlic who notched up a scintillating paid 13 from his six ride schedule.

The 19-year-old Croatian certainly endeared himself to the Swindon fans with three race wins and an array of stylish riding that caught the eye.

However, Adams and Pavlic received little back up and contributed a mammoth 29 of Swindon's eventual 42 points.

Adams conjured a lightening fast start in the opener to lead into turn one and was untroubled throughout. James Wright struggled to recover from a poor getaway and despite asserting pressure on the Poole duo in the latter stages was unable to stamp his authority.

Daniel Davidsson engineered an intelligent second bend to grab the lead in the ensuing race and the Swede looked to be cruising to victory before an engine failure on the home straight of the third lap caused him to retire.

Davidsson's misfortune provided Jurica Pavlic with his maiden Blunsdon victory and Manuel Hauzinger's third placed finish propelled Swindon into an early two point advantage.

The Pirates quickly levelled with a 4-2 of their own in heat three that saw Bjarne Pedersen inflict defeat on his compatriot Mads Korneliussen.

Troy Batchelor was penalised for exceeding the two minute time allowance in race four and the tenacious Australian opted to start the race from a 15 metre handicap.

Jurcia Pavlic demonstrated great composure to repel a spirited challenge from Davey Watt and gained his second successive heat win.

At the rear, Troy Batchelor showed impressive speed to place pressure on Freddie Eriksson but was unable to secure a route past the Poole reserve.

Chris Holder and Magnus Zetterstrom collected the first 5-1 of the evening with victory in a heat five that saw Travis McGowan fall in the latter stages while challenging for second spot.

With the Pirates holding a four point lead, Adams eased to victory in heat six while a third place from James Wright ensured Swindon slashed the Poole advantage.

A points share ensued in heat seven via a Bjarne Pedersen race win before a second successive 3-3 followed in heat eight.

Poole bolstered their lead with a comfortable 5-1 in race nine through Watt and Eriksson before Adams once again steadied the ship in heat ten.

However, the Pirates asserted their superiority with successive 5-1 advantages in heats 11 and 12 that left Swindon flummoxed and trailing by a daunting 14 points.

Adams was nominated for a tactical ride in heat 13 and delivered the goods but a disappointing ride from Batchelor meant the effectiveness of the move was minimised.

Daniel Davidsson and Adam Skornicki re-bolstered the Poole advantage with a 4-2 in heat 14 which sealed victory for the Dorset side.

Adams and Pavlic restored some pride for Swindon with a well worked 5-1 heat advantage in the concluding race which shuffled Swindon's tally along to 42.

Alun Rossiter's men will be seeking an improve performance when they travel to Lakeside tonight for their third Elite league meeting in five days.