POOLE Pirates have one hand on the Elite League crown having returned to Dorset with a 37-34 lead over Coventry following tonight's abandoned meeting at Brandon.

Forecast rain arrived later than expected and prematurely ended the action after 12 heats just as Poole had swung the championship pendulum in their favour with three consecutive 4-2 victories.

Once again, reserve Kyle Newman was the star of the show with nine points from four rides, including a crucial second victory in what proved to be the final race.

Shamek Pawlicki belied his recent patchy form with a tenacious display which was ultimately rewarded with two heat wins. Compatriot Maciej Janowski joined guests Troy Batchelor and Danny King in vitally chipping away at the scoreboard throughout the evening.

Matt Williamson had a forgettable night having stepped in at reserve at the last moment after Poole-based Brendan Johnson – who rode in the semi-final second leg – turned down the guest booking.

Former Poole rider Kyle Howarth gave the hosts a strong start but Hans Andersen couldn’t quite get the better of Batchelor as Coventry took an early 4-2 lead.

Newman made the perfect start, flying to the front from the outside gate to take first reserve heat with aplomb, though backmarker Williamson made little impression in a shared heat.

Chris Harris made a much better start at the second attempt of heat three and took victory ahead of Janowski and Pawlicki, the latter bursting past Ben Barker on the final bend to split the spoils.

King and Newman flew out of the traps in heat two but Kenneth Hansen raced round the latter on lap two to prevent Poole’s first maximum of the night.

At 12-12, Harris and Andersen blitzed the fifth race, leaving Pawlicki and Vaclav Milik trailing in their wake to secure the first 5-1 of the evening.

But Poole’s top two of Janowski and Batchelor soon stifled Coventry’s momentum by immediately returning the favour, the Polish skipper racing away with his colleague overtaking Barker by the end of the first lap to restore parity at 18-18.

Coventry were on a 5-1 when Milik fell while pursuing second-placed James Sarjeant resulting in the home reserve’s exclusion from the re-run, which Howarth won ahead of the Czech as Williamson fell.

Hansen flew out of the traps but the persistent King passed his rival on lap three to take the honours in a nip-and-tuck finish to heat eight. Barker ultimately stole second with three riders vying for points on the line.

Garrity eventually passed Newman to win the second reserve heat but Pirates stuck to their task and heat 10 saw some tremendous racing with Pawlicki’s never-say-die attitude stealing victory on the final bend, passing Howarth with Janowski’s third place enough to reduce the arrears to one.

The fearless Milik then made a majestic start to heat 11 and marched to an easy victory with Batchelor taking third ahead of Barker as the visitors nudged in front for the first time.

Newman’s tenacity secured a third straight 4-2 for Poole to further extend the gap, gating well and fighting back to win despite briefly relinquishing the lead to Howarth.

It was then that referee Peter Clarke halted proceedings, much to the frustration of the home crowd with the overriding feeling that Poole had marched away from the Midlands with a pivotal advantage.

SCORES

Coventry Bees 34:

1 Hans Andersen (1-2*-0) 3+1

2 Kyle Howarth (3-3-2-2) 10

3 Ben Barker (0-0-1*-0) 1+1

4 Kenneth Hansen (2-1-2) 5

5 Chris Harris (3-3-2) 8

6 Jason Garrity (2-0-3-0) 5

7 James Sarjeant (1*-x- 1) 2+1

Team manager: Gary Havelock

Poole Pirates 37:

1 Troy Batchelor (guest) (2-2*-1) 5+1

2 Danny King (guest) (0-3-0-1) 4

3 Shamek Pawlicki (1*-1-3-3) 8+1

4 Vaclav Milik (0-2-3) 5

5 Maciej Janowski (2-3-1) 6

6 Matt Williamson (guest) (0-f-0) 0

7 Kyle Newman (3-1-2-3) 9

Team manager: Neil Middleditch

HEAT DETAILS

Ht 1: Howarth, Batchelor, Andersen, King, 60.8 (4-2)

Ht 2: Newman, Garrity, Sarjeant, Williamson, 61.2 (7-5)

Ht 3: (re-run) Harris, Janowski, Pawlicki, Barker, 59.6 (10-8)

Ht 4: King, Hansen, Newman, Garrity, 60.6 (12-12)

Ht 5: Harris, Andersen, Pawlicki, Milik, 59.9 (17-13)

Ht 6: Janowski, Batchelor, Hansen, Barker, 60.6 (18-18)

Ht 7: (re-run) Howarth, Milik, Williamson (fell), Sarjeant (excluded), 61.9 (21-20)

Ht 8: Pawlicki, Hansen, Barker, King, 62.3 (24-23)

Ht 9: (re-run x2, both tapes) Garrity, Newman, Sarjeant, Williamson, 61.6 (28-25)

Ht 10: Pawlicki, Howarth, Janowski, Andersen, 61.7 (30-29)

Ht 11: Milik, Harris, Batchelor, Barker, 63.4 (32-33)

Ht 12: Newman, Howarth, King, Garrity, 65.6 (34-37)