PIRATES retained their 13-month unbeaten record at Wimborne Road after a gutsy display earned the reigning Elite League champions victory over table-toppers Wolverhampton.

With no fewer than three riders missing from the line-up, Poole scorched to a 51-39 triumph and restricted the visitors to just one heat advantage in a meeting that remained close throughout.

Hans Andersen, Krzysztof Buczkowski and Brady Kurtz all hit double figures as Wolves suffered their first league defeat of the season, the trio scoring 37 of Poole’s points.

Against opposition that had won four out of four fixtures, Pirates were without recent signing Bjarne Pedersen due to racing commitments in Denmark, the veteran’s absence one of three to hit the Dorset side.

Adam Ellis missed out with a dislocated shoulder and foot problem sustained at Monmore Green on Monday, while reserve Kyle Newman remained sidelined by a groin problem.

Leicester’s Josh Auty came in for Ellis while Swindon’s Charles Wright featured in the absence of Newman.

Wolves made a strong start as Sam Masters got the jump in heat one and was swiftly joined by number one Freddie Lindgren, the Swede blasting round Chris Holder and Kurtz on the first two turns.

Kurtz had missed the gate in the opener but quickly turned it round. The Australian champion got a flier out of the traps and behind him, Wright chopped expertly under Kyle Howarth to ensure a home maximum.

Interim captain Andersen roared inside Wolves’s Joonas Kylmakorpi early in a shared heat three, before a carnage-laden outing left fans briefly concerned.

The visitors’ Kyle Howarth locked up on the third turn and in attempting to avoid his team-mate Jacob Thorssell also hit the shale, with the former excluded.

Thorssell duly saved Howarth’s blushes with a superb ride in the re-run, the 22-year-old passing both Wright and then Buczkowski to take the chequered flag.

Holder won an uneventful heat five from the gate as Poole inched 16-14 in front, while Buczkowski held his nerve under extreme pressure from Lindgren and Kylmakorpi early in the next race.

Pirates were briefly on course for a 5-1 in race seven but after Holder retired it was left to former Coventry man Andersen to do the business, the 35-year-old under little pressure as he led in Mikkel Bech and Thorssell.

Then, for the third heat in a row, Poole failed to do better than a 3-3 despite boasting the race winner. Buczkowski continued his fine evening with a supreme victory but guest Wright never threatened Masters in third.

Wolves had stuck relentlessly to their hosts since the start but Pirates extended to four points their advantage when Kurtz headed Thorssell, who had squeezed Buczkowski out of contention early on.

Peter Adams’s septet looked set to draw level when Lindgren and Masters seized the initiative next, only for the stubborn Andersen to pull out the move of the night.

Well back in third, the winter recruit chased hard and left supporters breathless with a stunning pass between Lindgren and Masters on turn four, turning the heat result on its head.

Holder won heat 11 comfortably and a maximum from Kurtz and Wright – the latter brilliantly keeping out Howarth – gave Poole an eight-point cushion.

Heat 13 was a from-the-gate affair in which Kylmakorpi saw off Holder and although Andersen’s winning run came to an end, the ex-Swindon ace did well to block Lindgren early on.

Poole wrapped up victory in a topsy-turvy penultimate race in which Buczkowski and Kurtz passed their counterparts, with the Aussie – on his seventh ride – just holding on for second despite a late mistake.

Andersen capped his terrific evening’s work with a chequered flag in heat 15, Kylmakorpi and Lindgren unable to get close to him.

Meanwhile, Andersen will aim to further boost his Speedway European Championship ambitions when he rides in the SEC semi-final in Mureck, Austria tomorrow.

The Dane will take on the likes of Krzysztof Kasprzak and Michael Jepsen Jensen with the top four set to advance to the SEC Challenge in Olching, Germany on Thursday, May 26.

Elsewhere, Holder is also in action in the second round of the Speedway Best Pairs in Landshut, Germany.

Holder and American star Greg Hancock guided Monster Energy to victory in the opening round in Torun, Poland last month.

RIDERS' SCORES AND HEAT DETAILS

Poole Pirates 51: 1 Chris Holder (1-3-r-3-2-0) 9, 2 rider replacement for Bjarne Pedersen, 3 Josh Auty (guest) (0-0-0) 0, 4 Krzysztof Buczkowski (2-3-3-1-3) 12, 5 Hans Andersen (3-3-3-1*-3) 13+1, 6 Brady Kurtz (0-3-1-3-0-3-2*) 12+1, 7 Charles Wright (guest) (2*-1*-0-2*) 5+3. Team manager: Neil Middleditch.

Wolverhampton 39: 1 Freddie Lindgren (3-2-2-0-1*) 8+1, 2 Sam Masters (2*-2-1*-1*) 6+3, 3 Mikkel Bech (1*-2-1*-0) 4+2, 4 Jacob Thorssell (3-1*-2-1) 7+1, 5 Joonas Kylmakorpi (2-1*-2-3-2) 10+1, 6 Max Clegg (0-0-0) 0, 7 Kyle Howarth (1-fx-2-0-1) 4. Team manager: Peter Adams.

Ht 1: Lindgren, Masters, Holder, Kurtz, 59.63 (1-5)

Ht 2: Kurtz, Wright, Howarth, Clegg, 59.94 (6-6)

Ht 3: Andersen, Kylmakorpi, Bech, Auty, 59.96 (9-9)

Ht 4 (re-run): Thorssell, Buczkowski, Wright, Howarth (fell, d/q), 60.56 (12-12)

Ht 5 (re-run): Holder, Masters, Kurtz, Clegg, 59.72 (16-14)

Ht 6: Buczkowski, Lindgren, Kylmakorpi, Auty, 60.28 (19-17)

Ht 7: Andersen, Bech, Thorssell, Holder (retired), 60.81 (22-20)

Ht 8: Buczkowski, Howarth, Masters, Wright, 60-34 (25-23)

Ht 9: Kurtz, Thorssell, Buczkowski, Howarth, 59.97 (29-25)

Ht 10: Andersen, Lindgren, Masters, Auty, 61.09 (32-28)

Ht 11: Holder, Kylmakorpi, Bech, Kurtz, 60.50 (35-31)

Ht 12: Kurtz, Wright, Howarth, Clegg, 61.03 (40-32)

Ht 13: Kylmakorpi, Holder, Andersen, Lindgren, 60.78 (43-35)

Ht 14: Buczkowski, Kurtz, Thorssell, Bech, 61.15 (48-36)

Ht 15: Andersen, Kylmakorpi, Lindgren, Holder, (51-39)

Elite League points: Poole Pirates 3 Wolverhampton 0.