NEIL Middleditch revealed how heavy morning rain had led to the surprise postponement of Pirates’ SGB Premiership clash with Leicester tonight.

Pirates had hoped to build on their narrow defeat at high-fliers Wolverhampton on Monday but their bid hit the buffers an hour before the meeting’s scheduled start.

Although there was no rain at that time, the damage had already been done after moisture found its way into the base of the track.

Team boss Middleditch admitted supporters would find the decision difficult to understand but revealed it had been the correct call.

He told the Daily Echo: “We had so much heavy rain this morning that the track was actually under water until about lunchtime.

“They took all the water off but it’s gone into the base of the track and has broken it up and made it unraceable.

“There are a couple of massive holes on the first turn in particular and you have to think of the riders’ safety.

“They are the ones who decided, in consultation with the referee, that the track was not raceable.

“You can tell the riders to not ride into holes but the problem is, as a racer you see a gap and you go through it.

“If you then hit a hole, you could crash into other riders and it could be carnage.

“It’s a shame and people will find it hard to believe but the riders are the ones who decided it wasn’t raceable and they are the ones who have to go out there.

“I walked around earlier on my own and had a look at it and thought it was looking a bit dodgy, to say the least.

“As you kicked down, you could see it was just going to break up. There is no way you could have done 15 heats.

“Given the amount of rain we had, it has soaked right through and destroyed the track.

“There was not enough sunshine to get the track back to the right condition.”