DAKOTA North delivered his first paid maximum in Pirates kevlars as Neil Middleditch’s side returned to winning ways with a routine home victory over Wolverhampton.

Missing arguably their two biggest weapons in skipper Maciej Janowski and reserve Kyle Newman, Poole put to the sword a Wolves team that suffered heavily in the absence of heat leader Peter Karlsson.

A 55-35 margin of victory was far from flattering on a much-improved track, with Chris Harris and Charles Wright proving excellent guest bookings for Pirates.

And a sizeable haul for stand-in captain Chris Holder – albeit from number two – raised spirits among the Poole faithful following three meetings without a win.

On a maximum in the opener thanks in part to Holder’s rapid gate, Poole were pegged back to a 4-2 after Freddie Lindgren’s speed proved too much for Davey Watt.

Wright’s round-the-boards move was the highlight of a re-run reserves’ race, the Somerset ace swooping from fourth to second on turn two.

A peerless ride from North was not quite matched by temporary team-mate Harris who had to settle for a point following a failed pursuit of Tobiasz Musielak, despite the Coventry man twice coming close to a pass.

Wright and Kacper Gomolski were barely troubled in heat four and Pirates went into the first track grading 16-8 in front.

An unspectacular heat five was shared but Gomolski and North continued their impressive form with a maximum next time out, the duo always in control against Lindgren and Musielak following jet-propelled starts.

Wolverhampton appeared set for a 5-1 in heat seven but Harris charged past Ricky Wells with two turns left, limiting the damage caused by Musielak out front.

Gomolski continued to look a classy proposition under pressure from Jacob Thorssell and Lewis Blackbird in heat eight, which yielded a fourth win in eight outings for gate one.

Having initially selected the wrong starting slot and gardened accordingly, Grand Prix star Holder found gate three to his liking as he triumphed by a country mile.

And things got even better for Pirates as Harris and North wrecked Lindgren’s tactical with a dominant display.

Sixteen points in front, the hosts did not let up and Holder in particular appeared to have the bit between his teeth, the Aussie contributing three points towards a 4-2 in heat 11.

Blackbird was flourishing in Newman’s absence but the reserve’s race win did little to eat into the advantage.

Watt and Harris were untouchable after bend two of heat 13 despite Lindgren’s best efforts and North completed his paid maximum in fine style in the penultimate outing.

Holder racked up his fourth win in the final showdown to ensure that Wolves had only taken the chequered flag in four out of 15 heats.

Meanwhile, Blackbird will guest for Newman at Lakeside on Friday should the latter not recover from an elbow problem. No decision has been made on cover for Janowski.

RIDERS’ SCORES AND HEAT DETAILS

Pirates 55: 1 Davey Watt (1-0-1-3-r) 5, 2 Chris Holder (3-1*-3-3-3) 13+1, 3 Dakota North (3-2*-2*-3) 10+2, 4 Kacper Gomolski (2*-3-3-f) 8+1, 5 Chris Harris, guest (1-2-3-2*) 8+1, 6 Paul Starke (1*-2-1-0) 4+1, 7 Charles Wright, guest (2-3-0-2) 7. Team manager: Neil Middleditch.

Wolves 35: 1 Freddie Lindgren (2-1-1^-1) 5, 2 Jacob Thorssell (0-0-3-2-0-2) 7, 3 Tobiasz Musielak (2-0-3-0-1*-1*) 7+2, 4 Ricky Wells (1-1-0-2-2) 6, 5 Peter Karlsson r/r, 6 Lewis Blackbird (3-0-1*-2-3-0) 9+1, 7 Josh Bates (0-0-1) 1. Team manager: Peter Adams.

Ht 1: Holder, Lindgren, Watt, Thorssell, 61.00 (4-2)

Ht 2 (re-run): Blackbird, Wright, Starke, Bates, 61.82 (7-5)

Ht 3: North, Musielak, Harris, Thorssell, 60.47 (11-7)

Ht 4: Wright, Gomolski, Wells, Bates, 61.88 (16-8)

Ht 5: Thorssell, Starke, Holder, Blackbird, 60.53 (19-11)

Ht 6: Gomolski, North, Lindgren, Musielak, 61.19 (24-12)

Ht 7: Musielak, Harris, Wells, Watt, 60.94 (26-16)

Ht 8 (re-run): Gomolski, Thorssell, Blackbird, Wright, 61.66 (29-19)

Ht 9: Holder, Blackbird, Starke, Wells, 60.97 (33-21)

Ht 10: Harris, North, Lindgren, Thorssell, 60.60 (38-22)

Ht 11: Holder, Wells, Watt, Musielak, 60.97 (42-24)

Ht 12: Blackbird, Wright, Bates, Starke, 61.59 (44-28)

Ht 13: Watt, Harris, Lindgren, Blackbird, 60.96 (49-29)                                    

Ht 14: North, Wells, Musielak, Gomolski (fell), 61.32 (52-32)

Ht 15: Holder, Thorssell, Musielak, Watt (retired), 61.41 (55-35)

STAR RIDER – DAKOTA NORTH

A score of 10 paid 12 said it all – Dakota North was at the peak of his powers at Wimborne Road.

You could justifiably claim that Wolves put up little resistance but that should not detract from a determined effort by the Victorian.

North played his part in two maximums, both of which were secured with ease, and looked a fearsome proposition.

A special mention goes to Kacper Gomolski who was terrific value throughout and came close to a paid maximum of his own.