NEIL Middleditch admitted the Wimborne Road track had not been at its best for Pirates' draw with Belle Vue but insisted the weather had dictated conditions.

Poole were held to a 45-45 draw by an impressive Aces septet and stand-in skipper Chris Holder voiced worries over the circuit after heat 15.

Team boss Middleditch admitted the first turn had proved problematic but insisted that earlier rainfall had had a significant influence.

Middleditch told the Daily Echo: "There was a very big bump going into turn one which was of concern.

"I spoke with the track curator about that because it caused problems. On one occasion, Kyle Newman came in and had his foot thrown off the footrest, so I think that's one thing that needs to be looked at.

"The weather didn't help matters because normally you can get some water in the track and it will create dirt, whereas on Wednesday that wasn't the case.

"We had rain but it wasn't enough to get into the base of the track and we couldn't water the track further for fear of losing the meeting altogether.

"The weather dictated how the track was going to be."

A 4-2 reverse in the final heat meant that Pirates - without talisman Maciej Janowski - narrowly avoided back-to-back home defeats.

And Middleditch admitted he had been relieved to emerge with a point from a testing clash with Mark Lemon's side.

"In the end, I was happy to get a draw," he added.

"The Belle Vue boys did their jobs and Craig Cook had one of his better meetings down at Poole.

"We missed Maciej who will score a minimum of eight or nine points for you and that can be the difference between winning and losing.

"I'm not overly worried because there is a long way to go in the season.

"I think a positive we can take is that Chris came back from a couple of very indifferent rides to record some solid wins before he got pipped in heat 15.

"Sometimes as a rider, you can't put your finger on why you win a race or why you don't. But the last three rides were the Chris Holder of old."