NEIL Middleditch hailed the return to form of Brady Kurtz and another away point after Pirates were beaten 48-42 at SGB Premiership high-fliers Belle Vue.

Spearhead Kurtz pitched in with a superb 13 paid 14 as his team gained a losing point for the third away fixture in a row.

Poole team boss Middleditch told the Daily Echo: “Brady was very down after the Somerset meeting but he worked on his equipment and tonight he came out all guns blazing and showed just what he is capable of.

“It was a very good result and I was very pleased with it. A point on the road is a well-earned point.

“We’ve been getting away points, which a lot of clubs haven’t been getting, and we will be very capable of winning away meetings when we all fire together.”

Among the interested observers at the National Speedway Stadium were Bournemouth-raised former Page Three girl Leilani Dowding and The Cult’s Billy Duffy – both guests of Poole chief Matt Ford.

Pirates motored to a surprise maximum in the opening heat, Kurtz giving his confidence a welcome boost with a win from the gate.

Mateusz Szczepaniak then held his nerve to see off Damian Drozdz, with Kacper Woryna diving past Jye Etheridge for third on the final bend.

Belle Vue checked Pirates’ progress with a 4-2 but the visitors kept their noses in front with a shared outing in race four, despite Max Fricke rounding Woryna and skipper Josh Grajczonek early on.

That was the start of a string of 3-3s. Next time out, Kurtz clung on under pressure from Dan Bewley but Linus Sundstrom could not keep Rohan Tungate at bay for third.

Backmarker Jason Garrity’s fall relieved the pressure on Grajczonek and Szczepaniak before Richie Worrall’s jet-propelled start got him a win ahead of Fricke.

Garrity remedied his failure to score in his opening two rides with a heat eight win ahead of Drozdz which drew the Aces level.

And a 4-2 from Tungate and Bewley in the next clash put the hosts in front for the first time.

Poole were briefly on a maximum in heat 10 which became a 3-3 when Garrity and Craig Cook forced their way past Worrall.

And a Belle Vue 5-1 ended Kurtz’s winning streak next and extended to six points the lead.

Back came Kurtz with a win as a tactical substitute but Worrall was squeezed out for third by Drozdz.

Fricke suffered mechanical gremlins in heat 13 but Cook took the victory, with yet another 3-3 in heat 14 – won in thrilling fashion by Woryna – keeping Poole’s hopes of a point on a knife edge.

But Pirates profited from a Fricke error in heat 15 to secure their consolation, despite Cook taking the chequered flag.

Middleditch’s troops are next in action at home to Somerset in the Knockout Cup on Wednesday.

The Dorset outfit must overturn a 14-point deficit in order to advance to the semi-finals.

RIDERS' SCORES AND HEAT DETAILS

Belle Vue 48: 1 Craig Cook (1-3-1*-3-3) 11+1, 2 Jason Garrity (0-f-3-2) 5, 3 Dan Bewley (1-2-1-2) 6, 4 Rohan Tungate (3-1*-3-2) 9+1, 5 Max Fricke (3-2-3-r-0) 8, 6 Jye Etheridge (0-1*-2*-1*) 4+3, 7 Damian Drozdz (2-0-2*-1*) 5+2.

Pirates 42: 1 Brady Kurtz (3-3-1-3-2-1*) 13+1, 2 Linus Sundstrom (2*-0-0-0) 2+1, 3 Richie Worrall (0-3-0-0) 3, 4 Nicolai Klindt (2-r-3-0) 5, 5 Josh Grajczonek (1*-2-2-1*) 6+2, 6 Mateusz Szczepaniak (3-1*-0) 4+1, 7 Kacper Woryna (1-2-1-3-2) 9.

HT 1: Kurtz, Sundstrom, Cook, Garrity, 61.35 (1-5)

HT 2: Szczepaniak, Drozdz, Woryna, Etheridge, 61.84 (3-9)

HT 3: Tungate, Klindt, Bewley, Worrall, 60.66 (7-11)

HT 4: Fricke, Woryna, Grajczonek, Drozdz, 60.88 (10-14)

HT 5: Kurtz, Bewley, Tungate, Sundstrom, 60.81 (13-17)

HT 6: Cook, Grajczonek, Szczepaniak, Garrity (fell), awarded (16-20)

HT 7 (re-run): Worrall, Fricke, Etheridge, Klindt (retired), 61.85 (19-23)

HT 8: Garrity, Drozdz, Woryna, Sundstrom, 63.09 (24-24)

HT 9: Tungate, Grajczonek, Bewley, Szczepaniak, 62.15 (28-26)

HT 10: Klindt, Garrity, Cook, Worrall, 62.82 (31-29)

HT 11: Fricke, Etheridge, Kurtz, Sundstrom, 62.53 (36-30)

HT 12: Kurtz, Bewley, Drozdz, Worrall, 62.63 (39-33)

HT 13: Cook, Kurtz, Grajczonek, Fricke (retired), 62.75 (42-36)

HT 14: Woryna, Tungate, Etheridge, Klindt, 63.38 (45-39)

HT 15: Cook, Woryna, Kurtz, Fricke, 62.56 (48-42)

ECHO STAR RIDER: BRADY KURTZ

Although Kacper Woryna deserves an honourable mention for another key contribution at reserve, this was Brady Kurtz’s night.

The former Australian champion might have had a few modest meetings of late but he stormed back to top form at the National Speedway Stadium.

Even with six rides, 13 paid 14 was a magnificent score against the firepower of Craig Cook, Max Fricke and Dan Bewley.

Kurtz and Woryna deserve a huge portion of the credit for their team taking a point home to Dorset.

A crucial result for Matt Ford's Pirates.