PIRATES were knocked off their lofty perch in the SGB Premiership as a brilliant Jason Doyle maximum inspired Somerset to the top of the pile.

Poole had been on a superb run of form which had seen them take at least a point from their past 15 meetings.

But Doyle’s 15-point salvo hit the visitors hard and two tapes-related exclusions for Brady Kurtz made the task even tougher, with the Rebels sealing a 51-39 win at the Oaktree Arena.

Pirates slipped to second as a result of the defeat, with Belle Vue up to third following a handsome win over Leicester and Swindon down to fourth after losing at Wolverhampton.

The mouthwatering prospect of a Poole-Swindon showdown awaits at Wimborne Road on Wednesday, with both sides desperate for points to boost their play-off chase.

Somerset took control in the early exchanges thanks to a succession of 4-2s. An untidy start to heat one was let go by referee Christina Turnbull and Doyle scorched to the chequered flag.

Frederik Jakobsen and Kacper Woryna fell short in the reserves’ clash and the Rebels further increased their lead when Nicolai Klindt was unable to find a route past leader Richard Lawson.

However, the hosts saw their advantage evaporate in two races. First up, reserve Kacper Woryna was away rapidly and Chris Harris came out on top in a tremendous battle with Jack Holder for third.

Then Kurtz and Josh Grajczonek fired out of the gate to seal an easy maximum.

Somerset responded quickly with world champion Doyle’s win supplemented by a second place from Aaron Summers, who had dived inside Harris and Jakobsen.

Holder was too quick for Klindt in a shared heat seven and the next race went down the same route, with a Pirates winner this time as Woryna roared to his second success.

The Rebels then rattled in their second maximum to increase to eight points their lead. Lawson triumphed but all the action was behind him with Covatti sweeping under Harris and getting past Jakobsen after a fierce battle.

Predictably, Doyle made it three from three in heat 10 and time was beginning to run out for Pirates.

Matters worsened when Kurtz was excluded for touching the tapes and Woryna was thrown in to replace him. The Pole and Grajczonek managed a shared heat, with Holder too rapid for both of them.

Poole team boss Neil Middleditch chose to give Kurtz a tactical substitute ride next while Woryna took over from Jakobsen. But Covatti was jet-propelled from the start and Kurtz could not make the wide line work as he aimed to battle back.

The fast-starting Doyle and Holder were in control from the word go in heat 13, sealing the win for the Rebels.

A 4-2 from Klindt and Woryna kept alive Pirates’ slim hopes of a point but they were dashed when Kurtz rampaged through the tapes in heat 15.

The peerless Doyle duly won the re-run and it was mission accomplished for Somerset.

RIDERS’ SCORES AND HEAT DETAILS

Somerset 51: 1 Jason Doyle (3-3-3-3-3) 15, 2 Aaron Summers (1-2*-2-0) 5+1, 3 Nico Covatti (1-0-2*-3) 6+1, 4 Richard Lawson (3-1-3-0) 7, 5 Jack Holder (0-3-3-2*-1) 9+1, 6 Jake Allen (3-0-0) 3, 7 Bradley Wilson-Dean (1-2-1*-0-2) 6+1.

Pirates 39: 1 Brady Kurtz (0-3-tx-2-1-tx) 6, 2 Josh Grajczonek (2-2*-0-2) 6+1, 3 Richie Worrall (0-1*-1*) 2+2, 4 Nicolai Klindt (2-2-2-3-2) 11, 5 Chris Harris (1-1-0) 2, 6 Frederik Jakobsen (2-0-1-0) 3, 7 Kacper Woryna (0-3-3-1*-1*-r-1) 9+2.

HT 1: Doyle, Grajczonek, Summers, Kurtz (4-2)

HT 2: Allen, Jakobsen, Wilson-Dean, Woryna (8-4)

HT 3: Lawson, Klindt, Covatti, Worrall (12-6)

HT 4: Woryna, Wilson-Dean, Harris, Holder (14-10)

HT 5: Kurtz, Grajczonek, Lawson, Covatti (15-15)

HT 6: Doyle, Summers, Harris, Jakobsen (20-16)

HT 7 (re-run): Holder, Klindt, Worrall, Allen (23-19)

HT 8 (re-run): Woryna, Summers, Wilson-Dean, Grajczonek (26-22)

HT 9: Lawson, Covatti, Jakobsen, Harris (31-23)

HT 10: Doyle, Klindt, Worrall, Summers (34-26)

HT 11 (re-run): Holder, Grajczonek, Woryna, Allen (37-29)

HT 12: Covatti, Kurtz, Woryna, Wilson-Dean (40-32)

HT 13: Doyle, Holder, Kurtz, Woryna (ret) (45-33)

HT 14: Klindt, Wilson-Dean, Woryna, Lawson (47-37)

HT 15 (re-run): Doyle, Klindt, Holder, Jakobsen (51-39)

ECHO STAR RIDER: NICOLAI KLINDT

A FINE effort from Nicolai Klindt – one of the catalysts for Pirates’ resurgence this season.

The Dane did not finish any lower than second in his four programmed rides and was therefore deservedly given heat 15, where Jason Doyle outpaced him for top spot.

Klindt’s haul went a long way to keeping Poole in the hunt on a night when world champion Doyle was in sensational form.

The race for the SGB Premiership play-offs has taken another turn and Poole’s showdown with Swindon on Wednesday now possesses added importance.