PIRATES' back-to-back defeats against Coventry were the first time in the club's 60-year history that a Poole rider had failed to score at least one bonus point in successive meetings.

The Echo alluded to the fact that Pirates might have created unwanted history in a match report of Coventry's 44-31 cup win at Wimborne Road in last Thursday's Echo.

That result had followed the Midland outfit's 55-38 triumph over the Dorset club at Brandon on September 17 in the league play-offs.

Bonus points are paid out to riders who finish second or third immediately behind their own team-mate in a race that finishes 5-1 or 3-3.

But no Poole rider got a bonus point in either of those matches.

For a whole team not to earn a bonus point in a speedway meeting is so rare that it had only happened to Poole on eight occasions since 1981 before last week's double blow against the Bees.

In fact, the record books reveal that it has only happened 47 times since the club were formed in 1948 and they have probably ridden about 50 meetings a year, on average, since then.

The closest Pirates had previously come to enduring back-to-back bonus point blackouts was in 1978 when they lost 53-25 at Coventry on April 15 and 47-31 at Belle Vue on April 22 respectively, in the old British League.

Those two defeats sandwiched a 41-37 away win at Birmingham in the Speedway Star Cup first round, second leg, on April 17 when Neil Middleditch, Steve Finch and Mike Curoso shared four bonus points between them.

  • The number of occasions in a season Poole have not got a bonus point in a meeting in all competitions, including challenge matches is as follows: 6 (1949). 4 (1979). 3 (1978, 1964, 1948). 2 (2007, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1965, 1956). 1 (2006, 2003, 1998, 1996, 1995, 1993, 1983, 1982, 1976, 1972, 1970, 1963, 1960, 1957, 1953, 1950).