PIRATES will finish top of the Championship after an emphatic 59-31 victory over the Plymouth Gladiators in a good night of speedway at Wimborne Road.
Poole needed to win both the meeting and the aggregate point to confirm top spot, and they did just that, with heat advantages in all but three races, with two 3-3s and conceding just one heat advantage, a 5-1 in heat nine.
Zach Cook once again starred as he continued his sensational form with a full five-ride maximum, while Troy Batchelor top scored for the visitors with 12 from six rides, with Cook passing Batchelor brilliantly around the outside in heat 15 to confirm his max.
Pirates now head into the playoffs with plenty of momentum and they’ll be confident of their form as they look to win the BSN Series and the Championship.
Will Cairns got out of the gate quickly in heat one but teammate Richard Lawson made a slow start and was at the back into bend one.
He passed Joe Thompson onto the back straight of the opening lap and set about chasing down Batchelor, who was applying plenty of pressure onto Cairns in front.
It was a dash to the line in the final lap, but the three held station ensuring Pirates opened the night with a 4-2 heat advantage.
Kyle Newman and Anze Grmek were wheel to wheel for the full first lap of heat two, but the Pirate edged ahead before the opening bend of the second lap.
Slater Lightcap was hot on the heels of Grmek and managed to get up the inside of his opposite number on the run to the line and just pipped him to second, securing a 5-1 for Poole.
Pirates Lewis Kerr and Cooper Rushen gated well in heat three but Plymouth skipper Ben Barker soared around the outside of the opening bends to take the lead.
Kerr set about chasing down the Gladiators number four, and cut up the inside of bend three and took the lead heading into lap four, to see Pirates take a third consecutive heat advantage and to open up a 13-5 lead.
Grmek replaced Ben Whalley in a reserve change for heat four, as Cook and Danny King made good gates and were neck and neck in the opening bends, but the Pirates skipper edged ahead on the back straight, with Newman in third.
There they stayed as Poole hammered home their early advantage with another 4-2 heat advantage.
Kerr and Batchelor were tight together out of the start of heat five, but Rushen found some good speed to dive inside and take the lead.
Batchelor came up the inside of Kerr into the final bend of the opening lap, but Kerr found some grip and got back in front and he managed to hold off the Gladiator for another Pirates 5-1.
Another reserve change came in heat six for the visitors, with Whalley replacing Grmek.
Lawson and Cairns gated well, as Cairns found some drive around the outside, but King set about chasing the teenager and kept the pressure on throughout, but the Poole number two held him off for back-to-back Poole 5-1s.
Heat seven saw the first race that was not a Pirates heat advantage, as Cook gated and went clear for the victory, and Lightcap was unable to force his way into a points scoring position, despite his best efforts, as Barker and Daniel Klima finished second and third.
Reserve change Grmek gated well but a brilliant move onto the back straight from Newman saw him take the lead, with Cairns battling for position at the back.
The teenager and the Plymouth reserve were engaged in a good battle for third and one that the Pirate came out of top in, as he cut down the inside heading onto the finishing straight to take the flag to secure a 4-2 for the hosts.
Batchelor came in as a tactical substitute for Plymouth in heat nine, as the Gladiators gated on a 5-1, the guest number one ahead of King.
There they stayed, with Rushen in third and Kerr in fourth for a first heat advantage of the night for the away side, the score at 35-19 after nine heats.
Lawson took victory in heat ten from tapes to flag, ahead of Barker and Cairns with Klima at the back for a Pirates 4-2.
In heat 11, Cook hit the front out of the start, ahead of Batcher with Lightcap and Thompson fighting for third.
The Pirates reserve was ahead until Thompson came up the inside of bend one in lap three, but the American cut back into third onto the back straight to retake the position, which he held for yet another Pirates 4-2 heat advantage.
Heat 12 saw Kerr gate for the lead but with a good battle behind him initially, but Klima got ahead of Newman and with Grmek at the back and that was how it stayed, a seventh 4-2 of the night for Poole and a third in a row.
That confirmed that Pirates would finish at the top of the league with three heats remaining, with an unassailable 47-35 lead on the night for both the meeting victory and the aggregate point.
Heat 13 was a tight one as Batchelor gated but with Cook and Lawson hot on his heels.
The Pirates pair were piling on the pressure and the Gladiator managed to hold them off until the final bends as Cook went alongside his countryman on the back straight and made the move stick onto the back straight to make it a full maximum from four rides.
Lightcap gated for the lead in heat 14 with Barker in second and Rushen in third.
The teenage Pirate was all over the Plymouth skipper and trying different lines to pass him, and he got it done up the inside out of the final bend of lap three and Pirates earned their 12th heat advantage of the night, 4-2, with Lightcap taking his first victory in Pirates colours.
In a repeat of heat 13, Batchelor gated ahead of Cook and the Poole skipper set about chasing him down.
And it was another sensational overtake on the final lap that propelled Cook to another full maximum as he drew alongside Batchelor on the back straight of the final lap and held his line around the outside to hit the front and take victory, the race shared, 3-3.
That completed a 59-31 meeting victory to earn Pirates the aggregate point, too, to send them into the playoffs with plenty of momentum.
Poole Pirates: 1, Richard Lawson 8; 2, William Cairns 7+1; 3, Lewis Kerr 8+1; 4, Cooper Rushen 7+1; 5, Zach Cook (c) ; 6, Slater Lightcap 6+1; 7, Kyle Newman.
Plymouth Gladiators: 1, Troy Batchelor (Guest) 12; 2, Joe Thompson 2; 3, Daniel Klima 3+1; 4, Ben Barker (c) 8+1; 5, Danny King 5+1; 6, Anze Grmek 1; 7, Ben Whalley 0.
Share