FORMER Weymouth Wildcat Kyle Newman fended off ex-team-mate Tim Webster to capture the Young Guns Indiv-idual title at the Wessex Bus Raceway last night.

The 17-year-old, who left the Wild-cats for Bournemouth at the end of last season’s Conference League winning campaign after signing as a Newport asset, beat Webster in a run off after both riders’ scores were tied at the end of a dramatic heat 20. Newman looked on course to claim the championship with a five-race maximum but he then broke down while out in front allowing Webster to claim an unlikely third place after he had suffered mechanical gremlins earlier in the heat.

However, the teenage sensation managed to keep his nerve when both riders took to the track again for the run-off to record a deserved victory. Newman said: “I like this track. I had a good season here last year and it was nice to win tonight against tough competition.

“I was a bit unlucky in heat 20 but fair play to Tim because he pushed me all the way and I knew I had to keep going all out in the run-off to beat him.

“Some people have said that I came here this evening to prove a point but I just saw it as another meeting because whatever happened bet-ween me and Weymouth is now in the past.

“Both Weymouth and Bourne-mouth have very strong teams this year and I am sure there is going to be a good friendly rivalry between the two clubs and some excellent meetings.”

The night did not get off to the best of starts for Weymouth with Terry Day falling in heat one while attempting to overtake Rye House’s Dan Blake.

And to rub further salt into the wounds the race was won by Newman in exemplary fashion.

However, the home fans soon had something to cheer about as James White-Williams cruised to a comfortable win in the following heat.

Tim Webster and Alex McLeod, the other two Wildcats in the meeting, picked up points by finishing second and third respectively in their opening races, but with Plymouth’s Matt Bates and Kings Lynn’s Adam Lowe both grabbing two wins apiece shortly afterward the meeting looked wide open.

That was until Newman posted a time of 52.7 seconds in heat eight to emerge as the clear favourite and he re-affirmed that tag four races later by beating Bates and Lowe in stunning style. Bates and Lowe both then suffered exclusions in heats 14 and 15 respectively, which ended their hopes, allowing Day to fight back and win his final three races to take third overall.

But the evening belonged to Newman, who out-paced Webster in the run-off and was by far the fastest rider on an enthralling evening of racing.