FORMER Premier League rider Mark ‘Buzz’ Burrows enjoyed a solid debut for the Weymouth Doonan Wildcats last night as they pulled off a comprehensive victory over the Somerset Giants in a one-sided challenge meeting at the Wessex Bus Raceway.
Burrows has replaced Jon Armstrong as the Wildcats’ new number one after the Mighty Midget suffered a recurrence of the leg injury that kept him out for much of last season at the Isle of Wight on April 21.
And the ex-Stoke ace proved his potential to be a fans’ favourite by scoring six paid two from his four races despite snapping a chain and being forced to retire in heat 10.
Wildcats’ chairman Phil Bartlett said: “Mark is a very hard rider and I have no doubts that he will be a fantastic replacement for Jon. This was his first meeting for a while tonight so it is going to take him a bit of time to get to full race fitness but I am sure it won’t take him long.
“It was good to see everyone get among the points and I am sure that will lift their heads and their confidence ahead of two big National League meetings against Rye House at home next Friday and at Kings Lynn next Saturday.”
The hosts dominated from the outset with Terry Day (11) and Mark Burrows recording a comfortable maximum in heat one to see off the attentions of ex-Wildcats’ skipper Karl Mason in third, and the unknown quantity of Tom Hill.
James White-Williams (8+2) and Tim Webster (9+2) then repeated the feat in heat two before James Cockle (12) pulled off a stunning overtaking manoeuvre on the final bend of the next race to go around the outside of Ryan Sedgman and beat him to the line.
Matt Wright (5+1) took third place ahead of another former Weymouth rider, Kyle Newman (14), who was unable to recover after surprisingly hitting the dirt on the first turn.
Somerset were already reeling so when Lee Smart (10+1) and White-Williams posted another 5-1 in heat four the result was looking a forgone conclusion as the hosts moved into a commanding 19-5 advantage.
The first shared heat of the evening followed with Cockle being leading Mason and Hill home but any hopes of a meaningful revival by the visitors was looking extremely unlikely as Day and Burrows stretched the lead to 27-9 with another maximum.
In a desperate bid to get a foothold in the meeting the Giants decided to hand Newman a tactical ride in heat seven and the Bournemouth star delivered by impressively holding off Smart for victory.
However, with Webster grabbing third, it limited the damage to a 6-3.
Somerset knew they needed to follow that up with another victory in the next heat but the Wildcats roared back with Day recording a third successive win ahead of team-mate White-Williams to take the score to 35-16.
The Giants immediately handed another tactical ride to Andrew Aldridge to try and regain some momentum but Cockle completed his hat-trick with Wright in second to rub further salt into the visitors’ wounds.
Newman was still looking impressive though, and he took the win in heat 10 in a 4-2 for Somerset following a broken chain for Burrows.
Webster and Smart then responded by hitting back with a 5-1 to increase the Wildcats’ lead to 47-22 before Cockle held off Newman in the next heat to complete an impressive 12-point maximum from four races.
Smart and Burrows and Webster and Wright then followed up with 5-1s before Newman took heat 15 ahead of Sedgman to add a little bit of respectability to the scoreline for the fallen Giants.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel