Premier League

Glasgow Tigers 44 Somerset Rebels 46

SOMERSET Rebels further consolidated their place at the top of the table with this sensational win over second-placed Glasgow Tigers.

In doing so, they became the first team this season to lower the Scottish side’s colours at their home Ashfield track.

The Rebels got off to the best possible start with skipper Josh Grajczonek and guest Thomas Jørgensen speeding off to record a maximum heat win in the opening race.

Somerset then built on this dream start, to the extent that they had built up an eight-point lead by the conclusion of Heat 4, as their other guest rider, Dan Bewley, had two race wins in those opening four races.

However, Glasgow fought back to edge two points after successive maximum race wins in Heats 7 and 8 .

With their tails up, the Tigers looked to press home their advantage and they increased their lead to six points at the match reached its two-thirds mark.

But not for the first time this season, the Rebels rallied as Grajczonek and Jørgensen combined once again in Heat 11 to produce their second maximum race win to bring Somerset to within two points of the Tigers.

A share of the spoils in Heat 12 maintained the status quo, but Heat 13 showed just why the Somerset duo of Grajczonek and Tungate are the current Premier League Pairs Champions as they sped from the tapes to head home Glasgow’s Summers and Lawson for Somerset’s third maximum heat advantage of the match, it also put the Rebels into a two-point lead with two heats left. Dan Bewley wrapped up a tremendous night as a guest reserve for the Rebels by winning the penultimate race, his third race win from his six outings, and with Paul Starke crucially picking up the point for third place, it meant that Somerset could not be beaten.and that, at worse, they would be heading home with a draw to their name, though anything other than a maximum 5-1 heat win for the Tigers in the final race would, however, see Somerset triumphant.

As the tapes rose on the final heat, it looked as if Glasgow would snatch a draw as Worrall and Summers hit the front from the tapes, but a supreme effort off the second bend by Rohan Tungate saw the Somerset rider split the Tigers’ duo, the diminutive Australian then riding a superb four laps to hold off the omnipresent Worrall for second place to seal victory for the Rebels and three league points.

Somerset’s other two matches of their weekend northern tour at Edinburgh (Friday) and Berwick (Saturday), were postponed due to rain.

and new dates for the restaging will be announced in due course.