Workington Comets knew it was going to be hard at Poole last night – but perhaps not as tough as it turned out as they crashed to a 61-29 defeat.
They never recovered from a 5-1 for Poole in the opening heat and most of the Comets’ big-hitters were out of sorts.
Only Troy Batchelor with 13 points, which included the Comets only two race wins, seemed comfortable with the Poole track.
Skipper Craig Cook, the star of the show at Plymouth a night earlier, could only manage one point from his four rides.
Claus Vissing started the meeting with an exclusion and a retirement before picking up two second places.
The young bloods, Tate Zischke (5) and Antti Vuolas (4) struggled on their first look at the Poole track, so there was little in the Comets’ top order to seriously test the home racers.
Celina Liebmann (2) and Sam McGurk (1) earned their points in the reserves race after Max Perry had been excluded and they followed home Sam Hagon in the re-run.
Workington’s one race advantage of the night came in heat 12 when Batchelor was used as a tactical substitute and he won with Vuolas beating Perry for third.
But it was just a temporary lull in Poole domination as they rattled off successive 4-2s in the last three heats to complete a one-sided contest.
Probably race of the night was the penultimate heat when Vissing led virtually all the way through until the run to the line when he was beaten by half a wheel as Zach Cook swept through on his inside.
All round, though, a bad night at the office for the Comets, who will have to regroup and respond on Saturday afternoon when they entertain Edinburgh Monarchs in their latest Championship clash (start 3pm).
Poole Pirates 61
Richard Lawson 11 + 1; Tobias Thomsen 7 + 1; Tom Brennan 13 + 1; Zach Cook 8 + 1; Ben Cook 9 + 1; Sam Hagon 12 + 1; Max Perry 1.
Workington 29
Craig Cook 1 + 1; Tate Zischke 5; Antti Vuolas 3; Claus Vissing 4; Troy Batchelor 13; Celina Liebmann 2; Sam McGurk 1 + 1.
