Second top scorer for Newport but a loss for Legaults Premier league team!!

Newport Wasps Vs Somerset Rebels (home)

2nd April 2011

Newport Wasps
1: Leigh Lanham: 2 2 2' 0 1' = 7+2
2: Mark Jones: 1' 0 1 3 = 5+1
3: Robin Aspegren: 1' 2 0 3 = 6+1
4: Kyle Legault: 2 F 6! 1 = 9
5: Kim Nilsson: 3 3 R 3 2 = 11
6: Paul Starke: 0 1 0 = 1
7: Todd Kurtz: 1 1 0 F 2' = 4+1

Somerset Rebels
1: Travis McGowan: 3 3 3 2 0 = 11
2: Kyle Hughes: 0 1 2' = 3+1
3: Christian Hefenbrock: 0 1' 0 1 = 2+1
4: Sam Masters: 3 2 1 3 = 9
5: Cory Gathercole: 2 3 2 1' 3 = 11+1
6: Dakota North: 3 1 2' 1' 2' = 9+3
7: Kyle Howarth: 2' 0 3 R = 5+1

Heat 1: McGowan, Lanham, Jones, Hughes 3-3 3-3
Heat 2: North, Howarth, Kurtz, Starke 1-5 4-8
Heat 3: Masters, Legault, Aspegren, Hefenbrock 3-3 7-11
Heat 4: Nilsson, Gathercole, Kurtz, Howarth 4-2 11-13
Heat 5: McGowan, Aspegren, Hughes, Legault (fell) 2-4 13-17
Heat 6: Gathercole, Lanham, North, Jones 2-4 15-21
Heat 7: Nilsson, Masters, Hefenbrock, Kurtz 3-3 18-24
Heat 8: Howarth, North, Jones, Kurtz (fell, excluded) 1-5 19-29
Heat 9: Legault (tactical), Gathercole, North, Aspegren (fell, remounted) 6-3 25-32
Heat 10: Jones, Lanham, Masters, Hefenbrock 5-1 30-33
Heat 11: McGowan, Hughes, Stark, Nilsson (retired) 1-5 31-38
Heat 12: Aspegren, Kurtz, Hefenbrock, Howarth (retired) 5-1 36-39
Heat 13: Nilsson, McGowan, Gathercole, Lanham 3-3 39-42
Heat 14: Masters, North, Legault, Starke 1-5 40-47
Heat 15: Gathercole, Nilsson, Lanham, McGowan 3-3 43-50

The Wasps went down to a 7 point defeat in their opening League meeting of the season, against nearest rivals, the Somerset Rebels.

The home side were up against it from the start, having their star reserve Alex Davies, who has been in super form so far, replaced by a National League rider in Paul Starke.

They still made a right go of it though and made a brilliant comeback, coming from 10 points down after 8 races to just 3 after 10.

The Wasps star performer was, without a doubt, Swedish sensation Kim Nilsson who netted 11 points from 5 rides and in all honesty should of scored 14. It was only a puncture on lap 2 of heat 11 that prevented this. The Swede was well away from the previously unbeaten Travis McGowan at this stage.

Nilsson has most certainly improved greatly over the last year and produced some stunning passes, his most notable one was his outside overtake of Cory Gathercole in heat 4 after missing the gate.

The new racing surface had already produced some quality racing prior to tonight but this meeting was by far and large the best meeting of the season so far at Queensway Meadows.

The stand out heats are, without question, heat 10 and heat 15.

In heat 10, the Rebels pairing of Sam Masters and Christian Hefenbrock made good starts. By bend 4, lap 1 Mark Jones had burst inside the whole field to take up the lead and was hotly pursued by Masters an Hefenbrock. Wasps captain Lanham first picked off Hefenbrock and then stalked Masters before making a lovely inside pass on turns 1 and 2 of lap 3 to join his partner for a 5-1. It was a cracking race which brought the house down and was worth the admission money alone.

Heat 15 was equally as good with Gathercole and McGowan making the gate. Nilsson chased McGowan around the outside before squeezing through the smallest of gaps going into turn 1 of lap 3 before Lanham quickly dived inside the Australian. Nilsson set off after Gathercole, bouncing off the air fence and given another lap, the outcome would have been very interesting.

The Wasps were essentially hampered by tracking a National League rider in place of Davies whilst the addition of Howarth to Somersets ranks most probably made them stronger.

As well as Nilsson’s retirement whilst leading, the Wasps also lost points when Legault came a cropper in heat 5 when beginning to mount a serious challenge on McGowan.

Take nothing away from Somerset though, they came and done a fine job and left Newport with all 4 Premier League points on offer. Expect