Plymouth Devils 36 v 57 Somerset Rebels Air-Fence Challenge, first Leg

SOMERSET Rebels started the 2014 season with a bang as they tore Plymouth apart with 57-36 triumph.

With the proposed first leg at the Oaktree Arena on Friday night falling foul of the weather, the Rebels travelled South West the following evening and hit the Devils hard right from the off - Nick Morris and Todd Kurtz scoring a largely unopposed maximum 5-1 heat win in the opening race.

This set the tone for the rest of the match with the Rebels in dominant mood and proving to be far superior than their hosts in almost every department, and if it were not for Charles Wright suffering two chain failures when in points scoring positions, the final margin of victory could have been even more emphatic.

Wright apart, the rest of the Somerset septet all recorded at least one heat win, Morris leading from the front with a paid maximum while Todd Kurtz dropped just a single point to the opposition from his five outings.

There were also impressive debuts for the other new members of the Somerset team, 17 year old Brady Kurtz showing some sublime skill for one so young in coming through from last to first in but a single bend to open his Somerset account with a race win.

The match was over as a contest as early as the half-way stage of proceedings, but that did not stop the Rebels continue their scoring spree, Somerset riders providing no less than 10 of the 15 race winners on the night in what was a perfect start to the season for the 2013 League and Cup Champions.

Scorers: Plymouth: Richie Worrall 15 (5 rides), Roland Benko 1 (4r), Kyle Newman 7 (5r), Rasmus Jensen 5+1 (4r), Zdenek Simota 2 (4r), Ben Reade 1 (5r), Kalle Katajisto 5 (3r) Somerset: Nick Morris 10+2 (4r), Todd Kurtz 12+2 (5r), Brady Kurtz 10 (5r), Pontus Aspgren 7+2 (4r), Olly Allen 9 (4r), Charles Wright 1+1 (4r), Paul Starke 8+1 (4r)