Michael Coles, one of Newport Wasps new arrivals this season, took third place in the Prince of Wales Trophy at the Hayley Stadium yesterday - and he was delighted with his display.

A beaming Coles, signed from Exeter, declared: "That will do for starters. Hopefully there will be better things to come."

It was a fine performance from Coles to finished third behind Elite League riders David Howe and former Newport rider Niels-Kristain Iversen, now at Oxford, and he added: "I was pleased to make the final and that was the aim. It would have been better to have won it but I'll settle for third place."

Tim Stone, Newport promoter, said: "We know Michael is going to do a good job for us and he was not far away from winning the meeting."

Coles, who has referred to Newport as his "second home" is following in father Bob's footsteps. He rode for Newport in their days at Somerton and Stone acted as his 'spanner man.'

Stone added: "I thought it was a very good opening meeting. We had some very good racing and the riders certainly didn't ease their way into the season."

But there was no luck for Wasps skipper of last season Craig Watson. He began very consistently and looked good enough to qualify for the final after three second places, finishing behind Chris Neath, Magnus Zetterstrom and David Howe.

But he failed to score in his last two heats, first puncturing on the pits bend when once again sitting in second place and then his engine blew on the line in the last of the 15 heats.

Neath, the former Newport rider, received a late call when Mark Lemon withdrew from the meeting with flu and reserve Karlis Ezergailis gained a slice of the action when Zetterstrom, suffering from flu, withdrew from the meeting after two rides. And he then took Staechmann's scheduled ride in the final heat.

Ezergailis, named as a Wasps' reserve only last week, celebrated the occasion by scoring three points, failing to score only once.

Elite League rider Howe, from Wolverhampton, is a regular to the Hayley Stadium and he made the final with 14 points, dropping only one point, beaten second time out by Newport's Mads Korneliussen, his only heat win. It was a disappointing meeting for the Dane who twice failed to score and was then excluded when he fell in heat 11, involved in a supremacy battle with Neath.

Newport's new skipper Tony Atkin made a bright start with five points from two rides but then fell away, picking up two points from his next three rides. Kristian Lund fared little better while Neil Collins, another new Newport face, had only three points, his best effort ending second in heat ten to Howe.

l Wasps challenge meeting with Somerset at the Hayley Stadium next Sunday has a 1.0pm start to allow fans to watch Wales' crucial rugby union in Scotland on television.

l Chris Schramm, the former Newport rider, released by Reading, top scored with a paid 16 for his new club Berwick in their 55-40 Premier Trophy success over Sheffield on Saturday night.