Wasps crushed

But as disappointing as that may be, it was the spill in heat five that cost them the services of Neil Collins that is likely to play a bigger part in Newport's fortunes.

The 44-year-old veteran who had run a third behind the fast-starting Ross Brady in an encouraging opening race caught the back end of Tommy Allen's machine before thumping to the ground.

After a long delay Collins was taken to the nearby Princess Alexandra Hospital with shoulder and rib injuries.

The Wasps could have fallen apart after that but to their credit they produced a display full of character. The 20-point deficit at the end failed to tell the story of quite how close most of the racing was.

Carl Wilkinson and Craig Watson led the way despite the skipper suffering an engine failure when well placed to challenge in heat nine - a mechanical problem that haunted the Australian for the rest of the meeting.

Surely if Watson had been able to maintain the form shown when picking up a tactical maximum in heat six, the first of two effective moves by Tim Stone in an attempt to stay in contention, things would have been a lot closer.

The second saw Wilkinson burst round the fast gating Jamie Courtney to win heat ten. With four races remaining Newport were only eight points adrift but Wilkinson's missed gate in heat 11 allowed the Rockets to stretch the advantage before Brady and Chris Neath settled things with a home maximum.

Another 5-1 in the final race flattered the home side as the Wasps were left to reflect on what might have been.

Rye House: Ross Brady 6 (4 rides), Jamie Courtney 6+1 (4 rides), Edward Kennett 11+2 (5 rides), Tommy Allen 9+1 (4 rides), Chris Neath 12+1 (5 rides), Luke Bowen 6+2 (4 rides) Steve Boxall 8+1 (4 rides)

Newport: Neil Collins 1+1 (1 ride), Chris Schramm 6 (4 rides), Carl Wilkinson 10 (5 rides), Tony Atkin 4+1 (4 rides), Craig Watson 11 (5 rides), Joel Parsons 6 (7 rides), Sam Hurst 0 (4 rides)