9:10am Tuesday 10th August 2010
THE Somerset ‘Dickies’ Rebels will be among eight teams competing for the Premier League Fours Championship at Peterborough’s Alwalton Stadium on Sunday.
The Rebels have an excellent record in the Fours having won the title in 2005, the first year they qualified for the finals, and since then a Somerset quartet has never finished outside the top three.
The meeting will see the eight teams represented by four riders from their normal seven rider line up, the teams are split into two groups of four with each race being contested by a rider from each of the four teams within that group. At the end of the group stage, which is over 8 heats with each rider being programmed to have two races, the top two teams from each group progress through to the Grand Final.
Steve Bishop, Somerset team manager, said: “The Fours is quite a unique competition as although it is a team event, you only have one of your own riders out on track at any one time. “Keeping your side of the scorechart ticking over is essential and so last places are to be avoided at all cost as every point is vital.
“Everyone seems to be tipping the likes of Newcastle, Birmingham and Edinburgh to be in the shake-up for the title, which suits us just fine as it means that we go into the meeting without the pressure of having the ‘favourites’ tag pinned on us. “It was the same in 2005, the team were not among the fancied front runners, but did the business on the night and came away with the trophy.
“I think that we have a quartet to match any that will be lining up at Peterborough come Sunday afternoon and winning the Championship is well within our capabilities.”
Somerset will be represented by Cory Gathercole, Shane Parker, Sam Masters and Ritchie Hawkins, with Hawkins looking to make it a double success in the competition as he was a member of the historic Somerset quartet that won the trophy back in 2005.
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