SOMERSET Rebel Sam Masters saw his quest for a place in next year’s Grand Prix Series that will determine the 2013 World Speedway Champion come to an end when he was eliminated at the semi-final stage of the Grand Prix Challenge.

With only five riders from Masters’ semi-final meeting in Italy earning the right to go through to the GP Challenge Final, it was always going to be a tough ask for the Somerset rider, and so it proved, although the 21 year-old at least had the satisfaction of taking the race win in his last ride to end the night on six points from his five rides.

Despite his elimination, that is not the end of his World Championship aspirations as he amongst the 16 riders that contest the 2012 World Under-21 Championships that get under way later this month.

The Championship will be decided over the course of seven rounds, the first of which will be at the same Lonigo track where Masters competed this weekend, and reaches its conclusion with the final two rounds being held in Argentina in November.

Having dropped a home point to Scunthorpe last Friday, the matches will give Somerset an opportunity to redress the balance, but it will be no easy task as Workington and Newcastle have enjoyed a good 2012 season to date, they finishing in the top two places in the Northern Group of the League Cup competition, the Rebels having to face Newcastle in their semi-final later in the season, and even at this relatively early stage of proceedings look likely to be amongst the top 6 that will contest the Premier League play offs come the end of the season that will determine the 2012 League Champions.