LEAGUE action took a temporary break from the Oaktree Arena this week, as Somerset Rebels completed their home fixtures in their League Cup group.

They needed to take at least a ten-point win against Plymouth Devils to ensure that any kind of win in the return fixture at the St Boniface Arena would see them top the group at the expense of the Rye House Rockets.

The Rebels were without Rohan Tungate, who suffered a shoulder injury racing for Swindon on the previous evening, and operated rider replacement, while the Devils fielded a full strength side, with Ben Barker guesting in the number one spot.

With rain due after 9pm, the meeting got underway bang on time and the Rebels opened an early lead but it was proving difficult to make early ground over a determined Devils side.

In heat six the home side were able to eke out another narrow advantage when Josh Grajczonek came from behind the quick-starting Stefan Nielsen to add another win to his tally before the rain, which had returned during a stoppage had got much heavier, although the track was still raceable, and there was no indication whatsoever that the meeting would be stopped at that point.

Heat eight was shared, after being restarted and the Devils reserve switch, Stefan Nielsen, appeared to get a flyer, but it was Jake Allen who received the warning from referee Paul Carrington.

The Rebels reinstated their six-point lead after heat nine, as for the third consecutive time a heat had to be restarted.

This time it was Charles Wright on the ground in the opening turns, in an almost identical replay of the opening of heat seven.

Stefan Nielsen had already fallen in a tight first turn, so the referee put all four riders back to the tapes.

In the re-run, Wright made no mistake and with the rain persisting for heat ten Jack Holder took the win, and shared the points.

After heat 11 Rebels’ pairing ran out to a maximum advantage to take a ten-point lead 38-28 and by the end of the race the rain was getting heavier, and it came as no surprise when the meeting was abandoned, with the result standing.