Already facing an uphill battle to overhaul a 24 point deficit from the away leg of the National League KO Cup first round tie against the currently unbeaten Kent Kings, the Wightlink Warriors were hit by a hammer blow on Tuesday night when Mark Baseby was involved in a horrific looking heat 3 crash and subsequently ruled out of the meeting on medical grounds.
Baseby and Kent’s Danny Ayres collided on the back straight at high speed on the first lap in the second attempt to run heat 3, with Warrior Lee Smart having been handicapped for touching the tapes in the first with Kent’s David Mason receiving a warning from the referee for being the first to try to get a flying start. Paramedics and ambulance rushed straight out onto the circuit as the crowd fell silent fearing serious injury.
Lengthy treatment was administered to both riders by the paramedic crew and to the crowd’s huge relief, both were eventually able to get to their feet with assistance. Track staff carried Baseby’s badly wrecked bike from the circuit with some difficulty.
Ayres was given the go ahead to carry on racing in the meeting but Baseby was ruled out on medical grounds and advised to go to hospital for further checks on his diagnosed back injury.
Up to that moment things had been going well for Neil Vatcher’s side, who had registered 4-2 heat advantages in heats 1 and 2, Jacobs and Govier overtaking rivals to take the chequered flag on those occasions making the seemingly impossible task of pulling the first leg deficit back perhaps now a possibility.
However, reduced to a 6-man team from then on – with only young reserves Matt Saul or Tyler Govier able to share Baseby’s 3 remaining programmed rides – whilst the Warriors battled hard the very much in-form Kent side gradually assumed control and finally took a 50-40 match win, dashing the Wightlink Warriors’ KO Cup hopes until next year.
Thankfully Mark Baseby received just a sore coccyx in the heat 3 smash, but it is now a wait to see if he’ll be fit enough to take his place in next Tuesday’s league match against the Mildenhall Fen Tigers.
Final Score: Wight Warriors 40 Kent Kings 50 (KO Cup 1st round 2nd leg)
Aggregate score: IOW 73 Kent 107
WARRIORS SCORERS: Joe Jacobs 12+1, James Cockle 10, Matt Saul 5+2, Tyler Govier 5, Lee Smart 5, Kelsey Dugard 3+1, Mark Baseby 0 (injured).
