Somerset Rebels rider Alex Davies picked up three awards at the club’s end of season presentation night.

THE Cases Somerset Rebels celebrated their 2012 season with their annual end of season presentation night.

It was a year that saw them just miss out by a single point from being crowned Premier League champions, but they did have the consolation of winning the Premier League Cup to bring some silverware to the Oaktree Arena.

Perhaps not unexpectedly, it was the Rebels’ number 1 and captain, Jason Doyle who was voted by the fans as their rider of the year, while Alex Davies scooped the awards for the most improved rider and most entertaining rider of the year.

Kyle Newman was presented with the Fred Fountain Memorial Trophy, while Davies picked up his third award of the night when he was announced as the Somerset Riders’ Equipment Fund’s (SREF) rider of the year.

Looking back on the season, Rebels promoter Debbie Hancock feels it was one that everyone associated with the club could feel justifiably proud of.

She said: “While losing out on the league title by just a point at Scunthorpe in the last race of the season was, and to some degree still is, difficult to come to terms with. If you had said back in March when the season was just getting underway, that we would be ending it with our name on the Premier League Cup and making it through to the championship final, then I think we would have seen that as an excellent year.”

“We are also blessed here at Somerset with a great team sponsor in Cases Ltd and team partners, Salt Express, Whitepack Network Services Ltd, MCS Ltd and Harris Bros, without them and our other associate sponsors we would not be here today. They are the life-blood of our sport and we are extremely grateful for their support of the Rebels.

“So while we are heading into the winter break, there’ll be no time for any hibernation as far as the promotional and management team here are concerned, planning for 2013 starts almost immediately.”

The Rebels will be staging an out-of-season individual meeting on December 28, the Somerset Rebels Christmas Cracker.

The meeting is being sponsored by local company Salt Express, who are also team partners of the Rebels.

The format of the meeting will be that of 16 riders competing over 20 heats for the title, though as meeting co-ordinator Garry May, co-promoter for the Somerset Rebels, explains, that may well be extended to include a semi-final and a grand final.

He said: “Our initial plans are for a traditional 16 rider, 20 heat format, but depending on how things progress with the planning and organisation of the meeting we could well add in a semi-final and grand final.

“The meeting will get underway at 7pm, but we are looking to make it more of an event than just the meeting itself, with things such as a collector’s fayre and other attractions, so that fans can arrive early and make more of an afternoon and evening of it.”