SPEEDWAY - THE Somerset Sharp Rebels encounter with the Birmingham Brummies fell victim to the weather after just three heats, with the match poised at nine points all.

THE Somerset Sharp Rebels encounter with the Birmingham Brummies fell victim to the weather after just three heats, with the match poised at nine points all.

The opening exchange had gone to the Rebels by a 4-2 margin after Steve Johnston had got the better of Rusty Harrison on the opening turn. Simon Walker closed down Harrison in the final stages, but could never get in a shot at second place.

Former Rebels Jay Herne and Lee Smart made it a maximum win in heat 2, as they put their previous Oak Tree Arena experience to good use in giving the Brummies a 5-7 lead. Justin Sedgmen made a fight of it in the latter stages, but Smart always had him covered.

Heat 3 saw the Rebels level the score as Emil Kramer made his now customary start to the meeting with a fairly comfortable win over Ludvig Lindgren. Nick Simmons followed home to level the scores.

Heat 4 only got as far as the first turn, as Cory Gathercole went down in a tight battle with Lee Smart and Jason Lyons. The referee's call was all four back, but it never got that far, as the rain, which had been falling steadily from around the first heat intervened.

The riders and referee gave it every chance, and there was even some remedial track work done to prepare for the cessation of the rain, but it did not stop in time. In the end track conditions got too unsafe, and the referee had no alternative to call a halt to what was looking like turning into an intriguing encounter.

Under normal circumstances a rain-off of this nature would see the use of the re-admission tickets at a restricted number of meetings, but the Rebels general manager Dave Croucher stated that fans can use the ticket for any of the Rebels' remaining home fixtures, including the 10th anniversary meeting on August 14, but with the exception of Mark Lemon's testimonial on September 18.

Following the rain off after heat 3 last Friday's match against Birmingham, Somerset Rebels general manager, David Croucher, has announced that the 10th Anniversary meeting scheduled for August 14th, has had to be postponed.

He said: "There will be many disappointed people, and that includes myself, but we have no choice."

"We shall run against Workington in the Premier League on that date in order to ensure that we complete all our league fixtures in advance of the cut-off date of September 19th."

"At this moment we have no re-arranged date for the 10th Anniversary meeting, but will announce one when we know that our other commitments have been fulfilled.