Wildcats snatch it.

With the bad weather around the country affecting the sport the Wildcats were able to start their 2004 season off with the narrowest of victories against former Wildcat and now Swindon promoter Alun Rossiter's Sprockets side by a single point. With the riders rusty after a winters break apart from the odd run out at the training schools, Jack Gledhill shone from the reserve berth against his former team and Chris Courage making a comeback to the sport after a two year break was excellent value for money.

For the visitors everyone expected Malcolm Holloway to be top man but that accolade went to Steve Braidford who in heat 10 with the Sprockets 8 points down was given a tactical ride which meant his points scored in that race would be doubled. Braidford obliged with a heat win after Wildcats skipper Elkins ground to a halt after initially leading the race with Marc Andrews chipping in with third place the scores were narrowed to a 3 point gap.

The deadlock was broken in heat six after Daniel Harding fell with the race being awarded to Elkins with Candy in third for a 2 point advantage. The Wildcats followed up with the same winning margin for the next three heats.

Heats 11 and 12 saw maximum heat wins for the Sprockets over impressive debuts from Chris Courage, Mark Thompson and Jack Gledhill, by Holloway, Braidford, Harding and James Purchase, which then put the Sprockets into a five point lead over the Wildcats.

Heat 13 maximum points again but this time the Wildcats hit back with Elkins and Courage teaming up over Holloway and Johnson which still saw the Sprockets leading by a slender point.

The penultimate heat 14 was next up which Danny Warwick won after much drama with his machine catching fire and then relying on Wildcats mascot George Pipers bike as a replacement. To the Wildcats supporters and management Danny rode the bike to victory returning to the pits with a big smile on his face after a frustrating start to his season. Supporting Warwick was Gledhill picking up a valuable point which edged the Wildcats into the slender single point lead.

Victory in this Conference League challenge meeting was confirmed in heat 15 with the Wildcats Chris Courage pegging back Johnson and Braidford from the opposition to give a final score of, Wildcats 47, Sprockets 46.

Conference League action starts tomorrow in South Wales with the Wildcats appearing on track at Newport in the afternoon as part of a double header meeting. The action then return to the Wessex Stadium next Friday evening with the Wessex Rosebowl Individual meeting with the Wildcats, Dean Felton, Wayne Barrett, David Mason and Ben Barker confirmed with more names to be announced during the week.