IN an extraordinary development, Ellie Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions have won their protest against the Super Heat in the second leg of the Cab Direct Championship Grand Final at Poole last Wednesday (October 7), but Poole remain as the league champions.
Scunthorpe Scorpions and Poole Pirates were locked together at 90-90 on aggregate after the two legs and therefore an additional Super Heat was required to split them.
Poole won the race by 6-3, but Scunthorpe team manager David Howe was in conversation with the Clerk Of The Course even as the Super Heat was still taking place, after spotting that Poole’s Zach Cook had placed both wheels – either fully or partially – over the inner edge of the track. Scorpions therefore made their protest within five minutes of the race being completed, as required by the rulebook.
Referee Paul Carrington considered all the evidence available to him and decided that he could not exclude Cook from the race. While he was still making up his mind, Poole had already commenced their victory celebrations, thus placing further pressure on the referee.
On Monday, the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) met and decided the rule regarding track limits had been breached. But they also concluded that since Carrington had made his mind up on the evening, his decision could not be overridden.
The full statement from the SCB read:
“Following the 2nd Leg of the Championship Play Off Final on Wednesday 7th October 2026 between Poole and Scunthorpe, the Scunthorpe club lodged an appeal against the decision of the result of the Super Heat, where it was alleged that Poole Rider Zach Cook had breached SCB Regulation –
• 012.1.11 Leaving the Track
“A rider whose machine crosses the inner edge of the track with 2 wheels must be disqualified unless, in the opinion of the Referee, the action was taken in the interests of safety for other riders or the rider involved was forced off course by another rider.
“Having reviewed the regulation as written, this has been breached, however due to the result being announced this was now a Statement of Fact and any appeal is inadmissible as per SCB Regulation 018.1.2 a)
“Therefore, the result stands as declared, and the Scunthorpe Promotion have accepted the decision.”
The confirmation that Scunthorpe’s protest had been upheld and that a Poole rider had breached the rules and yet Pirates remain as winners of the Cab Direct Championship has already received widespread condemnation from the supporters of many neutral tracks, who have expressed the feeling that Scunthorpe are the real league champions for this season.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “I can’t tell people what to think and many have their own opinion, especially since it was confirmed that the rule was breached in the Super Heat.
“But it’s time to put it to bed. I don’t hold a particular grudge against Poole Speedway and congratulations to them.
“In the meantime, we feel vindicated. We felt the rule had been breached and it’s been proven that it was.
“There was also a race [Heat 8] in the first leg at Scunthorpe where a Poole rider – Will Cairns – warmed his tyre prior to the race. To me, that was an even more clear-cut breach of the rules and yet it went unpunished by the referee [Michael Breckon] and Will Cairns won the race. Without that happening, there would never have been a Super Heat in the first place.
“But I feel it’s time to move on. I don’t want the 2026 Ellie Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions to just be remembered as ‘that team who were robbed of a league championship.’
“I’m so proud of this team. In terms of team spirit, this is the best team we’ve ever had. No-one fancied us and yet we reached the Grand Final of the Cab Direct Championship.
“The boys pulled together to get the results when we really needed them to. Skipper Josh Pickering has been a superb skipper and all the rest of the lads have chipped in with vital contributions.
“I promised that if we didn’t win the league this season, that we would next year, and that’s what we are still planning to do.”
PHOTO BY IAN RISPIN
