PHIL Bartlett’s four-year tenure at the helm of the Weymouth Weyline Wildcats came to an end last night at the Wessex Raceway.

And in perhaps a fitting finale to a turbulent final season for the outgoing chairman, it was Gary Cottham who claimed a surprise victory at the Farewell Individual after pre-meeting favourites James Cockle and Jay Herne both saw their chances fall to mechanical problems.

Nothing should be taken away from Cottham’s success but as the dark clouds continue to lurk over the Wessex Raceway in terms of its future survival, it would be fair to say that Bartlett’s reign ended in anti-climax despite the end-of-night fireworks.

With the club up for sale for £1 and no suitors having come forward to take it on, closure is still a very big possibility although in his farewell speech Bartlett was hopeful that will not be the case.

He told the fans at the beginning of the night: “It has been a great four years and I hope whoever my successor is takes the club forward.

“I have put the club up for sale for £1 this week after people said the price I had supposedly put on it was far too expensive. But it has only ever been £1 and although there is a bit of debt, there are also assets in terms of machinery and rider assets, which far outweigh that.

“However, if no one takes over the club then this will be the last meeting but I certainly hope that is not the case.”

A procession of Wildcats past and present took part in the meeting but the majority of the fans had come to see Cockle go head-to-head with Herne.

The pair were by far the fastest riders on the night in the early heats and when they clashed in heat four it was Cockle that laid down the gauntlet by producing a stunning overtake on turn two of lap one to lead Herne home in emphatic fashion.

That left the crowd bursting for more but unfortunately that is as good as the match-up got as mech-anical gremlins in heat 14 and the first semi-final ended Herne’s evening.

As for Cockle, he looked unbeatable as he passed Tom Brown on the final bend of the last lap in 14 to stretch his unbeaten run to four races.

He then triumphed in his semi-final ahead of Cottham, who had rode consistently all night without ever looking like a potential winner.

The second semi then saw Brown take to the Wessex track for what could turn out to be the very last time. The ex-Plymouth ace, who is retiring for the foreseeable future, had high hopes of a fairytale finish at the Wildcats but a fall coming out of turn three on the last lap put paid to that.

It was a disappointing way to go out for the Weymouth skipper and unfortunately the final failed to live up to anything either.

With Herne and Brown failing to reach the showpiece and Karl Mason being excluded for a fall, the race was re-run only to see Cockle, who was by far the best rider of the evening, suffer his own mechanical torment, allowing Cottham to race clear of runner-up Richard Andrews.

As a spectacle, this meeting became instantly forgettable but as the fireworks rained down from the sky the only thing left on supporters’ minds as they left the stadium was whether they would be back next season. Only time will tell.

n The Wildcats complete their season tomorrow when they travel to Newport for a rescheduled National Trophy clash (2.30pm).