ELITE League rider Lewis Bridger turned out for the Exeter Falcons and smashed the Wessex Stadium track record in a thrilling Challenge Match against his former club Weymouth Wildcats last night.

The meeting initially looked in doubt due to the wet weather but all 15 heats were completed and there were some fine performances as the hosts snatched a 45-44 success.

Wildcats chairman Phil Bartlett said: "Tonight proved that we can get through a meeting even when the weather is against us. The crowd was not as big as previous meetings and that was a shame because the ones that were not here missed something special.

"Lewis rode at number one for Exeter after we managed to get him clearance and he was superb, beating the track record Ben Barker set last year by 0.6 seconds with a time of 52.2. To knock off over half a second is a great achievement, so fair play to him.

"Lee Smart also performed well again for us but we had no reserves for the second half of the meeting after George Piper hit the fence and damaged his clutch, and Terry Day blew an engine."

Bridger, who now rides for Eastbourne, beat the track record in heat one but even with him on board, the Falcons were unable to tame the Wildcats.

Nathan Irwin took the lead in the first turn but by the time the riders got to the second Bridger had hit the front and in trademark style he did not stop there, stretching his lead in commanding style to smash Barker's previous best.

Heat two was called back at the first attempt when Wildcat Adam Filmer, who lined up for Exeter, went down in the first bend. Day hit the front in the re-run with team-mate Piper backing him up but Filmer fought back and got into second place before falling and being excluded. With no other Exeter rider in the heat, the race was awarded 5-0 to the hosts.

Heat three and that man Bridger was back. Wildcat Lee Smart beat the Eastbourne star out of the gate but could not hold him off as he went on to claim his second win of the night.

The following race turned into a bit of a mammoth heat, requiring three restarts before the result could be declared. Day missed the two-minute warning and was replaced by Piper who, along with Filmer, both then suffered exclusions. That left Karl Mason and Andre Cross to compete for the points and it was the former that came out on top.

Bridger led Smart home in heat five before heats six and seven were shared. Cross won after David Mason fell on the third lap before Karl Mason took the next after overhauling Tom Brown at the start of the second lap.

The Wildcats then found their form recording two successive 5-1s with Irwin and Day and Smart and Sam Hurst doing the damage.

David Mason took heat 10 after a fall and a retirement from Brown and that prompted a tactical ride from Bridger in the next.

With both Wildcats' reserves suffering mechanical problems, the hosts had no second rider and it looked like the Falcons were on course for an 8-1 until Karl Mason battled back from third spot to claim second ahead of Rob Smith.

Trailing by seven points, Exeter began to mount some pressure on Weymouth. Brown went on to claim three wins in the last four heats with Bridger taking the other but thanks to fine riding by Karl Mason in heat 13 and Hurst in heat 14 the Wildcats stayed in control.

Exeter required a 5-1 in the final heat to win the meeting but although Brown won it Smart managed to hold off Bridger to claim second spot. The new track record holder made a desperate lunge on the final bend and caused the Wildcat to fall. The referee excluded Bridger and with Karl Mason having retired, rewarded a 3-2 to the Falcons - but it was not enough.

HEAT DETAILS

1. Bridger, Irwin, D. Mason, Smith, 52.2 3-3 New Track Record

2. (re-run, awarded) Day, Piper, Filmer (fell), no time 5-0 (8-3)

3. Bridger, Smart, Brown, Hurst, 53.9 2-4 (10-7)

4. (re-run * 3) K. Mason, Cross, Piper (ex fell), Filmer (ex fell), 55.7 3-2 (13-9)

5. Bridger, Smart, Smith, Hurst (fell), 52.4 2-4 (15-13)

6. Cross, Irwin, D. Mason, 59.3 3-3 (18-16)

7. (re-run) K. Mason, Brown, Cross, Piper (ex fell), 55.4 3-3 (21-19)

8. Irwin, Day, Smith, Filmer (Ret), 56.8 5-1 (26-20)

9. Smart, Hurst, Cross, 55.9 5-1 (31-21)

10. (re-run) D. Mason, Smith, Irwin (ex tapes / -15m), Brown (fell), 56.0 4-2 (35-23)

11. Bridger (tactical ride), K. Mason, Smith, 54.4 2-7 (37-30)

12. Brown, Smart, Filmer, 54.8 2-4 (39-34)

13. Bridger, K. Mason, Cross, D. Mason (ret), 55.5 2-4 (41-38)

14. (re-run) Brown, Hurst, Filmer (ex fell), 56.8 2-3 (43-41)

15. Brown, Smart, Bridger (ex), K. Mason (ret), 54.7 2-3 (45-44)