Title-favourites Belle Vue showed their pedigree with a convincing 28-point victory over the struggling Pirates, restricting their visitors to just one race winner.

The final chapter of the Volvo Cars Poole Pirates effectively begins this week as they face home and away contests with league leaders Belle Vue Aces, beginning on Monday with a trip to the National Stadium.

Poole's stand-in team manager Matt Ford has issued a warning to his 2017 side ahead of tonight's visit to Swindon.

For the second time in the matter of 8 days the Swindon Robins gave the Pirates a lesson in gating as the Wiltshire club picked up an untroubled three league points and on the back of their eight straight victory move into second place and leave Poole anchored in fourth place in the table.

The pages of the record books were well thumbed as statisticians looked to find the last time that a Poole side had lost four consecutive league matches in a row - a fact that dates back some 35 years, but with Somerset becoming the fourth side to raid the Pirates ship in as many home meetings, Poole have now suffered such a bad sequence of results three times in their history.

BRADY KURTZ gambled on his rib injuries to try and give his world U21 title aspirations as he returned to the saddle in Poznan, Poland for the first of the three-round championship, but victory went to the son of former Pirate Slawomir Drabik, Maksym.

Former Pirate Maciej Janowski claimed his second consecutive Grand Prix victory as he triumphed in the Principality Stadium, Cardiff.

Poole boss Matt Ford has called time on Krzysztof Kasprzak's indifferent performance and replaced him with Edward Kennett, subject to BSPA approval.

Poole's forthcoming home meeting against the Somerset Rebels will incorporate a special charity event for local hospice Forest Holme.

A spate of misfortune early on saw the Pirates concede too much ground to form side Swindon as they slumped to their third successive home league defeat.