BUCCANEERS guest Byron Bekker apologised to their travelling fans and management after his last-lap puncture cost them a precious away league point at Buxton yesterday.

Bournemouth Castle Cover, using Weymouth’s Bekker for unavailable number one Chris Mills, lost their chance of winning when Mark Baseby fell and was excluded from heat 15.

Bekker needed to split Hitmen pair Charles Wright and Adam Allott in the re-run for Dorset’s side to lose by less than seven and salvage one league point.

The South African appeared to be on course to win the race after he outgated Buxton’s duo and was still leading going into the last lap.

But, to the dismay of Buccaneers’ riders, team managers and their fans at Hi Edge, Bekker then slowed dramatically and Wright whipped past as they flashed beyond the finish line with one circuit to go.

Even worse luck struck Bekker within seconds as he almost ground to a halt on the back straight, gifting Allott second and Buxton a 5-1, which confirmed their seven-point success.

It was cruel on Bournemouth, who’d hit back strongly from a 17-7 deficit to forge 41-40 in front with only two races to go.

But then Wright and Nick Morris outgated Baseby in the penultimate race as Hitmen grabbed a 45-42 lead going into a last-heat decider.

Bekker, who stormed to an impressive 11 paid 12 while Mills was taking part in a major grasstrack meeting in Germany, said: “Going into the last turn on the third lap I felt the tyre going down.

“It just started pulling me towards the fence.

“Charles passed me, but I thought if I could keep revving I could keep air in the tyre, but it’s got a big hole in there, caused maybe by a rock in it.

“It was agony. I really wanted to do it for the guys. I felt good in heat 15 until I got the puncture.

“It’s a pity because we would have got a league point out of it, which we deserved. But you can’t legislate for something like that happening.”

There was amazement among the crowd when referee Dave Dowling halted heat eight with all the riders still upright and in control of their bikes.

Jason Garrity had fallen on the second lap but remounted, and Kyle Howarth had gone down on the third circuit but remounted.

But Dowling later explained he had stopped the race and awarded a 4-2 to Bournemouth because he had put the red lights on as early as the second lap when Garrity was struggling to get back on his machine following his tumble.

None of the riders, or track staff, could see the red light was on, however, or hear the siren that also signified the race was being stopped, because of the sun's glare.

So Dowling confirmed the race had been halted for safety reasons and Garrity had been excluded as the prime cause of the stoppage.

Buxton 50: 1 (guest) Tony Atkin (3-3-2-exc unfair riding) 8, 2 Jason Garrity (2*-exc two mins-fell exc-1*) 3+2, 3 Lewis Dallaway (1-1*-0-fell) 2+1, 4 Charles Wright (3-2-1-3-3) 12, 5 Adam Allott (3-2-2-3-2*) 12+1, 6 Nick Morris (3-1*-1*-2*) 7+3, 7 Robert Branford (0-2*-0-2-2) 6+1. Team manager: Jack Lee.

Buccaneers 43: 1 (guest) Byron Bekker (fell-6^-3-1*-1) 11+1, 2 Aaron Baseby (1-0-fell exc) 1, 3 Daniel Halsey (0-0-ret-3) 3, 4 Mark Baseby (2-3-3-1-fell exc) 9, 5 Karl Mason (1-2-2*-2) 7+1, 6 Kyle Howarth (1*-1*-1-3-1) 7+2, 7 John Resch (2-0-3-0) 5. Team managers: Garry May and Neil Vatcher.

Referee: Dave Dowling. League points: Buxton 2 Buccaneers 1.

Ht 1: Atkin, Garrity, A Baseby, Bekker (fell), 58.2 (5-1).

Ht 2: Morris, Resch, Howarth, Branford, 56.8 (8-4).

Ht 3: Wright, M Baseby, Dallaway, Halsey, 57.6 (12-6).

Ht 4: Allott, Branford, Mason, Resch, 56.7 (17-7).

Ht 5: Bekker^ (tactical rider, double points), Wright, Dallaway, A Baseby, 56.5 (20-13).

Ht 6: (re-run) Atkin, Mason, Howarth, Branford, Garrity (excluded two minutes), 57.7 (23-16).

Ht 7: M Baseby, Allott, Morris, Halsey, 57.2 (26-19).

Ht 8: Resch, Branford, Howarth (fell, remounted), Garrity (fell, remounted, excluded), awarded, no time (28-23).

Ht 9: Howarth, Mason, Wright, Dallaway, 60.0 (29-28).

Ht 10: M Baseby, Atkin, Garrity, Halsey (fell, remounted, retired), 58.0 (32-31).

Ht 11: (re-run) Bekker, Allott, Morris, A Baseby (fell excluded), 58.4 (35-34).

Ht 12: (2nd re-run) Halsey, Branford, Howarth (fell, pushed bike home), Dallaway (fell), 59.4 (37-38).

Ht 13: (re-run) Allott, Mason, Bekker (fell, remounted), Atkin (excluded unfair riding), 57.2 (40-41).

Ht 14: Wright, Morris, M Baseby, Resch, 57.7 (45-42).

Ht 15: (re-run) Wright, Allott, Bekker, M Baseby (fell excluded), 57.3 (50-43).