A SLICE of last heat luck ensured Swindon Robins top the SGB Premiership table, despite losing 48-42 at Beaumont Park against Leicester tonight.

Rossiter's men picked up a crucial consolation bonus point after Troy Batchelor and Tobiasz Musielak picked up a 3-3 in the final heat of the night following Kristian Pieszcek's exclusion after he fell in the original staging of the race.

Robins started the meeting with a shared heat as Adam Ellis led home Kyle Newman and Kenneth Bjerre with Nick Morris forced to the back after Newman went underneath the Aussie in the early stages of the race.

There was drama in heat two as Jack Smith was excluded from the initial staging of the race after overspinning while entering turn three in front.

Lions’ James Sarjeant was forced to lay the bike down as the pair clashed on the third bend, fortunately both walked away unscathed.

The re-run saw Lions earn their first heat advantage of the night though as Kyle Newman and Todd Kurtz rounded Zach Wajtknecht exiting turn two on the first lap.

The home side stretched their lead to six points in heat three as Polish racer Krystian Pieszcek just held the challenge of Troy Batchelor with Danny King in third.

Lions earned their third race advantage on the spin when Hans Andersen took the chequered flag in heat four while Tobiasz Musielak had to work hard to round Todd Kurtz to prevent a home 5-1.

Pieszcek continued to look the fastest rider when comfortably winning heat five as Lions earned their fourth race advantage on the spin.

Nick Morris picked up his first points of the night, finishing second, but again the Robins filled the last position as Adam Ellis ran a last.

That result prompted Alun Rossiter to deploy his tactical substitute as Troy Batchelor replaced Zach Wajtknecht.

The switch failed to have any significant impact on the meeting though as Dane Kenneth Bjerre won the race with Batchelor and Musielak filling the minor positions.

A second shared race followed in heat seven as Batchelor blocked Hans Andersen’s move around the outside of bend two of lap one to pick up a heat win and keep Robins’ deficit at 10 points.

Robins earned their first race advantage of the night at the eighth attempt as Lions’ lead was pegged back to eight points.

Ellis made the start before Leicester’s Kyle Newman rounded Wajtknecht on the fourth bend as riders continued to struggle with a patchy track, which ultimately restricted overtaking opportunities.

Another race advantage followed in heat nine as Pole Tobiasz Musielak registered his first heat win of the night, subsequently cutting Lions’ lead to six points.

Musielak rode a smart first turn to block any possible move from Pieszcek, who was forced to the back – allowing Wajtknecht into third.

The gap was cut to four points after heat 10 as Troy Batchelor and David Bellego registered Robins’ third successive 4-2.

While Batchelor won the race comfortably, his teammate Bellego had to work overtime in third to fend off the challenge of Kyle Newman, who appeared to have rounded the Frenchman on bend four of the opening lap.

Leicester’s downfall continued in heat 11 when James Sarjeant was excluded for touching the tapes, prompting Australian Kurtz to fill his place.

While Kurtz finished last, Lions’ Hans Andersen charged around Nick Morris to win heat 11 as the home side kept their four-point lead in tact at the interval.

That four-point deficit remained for two further heats as Troy Batchelor won heat 12 before Nick Morris took heat 13.

Morris’ win in heat 13 wasn’t without its drama though.

In the original staging of the race, Tobiasz Musielak was excluded for being judged to be the primary cause of the race stoppage after himself, Nick Morris and Hans Andersen contested for the same piece of track entering bend three of lap one.

Musielak fell, forcing the referee to stop the race.

Robins’ position was arguably enhanced though as Nick Morris made an improved start in the re-run to comfortably win the heat from Bjerre and Andersen.

Hopes of another last heat thriller were dashed in heat 14 though as Zach Wajtknecht and David Bellego could only earn a 4-2, meaning Leicester entered the last race with a six-point lead.

While Robins’ hopes of going top appeared to be dashed after Lions gated on a 5-1, they were handed a slice of luck as Pieszcek fell on lap two.

The Pole lifted and crashed into the fence, in the process losing his boot. However he returned to the pits on his feet after receiving attention.

Hans Andersen won the re-run after holding off a ferocious challenge from Troy Batchelor as Robins ended the meeting six points behind.