SWINDON Robins require an almighty resurrection on Easter Sunday if they’re to hit back at rivals Poole Pirates after they were whitewashed by the reigning Elite League champions in Dorset this afternoon.

Alun Rossiter’s troops headed down to Dorset to raise the curtain on the new season but were left licking their wounds after being slapped from pillar to post by a rampant Pirates, who looked on course to navigate an entire meeting unbeaten, but for Josh Gracjzonek and Rohan Tungate’s heat win in the penultimate race of the day.

There was a tricky start for Justin Sedgmen as he took a tumble in the first lap of the opening heat, leaving Jason Doyle to settle for second place in the re-run.

In heat two, the Pirates’ reserves set the tone as Kyle Newman scorched to the head of the pack and, alongside Adam Ellis, helped his side score an early maximum against Charles Wright and Stefan Nielsen.

That Poole victory laid the foundations for Krzysztof Buczkowski and home skipper Davey Watt to sweep aside Grajczonek and Nick Morris in heat three and in heat four, a hyper-aggressive start from former Robins captain Hans Andersen paid dividends as he cut across the field and claimed the lead whilst Newman ghosted past Wright to rack up the Pirates’ third successive 5-1 and hand them an ominous 19-5 lead.

Things didn’t get any better for Rossiter’s troops in the fifth race of the day as, after the returning Sedgmen had been passed by Ellis, Nielsen suffered an awkward fall and was left lying prostrate on the ground as the three other riders hurtled towards him.

The red flag was eventually raised and the heat was awarded, Poole stretching their run of successive maximums to four.

Doyle was handed a tactical ride in heat six as the visitors rolled the dice and despite a thrilling battle, which saw the Swindon number one best Davey Watt, he had the door firmly slammed shut on him by Andersen and despite an early pass, Morris was also held off as the home team limited the damage, drawing 4-4.

Buczkowski and Holder were flawless in heat seven as they left Grajczonek and Tungate eating their dust, with the deficit a yawning chasm at 33-11.

However, perhaps spurred on by his earlier fall, Robins number two Sedgmen finally gave the visitors something to shout about with a determined victory in heat eight but Nielsen was unable to get near Andersen and Newman and Poole’s lead remained in pristine condition.

A spirited ride from the Robins’ Wright in the next race of the day looked to have the Swindon reserve on course to follow in Sedgmen’s tracks as he made all of the early running but with each passing lap, his lead decreased, and after Ellis had passed him, Kurtz nipped into second place at the final turn to resume normal service with yet another 5-1.

Doyle refused to lie down in heat 10 and recorded a classy heat victory against opposite skipper Watt but Sedgmen was unable to impose himself on Buczkowski and the Pirates remained unbeaten.

Grajczonek and Morris then failed to upset Poole in heat 11, although the latter won a fierce battle with Kurtz to take third place as Holder claimed victory, and in the next race, another hardy ride from Wright wasn’t quite enough to clinch him a race win, with Ellis and Newman combining to rack up a 4-2 triumph.

Holder and Morris then racked up another heat win by the same scoreline but the Robins were finally given something to cheer in the penultimate race of the night as Grajczonek stormed away from Andersen whilst Tungate nipped in front of Watt, who appeared to suffer engine issues, to win 4-2 and finally spoil Poole’s glistening display.

The Robins were brought back to earth at the last though, with only a mistake from Andersen that allowed Doyle to nick second place preventing them from signing off with a maximum on a chastening day for Swindon.