Workington's Derwent Park hosted event four of this seasonâ's Super 7even series, but a disappointing display from Reading saw them head out at the group stage, having mustered just 6 points.

With gating of paramount importance, the Racers made an inauspicious start to the proceedings by registering two successive third places, courtesy of Tomas Suchanek and Mark Lemon in heats two and four, respectively.

And, this was followed by a last place finish from Tom P. Madsen in heat six, before Chris Mills picked up a single point two races later.

Heat ten saw Lemon chase Kingâ's Lynnâ's Kevin Doolan hard, but he was unable to make an impression on his compatriot and had to settle for second position.

The club captainâ's efforts proved only a brief upsurge in fortunes for Reading, as Madsen was unable to improve on last place in heat twelve.

With just two heats left in their group, the Racers faced the prospect of heading out of the competition, barring a remarkable turnaround.

However, the Berkshire sideâ's fate was sealed in heat fourteen, when Newcastleâ's Jason King forged a route past Shaun Tacey on lap three for a fine win. Meanwhile, Scunthorpeâ's Carl Wilkinson kept Mills at the rear.

The final heat of the group stage went the way of Kingâ's Lynnâ's Tomas Topinka ahead of Scunthorpeâ's Richard Hall, with Suchanek collecting the last of Readingâ's 6 points in third spot.

With 16 points apiece, Kingâ's Lynn and Scunthorpe comfortably progressed through to the final, where they were joined by the hosts, Workington, and Somerset, who topped the other group with tallies of 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Workington made the early running in the final, but they were quickly pegged back by Kingâ's Lynn and Somerset, with all three sides locked together on 7 points apiece after heat four.

The Rebels took the initiative through a great ride from Jason Doyle in heat five, as the Aussie sped past the Cometsâ' Charles Wright at the end of lap one.

A flying win from Topinka ahead of Hall in heat six brought Kingâ's Lynn level with Somerset at the head of the score-chart on 11 points.

Having previously failed to score a point on the night, Stephan Katt was the surprise victor of a re-run heat seven; the diminutive German riderâ's success opening up a significant 3-point lead for the Rebels ahead of the Stars.

Workington came back into the reckoning through successive wins from Kauko Nieminen and Joe Haines, but with Jordan Frampton and Katt taking second place on each occasion, Somerset remained 2 points in front with just three races to go.

However, a win for Cometsâ' legend Carl Stonehewer in heat ten and a last place for Somersetâ's Brent Werner turned the meeting on its head, as the home side moved on to 19 points – just ahead of the Rebelsâ' 18-point total.

Drama followed as Wright was able to claim third place from Frampton in heat eleven, after the Somerset rider had suffered an untimely puncture on the third lap.

Nieminen came to the line for the last heat and everyone expected the Finn to seal victory for Workington, but he encountered mechanical problems and could only coast around in last place.

Up front, Topinka took his fifth win of the night to remain unbeaten, while Hall got the better of Doyle. That left Kingâ's Lynn and Workington tied on 20 points, with Somerset just behind on 19, meaning a race-off for the title between the Comets and the Stars.

Amid great tension, Nieminen finally became the only rider to lower Topinka's colours after passing the Czech on the back straight, as the Comets collected their fourth Four-Team title to go with previous victories in 2001, 2004 and 2006.

GROUP A

SOMERSET 13
Jason Doyle 3 3 = 6
Jordan Frampton 3 2 = 5
Stephan Katt 0 0 = 0
Brent Werner 0 2 = 2

WORKINGTON 14
Charles Wright 2 1 = 3
Kauko Nieminen 2 3 = 5
Carl Stonehewer 0 3 = 3
Joe Haines 3 R = 3

SHEFFIELD 11
Andre Compton 1 2 = 3
Ricky Ashworth 1 3 = 4
Ben Wilson 0 2 = 2
Joel Parsons 2 0 = 2

EDINBURGH 10
Andrew Tully 1 0 = 1
Matthew Wethers 2 1 = 3
Ryan Fisher 3 1 = 4
Thomas H. Jonasson 1 1 = 2

GROUP B

KINGâ'S LYNN 16
Kevin Doolan 2 3 = 5
Tomas Topinka 3 3 = 6
Shaun Tacey 2 2 = 4
Simon Lambert 0 1 = 1

NEWCASTLE 10
George Stancl 3 1 = 4
Richard Juul 0 2 = 2
Jason King 0 3 = 3
Sean Stoddart 1 0 = 1

SCUNTHORPE 16
Magnus Karlsson 3 0 = 3
Richard Hall 2 2 = 4
Carl Wilkinson 3 1 = 4
Viktor Bergstrom 2 3 = 5

READING 6
Mark Lemon 1 2 = 3
Tom P. Madsen 0 0 = 0
Chris Mills 1 0 = 1
Tomas Suchanek 1 1 = 2

FINAL

WORKINGTON 20
Charles Wright 2 2 1 = 5
Kauko Nieminen 3 3 0 = 6
Carl Stonehewer 2 1 3 = 6
Joe Haines 0 R 3 = 3

KINGâ'S LYNN 20
Kevin Doolan 3 1 3 = 7
Tomas Topinka 3 3 3 = 9
Shaun Tacey 1 0 1 = 2
Simon Lambert 0 1 1 = 2

SOMERSET 19
Jason Doyle 3 3 1 = 7
Jordan Frampton 2 2 R = 4
Stephan Katt 0 3 2 = 5
Brent Werner 2 1 0 = 3

SCUNTHORPE 13
Magnus Karlsson 0 0 0 = 0
Richard Hall 1 2 2 = 5
Carl Wilkinson 1 2 2 = 5
Viktor Bergstrom 1 0 2 = 3

RUN-OFF:
Nieminen, Topinka