And it was little surprise that they suffered a heavy defeat, with everyone in the Sheffield camp shattered by the news.

Police have still not released the identity of the man until his family have been notified.

But he was a key member of the Owlerton set-up and Tigers were clearly affected.

Said promoter Neil Machin: "It is a real tragedy and we are all stunned. We tried to keep the news from the team but they found out.
"There was no way it could have been postponed at such short notice. No-one really wanted to do the meeting, but we had to just get on with it," he added.

Premier League leaders Somerset took advantage by going 10-2 up in the first two heats and when Ricky Ashworth suffered the first of two exclusions after falling in heat 5 as rain made conditions tricky, the Rebels piled on the agony to go 23-7 up.

Skipper Andre Compton managed to stem the tide with a couple of race wins and Ben Wilson also saw the chequered flag once, but when Ashworth came a cropper on the third turn in a heat 11 tactical ride, Sheffield were left waiting for the end.

Added Machin: "We went with every intention of winning, because our riders go so well there – but in the end I think everyone just wanted to get it over with and get home."

SOMERSET: Kroger 14+2, Doyle 12, Katt 10+1, Werner 9+1, Kramer 8+2, Frampton 7+1.
TIGERS: Compton 11, Cooper 5, Wilson, 5, Ashworth 3, arsons 2, Smethills 3, Hughes 1+1.

Sheffield will regroup in time for tomorrow's league trip to basement boys Mildenhall.
The Suffolk side have lost every league outing so far this season, with Machin's side hot favourites to complete a quickfire double after their 65-27 win at Owlerton on Thursday.

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