SOMERSET Rebels stretched their unbeaten run to seven, and banked their fourth successive away win of the season, as they overcame Swindon Robins 49-41 to extend their lead at the top of the SGB Premiership table.

The Rebels' Jack Holder and Richard Lawson confirmed all four league points with a closing 4-2 advantage which saw Holder deny the Robins' impressive Pole, Tobias Musielak, from registering a paid maximum on Thursday night.

The 'Cases' Rebels were sent off with an ideal start as world champion Jason Doyle defeated fellow Aussie Nick Morris to steer Somerset to a 4-2 before guest Tero Aarnio and Jake Allen fired in a 5-1 in the reserves heat.

Swindon swiftly responded through Ellis and Musielak but the Rebels kept the hosts at arms’ length when Holder beat Troy Batchelor with Aarnio third in heat 4.

A string of Swindon race winners followed, including Musielak's triumph over Doyle in heat 5, but assisted by the inability of the Robins to stay aboard their machines the home side had little back-up to their heat winners.

Aided by a flier of a start in heat 9 for Musielak, Swindon did level the scores as Ellis comfortably beat Jake Allen and the scores moved to 27-apiece.

Somerset were handed a gift of an opportunity when heat 10 race leader Morris fell on the opening lap, leaving Aaron Summers and Richard Lawson the task of having to beat Jack Smith who hitherto had just a single point to his name from four starts, two of which had resulted in falls, in the re-start.

Returning the 5-1 the Rebels began to sense victory as Doyle and Wilson-Dean picked up a 4-2 over Batchelor and Perks to go six up.

Swindon responded with a tactical ride for Morris, but Aarnio produced an excellent second place to evade any real damage to the deficit and when Batchelor fell when in pursuit of Doyle in heat 13 the Rebels restored that six-point advantage and just had to hold on for two more heats.

Aarnio and Lawson ensured the victory on the night by sharing heat 14, before Holder's determined efforts in the final heat with Lawson backing up in third, gave Somerset a four-point harvest for the second meeting in succession as they move five points clear at the top.

Team manager Garry May said: "I didn’t ever dream of getting four points from this one.

“I thought we had a great chance of running them close, especially as they had no Bellego and Wajtknecht, but the lads have made this something of a special month for me as previously I had never managed a winning side at Swindon.

"Now in our last two completed fixtures we have won at Swindon and Wolverhampton, two places I hadn't previously had any success as a manager! "

"I thought Tero [Aarnio] did an excellent job as a guest for Nico [Covatti] and you could see how determined Jack [Holder] was in heat 15 to make it a full four-pointer for us."

Scores: Swindon (41): T. Musielak 13+1 (2',3,3,3,2), N. Morris 10 (2,3,FD,3,2), A. Ellis 9 (3,1,3,1,1,0), T. Batchelor 7 (2,3,2,FD), J. Smith 2 (1,0,F,F,1), E. Perks 0 (F,R,F,0,0), R. Replacement 0) Somerset (49): J. Holder 11 (3,2,2,1,3), J. Doyle 11 (3,2,3,3), T. Aarnio 10 (3,1,2,2,2), R. Lawson 7+2 (1,2,2',1',1), A. Summers 4+1 (0,1',3,0), J. Allen 3+2 (2',1',0), B. Wilson-Dean 3+1 (1,0,1',1)