Gems have mixed fortunes.

The Newcastle 'Ultrafast' Gems have been rocked by the new that Danny Hughes has quit the sport for now. To cover his absence Karl Langley came back into the side for yesterday afternoon's double header Conference match.

First up against the Gems were the Swindon 'Artdene' Sprockets fielding a strong looking team including the very experienced Malcolm Holloway.

It was a strange match in many ways with Karl Langley suffering mechanical problems in all but one of his four rides. He was extremely frustrated and it certainly wasn't through the want of trying.

Heat 13 saw a fantastic pass by young Gems captain Jamie Robertson. He came from no where and flew straight passed Malcolm Holloway who must have been stunned by what he witnessed and how Jamie stayed on, no one will never know but, thank goodness he did. The crowd certainly were amazed by his performance and appreciated his great efforts!

Lee Dicken made a welcome return to the Gems team scoring 13 points, while Jamie Robertson got a paid max.

The second match for the afternoon was against the Boston 'NC Williams' Barracuda Braves.

Newcastle were up against a strong and very experienced side including the likes of Richard Hall, Rob Hollingworth and David McAllan, all part of a team that won away at League favourites (by a long way) the Mildenhall Fen Tigers.

Both sides were at loggerheads for the first 4 heats, all turning out 2-4 to Boston, before the 2 -4 syndrome ended, changing to a 3-3 in heat 5.

Newcastle fought well, and used the Tactical Ride rule to great effect, reducing the deficit to a meer 2 points after Heat 13, 41-43. But a 5-1 to Boston in Heat 14 finished the match off, taking the progressive total out of Newcastle's reach.

A fine battling performance came from Jamie Robertson, Corey Blackman and Lee Dicken, unfortunately it just wasn't enough.