STOKE Eazy Rider Potters were given a fright by Newport before securing a 51-39 home victory in a meeting full of hard racing from start to finish.

Newport led until a 5-1 from Jason Bunyan and Jesper Kristiansen in heat 10, after Wasps' Chris Kerr had lifted alarmingly going in to the pits turn.

And Newport were still in with a shout of getting something out of the meeting going in to the final race.

"From the point of view of supporters, maybe that's the way it should be, but it certainly kept us under pressure until the result was in the bag," said Stoke promoter Dave Tattum.

"The quality of racing was unreal at times and, fair play to Newport, they gave as good as they got for the majority of the meeting and made us fight every inch of the way."

Tom P Madsen was forced to withdraw from the meeting after aggravating his injured shoulder during his opening ride.

That meant 21-year-old Lee Smart had to take seven rides, which included a fall and an exclusion in his first two outings.

"I was really quite annoyed about the exclusion because Jordan Frampton came across me down the back straight and I had got under him going in to the third turn when he came off," said Smart.

"It was a tough first meeting, but give me a couple of weeks and I will be dialled in and going much better".

Lee Complin went from fourth to first in heat three and then went around Mark Lemon going in to the last lap two races later before Frampton cut up the inside of Kristiansen in the next as Newport maintained a two-point lead.

Frampton looked quick all night and made a lightning start to heat nine before blocking Complin to edge out the Potters skipper. Kristiansen took advantage of Kerr's mistake in the next as Stoke went in front for the first time in heat 10.

Newport, however, looked as though they might reclaim the lead immediately as Lemon and Paul Fry both made good starts, but Phil Morris picked them both off on separate laps with the same inside move off the pits turn.

"We were hanging in there at that stage and I knew that was a big race for us," said Morris.

"I didn't make a bad start, but it wasn't as good as Lemon or Fryer and I had to work hard to gain the ground to make my move.

"I got by Fryer on one lap and then weighed Lemon up and switched up the inside coming out of turn four on the next.

"Not everybody was making the inside work, but I found the drive I wanted and I just about managed to nip through for what was a big win for us at that stage."

James Holder split Klaus Jakobsen and Smart in heat 12 before Lemon just shaded a titanic race with Bunyan in the next.

A 4-2 from Complin and Smart in heat 14 put Stoke 46-38 up, meaning Newport could still, under the new scoring system if they lost by six points or less, claim a point with one race to go.

Again, Lemon and Frampton made the start, but Complin forged ahead down the back straight and Bunyan went around Lemon and Frampton coming out of the pits turn as Stoke finished on a high to bank all three points.

"I was just going for it and I couldn't believe it when I saw Jason come alongside me," said Complin.

"This was a victory for team spirit because we dug deep and everyone chipped in with 100 per cent.

STOKE 51: J Bunyan 12+1, J Kristiansen 6+1, K Jakobsen 6+2, L Complin 14, P Morris 7+2, L smart 5, T P Madsen 1.

NEWPORT 39: M Lemon 10, P Fry 4+1, B Werner 0, C Kerr 6, J Frampton 9, S Rutherford 2+1, J Holder 8+1.