It seems most appropriate that Workington opened their first season in the Championship last month with a Border Trophy meeting against Berwick, given that their first meeting in their inaugural season at Derwent Park back in 1970 also featured that fixture.

Their team that night comprised of new Aussies Lou Sansom and Malcolm Mackay along with the promising Reg Wilson and veteran Vic Lonsdale. Maurice Wilson rode for the Comets in this meeting, scoring 2+1 from three rides but never graced their colours again. The new boys put up a valiant fight before going under 39-37. Malcolm Mackay, with 14 from the reserve berth,  was tops, only losing out to Maury Robinson, and next were Lou Sansom and Vic Lonsdale with six . Berwick were more compact with Andy Meldrum leading with eight and Robinson and Peter Kelly on seven.

Berwick’s  Meldrum won the first heat, setting up the track record at 83.0, a time that no one could better that night, nor the following week when the Comets raced Sheffield Cub in another challenge meeting. The Cubs included Bob Valentine, Taffy Owen and Doug Wyer in their line up and all would feature in subsequent Comets – Bandits clashes, though the latter would be wearing the black and gold.

The Comets first home league meeting was against Romford, who proved too strong for the homesters, running out 43-35 winners , with Phil Woodcock slashing six seconds off the track record,taking the time down to 77.0 in heat one and going on to record a full 12 point maximum, before seeing off Lou Sansom’s challenge to retain his Silver Helmet.

Rochdale were the next visitors to Cumbria and they ran riot, winning 49-29, with Eric Broadbelt, Chris Bailey and Steve Waplington unbeaten, so aa April drew to a close the Comets had only a solitary home win against the scratch side Sheffield Cubs. In contrast Berwick had won at Middlesbrough to take the Tweedside - Teesside Trophy and shown up well in a four team event at Doncaster, tying with Long Eaton for the top spot. On the basis of the first month’s results, Berwick were fancied to be mid table with Comets toiling to keep off the bottom.

However by the time the second leg of the Border Trophy was staged in the beginning of October, the positions were well reversed. Indeed the Comets had won at Shielfield in the league by 43-35 in September and the Comets were comfortably in mid table with Berwick having a dog fight with Long Eaton over the destiny of the wooden spoon. With this in mind you would have fancied the Comets to pull back the two point deficit and clinch the Border Trophy that night in October, but it didn’t turn out that way. Alan Wilkinson proved to bean astute choice of guest for Roy Williams, who had returned home to New Zealand, scoring ten and backing up skipper Robinsons full maximum, Valentine and Mackay were best for the Comets with twelve and nine respectively. The score on the night was tied at 33-33 after heat eleven but 4-2 s in the last two races sealed the home win and gave Berwick their second trophy of the season, an up beat end to a fairly traumatic year.