Dorset Echo

Weymouth Wildcats' title chances have been dealt a massive blow after reserve sensation Tim Webster was carted off in an ambulance on Saturday night. Phil Bartlett's men comfortably defeated the Boston Barracudas 54-39 at the Wessex Stadium to earn two huge Conference League points. But the victory came at a price as Webster suffered a fractured ankle in a heat 11 horror smash and could now face up to six weeks on the sidelines. The Plymouth-based racer was chasing Boston's Darren Mallett hard for third place, when the visiting rider fell on lap two, turn two. Webster had nowhere to go and slammed into the Barracuda legs first, before reeling back in agony.

An ambulance was called to the track and the meeting was held up for 25 minutes, while the 19-year-old was treated, before being taken to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester. Speaking yesterday morning, his father Mark said: "He has fractured his right ankle. They thought they were going to have to plate the bone because it was displaced. But they've put a plaster cast on it and elevated the leg. Fortunately, it seemed to go back into place, without them having to put any screws in."

Promoter Bartlett has already drafted Matthew Wright into his squad. But having avoided surgery, Tim is ready to do everything in his power to get back into the Wildcats side fast. And Mark hopes to get some help from revered physiotherapist Brian Simpson in Ipswich to ensure a speedy recovery. He added: "If Tim's in the plaster cast, he could be out for six weeks. But he has broken his ankle before and with Brian's help, Tim came back in three last time. It will depend on the fracture and this one is on the ankle bone itself. Tim will be looking to get back as soon as possible though, because there are some important meetings ahead."

On a more positive note for the Wildcats, skipper Karl Mason returned to form in style with an 11 paid one-point maximum from four outings. Mason opened with a thrilling last bend pass on James Cockle in heat three to snatch a stunning win. He then charged around the impressive Darcy Ward at the start of lap three and Luke Priest joined him, when the Aussie lost speed dramatically. Wildcats' pair of the night followed this by hunting down Mallett in race nine. Priest rocketed around the fast-gater from Boston on turn two, before Mason charged hard and flew past him on lap two, bend four.

The Newport asset then completed his night by leading Kyle Newman to a 5-1 in race 14, before receiving the bumps from his team-mates. Despite enduring a patchy run of form this season, Mason is now determined to build on this ahead of a vital run of five league matches over the coming month. He said: "It was a lot better than last week, when I struggled with the track. My average is already up on last year by quite a bit and I'm finally riding like I know I can. Now we have all the league matches and it's crunch time, so we have to make sure we're doing the business."