Popular Arena-Essex rider Gary Corbett has hit back after Sean Wilson's very personal attack on him during the week.

In the recent match against Sheffield, hard riding between Corbett and the Sheffield skipper led to the pair going through the safety fence together at high speed, leaving the Arena man with a severly broken wrist and out for the rest of the season.

The two riders then confronted each other very publicly on the track, and the argument continued into the pits, with Wilson claiming that Corbett had been riding dangerously.

During the week, Wilson went on record as saying "He will have a problem riding with me for the rest of his career," leaving a bitter row between the pair.

Corbett has now responded to Wilson's attack, saying "Sean's reaction is completely unnecessary. The accident was just one of those things.

"He's been riding long enough to know that it happens. I just can't believe he's still sulking."

Corbett is now out for the rest of the season with a double-break to the scaphoid, leaving Arena with some difficulty in replacing him. Manager Martin Goodwin was quick to laugh off rumours that he would be getting back on the saddle.

"For the time we will just be using rider replacement while looking at all possibilities," he explained.

Jan Pederson was the top Arena Essex rider as the Hammers crashed to defeat at Reading on Monday.

Pederson notched up 13 points out of a total of 33 for the Purfleet team, but that was not enough to stop the hosts riding to glory on the night.

Reading scored 57 points with skipper Phil Morris leading the way for the men from Berkshire with a tally of 15.

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