Mildenhall Fen Tigers returned home from Buxton empty-handed after being defeated by 19 points on an afternoon when falls and engine failures seriously affected their point scoring.

It was to be one of those days for the Fen Tigers and they suffered the worst possible start when number one Stefan Nielsen fell when leading heat one, before newcomer Danny Phillips fell in heat two when well placed in second.

A series of engine failures and falls on a difficult track left the Fen Tigers 12 behind after six heats, before the unlucky Jon Armstrong had bike problems when on a TR in heat seven. Josh Bates won the race but then withdrew injured as the Fen Tigers woes continued.

Although the Fen Tigers battled manfully with debutant Danny Phillips putting in a fine performance at reserve, further disaster awaited in heat 11 when Nielsen on a TR and his partner Aaron Baseby both fell and were excluded.

The resulting 5-0 leaving Buxton 17 points ahead and any hopes of league points for the Fen Tigers had been extinguished.

To their credit the Fen Tigers stuck to their task and a fine win from Armstrong in the final heat ended the meeting on a brighter note.

Co-promoter Chris Louis offered no excuses for the performance: “We made too many mistakes today and to be honest didn’t really turn up. I have no complaints about the track and there are no excuses.

“Josh (Bates) probably shouldn’t have ridden and will be back to hospital tomorrow and I have to say I don’t anticipate we will see him again this season. “Jon (Armstrong) as always battled hard but the most pleasing aspect of the day was the performance of Danny Phillips. It was a good solid performance from Danny, he picked up the points that were available to him and was very determined in the first bend.”

Buxton Hitmen - 54 - 1. Wright 12 (5 rides) 2. Blacklock 7+2 (4) 3. Smart 6+1 (4) 4. Carr 9+1 (4) 5. McKinna 11 (5) 6. Woolley 5+3 (4) 7. Williamson 4 (4).

Mildenhall Fen Tigers - 35 - 1. Nielsen 6 (5 ) 2. Baseby 2+1 (4) 3. Bates 3(2 withdrawn injured) 4. Armstrong 9+1 (5) 5. Halsey 5 (4) 6. Rumsey 2+1 (4) 7. Phillips 8+2 (6)