Tyres cost Eagles points as they lose at Scunthorpe

The visiting riders struggled with tyres all night and that cost vital points. Team manager Trevor Geer said: “We could have easily got some points. We should have done. We were inconsistent.

“Tom Brennan got going well at the end and deserved to be in heat 15. We had problems with tyres which were completely disintegrating throughout the meeting. That cost a few points. The treads were stripping off.

“Kyle Newman had an easy second place and the tyre blew about 20 yards from the line. He was lucky to stay on but lost his place and that became a 5-1 against us. Most of our team seemed to have problems but I looked round at the Scunthorpe riders and theirs were not too bad. Why that is, I don’t know. The tyres that we had were definitely not up to scratch.”

Geer said it was a shame Drew Kemp was unavailable [riding on Saturday for Team GB in the World U-19 Pairs Final in Poland]. The Eagles gave a Championship debut to Nathan Ablitt. “He did not disgrace himself, whatsoever,” said Geer. “He was fighting for points and pushing the whole way.”

Scorers: Scunthorpe: Josh Auty 5 (4), Simon Lambert 8 (4), Theo Pijper 7+2 (5), Tero Aarnio 10+1 (5), Thomas Jorgensen 7+1 (4), Josh MacDonald 1 (3), Jordan Palin 11+1 (5). Eastbourne: Edward Kennett 6+1 (4), Tom Brennan 7 (5), Kyle Newman 5+1 (4), Lewi Kerr 9+1 (5), Richard Lawson 12+1 (5), Jason Edwards 2 (3), Nathan Ablitt 0 (4).