Eastbourne Eagles 41, Oxford Cheetahs 51

The JTC/FOX Cheetahs roared back to the top spot in the Sky Sports Elite League with an awesome display at Arlington on a baking hot Saturday afternoon.

Oxford started quietly with Martin Dugard winning heat one for the home side, who also secured a maximum in the reserves race.

Three consecutive drawn heats followed, before Leigh Adams dropped his only point in heat six to Dugard, to leave the Cheetahs trailing by six points.

Adams was brought straight back out as a tactical substitute and together with Steve Johnston, raced away to a maximum.

Heat eight caused a panic when Ales Dryml had bike problems as he attempted to leave the pits and had to swap machines and rear wheels

After all the excitement, Dryml and Todd Wiltshire flew from the start to get the Cheetahs' second maximum and put their noses in front.

The Eagles' Dugard/Brent Werner pairing did the damage again in heat ten to level the scores.

It was shortlived, however, as Brian Andersen and Todd Wiltshire put the Cheetahs four points up at the interval. That result was all the more amazing as Wiltshire lost his steel shoe on the second lap and yet still held onto second!

Heat 12 saw the Cheetahs push further ahead, although as usual they did it the hard way.

Adams and Dryml gated only for the race to be stopped for an unsatisfactory start. The Oxford pair gated again and David Norris had an engine failure.

Oxford just about sealed the match in heat 13 when the brilliant Adams and Andersen put them ten points up.

Eastbourne used the golden double tactical substitute in heat 14. Norris was put 15 metres back, with Dugard on the line.

The idea was for Dugard to gate and then slow the race down allowing David Norris to come through from the back and put the Eagles just three points behind the Cheetahs.

They had not accounted for Cheetahs' skipper Steve Johnston who beat Martin Dugard to the first bend and held the first place for the entire four laps.