Mildenhall Fen Tigers have put themselves firmly in the driving seat for the Knock Out Cup semi-final second-leg following a thrilling 46-44 first-leg victory against rivals Kent Royals.
In a classic nip-and-tuck affair, the two sides were locked together at 42-42 heading into the deciding heat 15, but Fen Tiger's skipper on the day Alfie Bowtell and teenager Luke Harrison managed to secure victory and a slender aggregate advantage.
Maximum man Bowtell won all his heats and was backed up by Harrison, who chased down and brilliantly passed the host's number one rider Ben Morley on the final bend of the penultimate lap to secure a breathless but brilliant first-leg victory.
The match was not without controversy though, when two races before, with the Tigers four points ahead, Harrison carried out a brilliant passing manoeuvre on Morley only to be disqualified.
Both riders appeared to lock together momentarily, and the referee Simon Humphrey-Kennett took the view that the 15-year-old's pass amounted to unfair riding, disqualifying Harrison.
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In the early exchanges of the cup tie, the lead consistently changed hands, with neither side able to establish any significant match advantage.
The hugely impressive Arran Butcher supported the team superbly by taking vital race wins in heats one and two and maintaining his unbeaten run and defying the odds with a heat eight-win despite losing his steel shoe.
Team manager, Jason Gardner, said: "It was a very satisfactory win setting up nicely for the second leg next Sunday [April 16].
"Some in the Kent camp were upset by Harrison's pass of Morley, but it was a hard but fair – he's a young rider who just wants to race. We were very surprised at the retrospective decision to exclude him.
"Arran [Butcher] put in an especially good performance, and Alfie [Bowtell] continued his peerless start to the season with exactly what we'd expect from him."
The second leg will take place at Mildenhall Speedway next Sunday, April 16, with a 4pm start time.
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