THERE was all the glamour and excitement of US-style Dirt Track motorcycling at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday evening as short track made its Suffolk debut. The Silkolene-sponsored UK championship sees some of the top riders from disciplines as diverse a

THERE was all the glamour and excitement of US-style Dirt Track motorcycling at Mildenhall Stadium on Saturday evening as short track made its Suffolk debut.

The Silkolene-sponsored UK championship sees some of the top riders from disciplines as diverse as motocross, enduro, supermoto, road racing as well as speedway, pit their wits against each other on an extraordinary array of especially adapted bikes in twelve to a race, twelve lap action; from Rutland's Richard Atkins on his 125cc Yamaha all the way up to the flamboyant Italian, Marco Belli on his splendid 600cc Harley-Davidson.

The true grit on the track was amply demonstrated by Lee Complin, who stormed to victory in hugely impressive style on the on his CCM FT35R. Indeed it was a CCM double with Andrew Moore, who recently rocked the Mildenhall Speedway club by announcing his retirement, in second place.

On a good day generally for ex-Fen Tigers, Darren Pearson finished on the third step of the rostrum and retained his overall series lead.

Meanwhile, for former Fen Tigers skipper Pete Boast, who is the brains and inspiration behind the sport in Britain, it was a time to reflect on the success of Short Track's West Row debut.

He said: "We're very pleased with the crowd. It's testament to the tremendous support of the stadium owner, Carl Harris and the interest in motorcycling events from the always knowledgeable Mildenhall public. The only hic-cup was we had a slight delay waiting for the medical cover to get to us after they'd been delayed at their other assignment at Newmarket Races."

Boast is now to travel across the Atlantic to the home of this form of dirt-track racing where, along with his fellow 2005 UK Championship rostrum men, Belli and Tim Greig, he will be flying the flag for Europe in the first ever AMA International Flat Track championships.

Boast, who is about to take part in a week's racing in Illinois, said: "It's great that the Americans have recognised the sport has established itself elsewhere now and they will face tough competition from us Europeans as well as riders from Japan, Argentina and Canada.