Mildenhall Fen Tigers' Danny Ayres pleased with his debut in the Speedway British Final

Danny Ayres feels he has given his career a significant boost after stealing the show in his first appearance in the British Final at the National Speedway Stadium in Manchester on Monday, writes Graham Clark.

Although finishing down in 11th, with a final total of six points, the Mildenhall Fen Tigers captain gained plenty of new fans following his ride in heat 19 which was the talking point of the meeting.

Leading for much of the race, the 32-year-old was denied a first victory on the night when thrown wide after picking up extra drive going into the penultimate bend, before somehow holding on to finish second behind three-times title winner Chris Harris.

“What a night, I finished 11th and I stole the show and my phone has not stopped going since; it has been hectic,” he said. “I made a great gate from four in heat 19 and not many people get past Chris Harris in the dirt like that from the start

“I didn’t realise I had the race won and I just clipped a hole and that sent me into turbo boost.

“I honestly thought I was then going straight through the air fence. I’ve watched the replay so many times I don’t know how I stayed on.

“Not many people go into a meeting like that, finish 11th and are the talking point. I am super pumped now and people have got to stand up and notice me after that.”

While Ayres may not have challenged eventual winner Charles Wright for the outright victory, he believes he could have finished higher up the order had things panned out differently.

“I had issues up until my fourth ride and I managed to burn a clutch on my new bike on the parade,” he said. “I had to totally adjust my starts and in these sort of events fine things make big margins.

“If I had won my last two races I would have been in the semi-final as I felt I was getting better as the night went on.

“When you are in these big events you have to have everything spot on and that bike has to be singing. If I went back today it would be a different story but I’ve proved I’m good enough to race in these events.”

* The Fen Tigers' clash with the Plymouth Gladiators in the National League fell victim to the weather on Sunday.

The West Row-based outfit will be back in action in the league on Thursday next week when taking on the Isle Of Wight Warriors at Smallbrook (7pm).