Mildenhall Fen Tigers – proudly sponsored by Manchetts Rescue and Recovery – get back to home comforts this Sunday (26th.June) following their successful ‘Northern Tour’, when they entertain rivals Leicester Lion Cubs in the National Development League [NDL].
This is the return fixture of last month’s controversial clash between the two sides (the reigning NDL champions, Mildenhall and their predecessors, Leicester) which ended in as 49-40 defeat in the East Midlands for the Fen Tigers.
So revenge is the order of the day as the hosts seek to get off the mark in the side’s delayed start to their home programme of fixtures.
The match which starts at the normal time of 3pm is also the home debut of James Shanes – the twice European Grasstrack and current World Long Track Grand Prix rider who has come in as replacement for the injured club captain, Ryan Kinsley.
Shanes was the Fen Tigers’ sole representative in Sunday’s Danny Ayres Memorial individual championship (won by King’s Lynn star Richard Lawson) – finishing eighth on seven points in the Mildenhall-staged meeting in memory of the late Danny Ayres, a former team-mate of James’ from their time together at Kent Kings. Hailing from Dorset but based now in Suffolk, Shanes is a well known and popular figure around the club and is sure to receive a very warm West Row welcome when he finally dons the Fen Tigers race jacket against the Lion Cubs on Sunday.
Five members of the 2022 Mildenhall Fen Tigers squad – proudly sponsored by Manchetts Rescue and Recovery – are in action art West Row this afternoon (Sunday 19th. June) taking part in the special benefit meeting being staged in memory of the late Danny Ayres. The former Mildenhall rider passed away in February 2020 and the proceeds of this meeting go to secure the future of his two young daughters.
All five Fen Tigers will have travelled considerable distances over the past 12 hours to get to their home track for today’s action: four of them were in team action at Edinburgh on Friday and Berwick yesterday, while James Shanes has hot footed it back from Poland after contesting the opening round of the World Long Track Championship GP series.