Handicap Pairs give Fen Tigers a break.

The Mildenhall Fen Tigers take a break from more traditional fare this weekend when they stage the Handicap Best Pairs at West Row on Sunday. The meeting will consist of a heat leader being paired with a reserve or second string with the heat leader going off 15 metres.

"It's quite a novel idea that we think will provide a great deal of entertainment for the supporters and take a bit of the pressure off the riders" said general manager Graham Drury. We're getting to the stage now where every meeting is a crunch fixture and I just wanted to take a bit of pressure off and give the lads a breather."

"We've been going well on all fronts and there are still a lot of big meetings coming up. I know the riders will stay focussed; but taking a break won't do them any harm at all. Brendan MacKay will be making his home debut and Carl Baldwin will also compete in what may be his last meeting. We hope not - but we will have to see".

The Fen Tigers proved too good for Wimbledon last Sunday. Paul Lee made his debut and top scored with 13 points in some very fast times and the 54-36 winning margin might have been more were it not for a number of uncharacteristic falls for Nick Simmons.

"Joining Mildenhall has been a good move for me and helped me regain a lot of my confidence" said Nick. "I'm getting more rides and winning races is what any rider craves. Sometimes I go for gaps or the extra point when I should think a bit longer and maybe weigh up the options. But that's the sort of rider I am and it's going to be hard to change just yet."

"The Conference League is a bit harder than some people realise and I'm grateful to be with an ambitious club. That creates pressure and I find that in turn keeps me at a reasonable level of sharpness. We seem to be on a bit of a roll right now and I'm hopeful that we can turn that in to winning something before the season is out".

James Brundle gave 100 per cent in the Conference League Riders Championship but didn't make the rostrum. "It was a hard meeting and James gave of his best which is all anyone can ask" added Drury.

A fixture change sees the Fen Tigers facing Peterborough in league action on September 20th with the venue switched to Boston.