David Norris was the star as Eastbourne Eagles drew 45-45 last night at Belle Vue.

Norris rode superbly in the final heat to hold off Grand Prix ace Jason Crump and snatch a vital second place for the Sussex side.

Jason Lyons won the race, for Belle Vue, and with Eastbourne skipper Joe Screen coming last it was Norris who prevented the home side taking a match winning 5-1.

Eagles led by six points with three heats to go but a 5-1 from Crump and Lyons over Mark Loram and Dean Barker closed the gap.

Norris had earlier combined with Loram to again relegate Crump to third place in heat 11, while Barker and Steve Johnston scored a 5-1 in heat six when Brian Karger crashed into the fence.

Johnston, guesting for Eagles, who were missing Stefan Andersson and Toni Svab, finished as top scorer with a paid 14 points, while Norris had a paid 12.

Belle Vue: Jason Crump 14, Jason Lyons 12, Kaj Laukkenen 8, Sam Ermolenko 6, Blair Scott 2, Mark Burroughs 2, Brian Karger 1.

Eastbourne: Steve Johnston 12, David Norris 11, Joe Screen 8, Mark Loram 7, Dean Barker 5, Savalas Clouting 2.

Dean Barker has reached the final of the world championship qualifying competition.