Sebastian Tresarrieu had a look at the Arlington track, weighed it up and then became the first French rider to win a race for Eastbourne Eagles in the history of the Sussex club.

The manner of Tresarrieu's victory, a confident tapes to flag effort, suggests it might not be the last time he gets a chance to show what he can do at Elite League level.

One thing is for sure. There are not many dull moments when the Frenchman is about.

A couple of races earlier, he had notched his first point, despite falling off. Tresarrieu, who was third at the time, remounted and still beat Swindon's Charlie Gjedde, who was chasing him after suffering a similar fate earlier in the race.

Eastbourne's decision to press ahead with a fixture on a Grand Prix weekend paid handsome dividends in their battle for a play-off place.

Swindon were sent packing on the end of a 60-32 scoreline, only the second time this season Eagles have topped the 60-point mark.

There was no Nicki Pedersen or Andrew Moore but Eastbourne are up to second in the table, level with Wolverhampton, after this one-sided romp.

Delighted boss Jon Cook said: "That's about as good as it gets. Even if it's only for 48 hours, it's a fantastic effort and shows what we have been all about this season."

It's easy to see Cook's point after his side were written off as no hopers earlier in the year.

Skipper David Norris led from the front with an 18-point maximum while Adam Shields was paid for 18, Joonas Kylmakorpi won four races and Edward Kennett's party piece was to beat Gjedde when he was on double points.

In fact, Swindon failed to win any of the 15 races, missed out on both tactical rides and were completely over-run in the second half when Eagles stretched their lead from eight points to 28.

Peter Ljung might not have been very welcome at Arlington after walking out on the team to join the Robins but perhaps it was a pity he wasn't around to add a bit of colour.

Eagles went ahead with a 5-1 by Kylmakorpi and Shields in heat three. Back-to-back 5-1s in heats nine and ten from Kylmakorpi and Shields again and then Norris and Kennett stretched the lead to 39-23.

Eastbourne: David Norris 18, Adam Shields 14, Joonas Kylmakorpi 13, Edward Kennett 10, Sebastian Tresarrieu 5, Steen Jensen 0. Bonus points: Shields 4, Kennett 1
Swindon: Steve Johnston 8, Andy Smith 6, Charlie Gjedde 6, Billy Janniro 5, Oliver Allen 4, Michael Coles 3. Bonus points: Coles 3, Janniro 1, Allen 1