Eastbourne Eagles collapsed to a resounding defeat when they were unable to withstand an all-round Ipswich team effort at Foxhall Stadium last night.

The Suffolk side not only collected a win that lifted them to the top of the Elite League table but also denied the Eagles the aggregate bonus point.

The score at Arlington in the corresponding fixture was 51-39 to the home team but there was never any doubt as early as heat three that the Witches would win by a bigger margin in the return as Eagles made another poor start.

The battle of the young British prospects was convincingly won by 19-year-old Ipswich rider Daniel King, as he got the better of his 16-year-old rival Lewis Bridger.

Bridger first appearance at Ipswich began disastrously when his throttle jammed when he was second behind King in heat two and then had to retire in his next race.

Edward Kennett, on his first meeting for Eastbourne following his return to the club, also struggled to make an impact and had three retirements when he was trailing in last in his five outings.

Bjarne Pedersen proved a good replacement for fellow-Dane Nicki Pedersen and included in his 16 points was a doubling-up score of six when he acted as a tactical rider in heat 13.

David Norris also had his victory score doubled when he wore the black and white helmet colour in race seven but, otherwise, it was a sad night for the visitors.

Ipswich collected six maximum heat advantages and they were ahead on aggregate by the end of heat ten.

Dean Barker was under the weather with a head cold and did not ride after the interval on a night when five Ipswich riders were all paid for double figure scores.

Pedersen won heat 13 with Mark Loram and Chris Louis chasing him all the way and there was a repeat in the final race as the Dane showed his skills in holding off a determined challenge by Loram and Louis again.

Bridger also slowly grew in confidence around an unfamiliar track and pushed Pepe Protasiewicz all the way to the finishing line in heat 14 but by then the outcome was done and dusted.

Scorers: Ipswich Witches: P. Protasiewicz 13+1, D. King 12+4, M. Loram 11, C. Louis 10+2, K. Jansson 9+3, J. Jaros 2+1.

Eastbourne Eagles: B. Pedersen 16, D. Norris 11, C. Woodward 3+1, E. Kennett 3, L. Bridger 3, D. Barker 2.