THE Sittingbourne AC Associates Crusaders paid a visit to the picturesque setting of Hi-Edge Raceway in the Derbyshire Peaks for the first time since 1996 in a Conference League fixture.

Making their debuts for a Kent team seeking to get off the winning mark in this season's campaign, were loanee signings Ricky Scarboro and Darren Andrews.

Scarboro, 37, who hails from Skegness, made his mark immediately, becoming the first rider to beat Buxton’s Jonathon Bethell in the opening race of a meeting at Hi-Edge this year.

Scarboro’s partner, the Crusaders' skipper, Chris Hunt, picked third place to give an early lead to Sittingbourne.

But the Hitmen drew level immediately as Ross Parker and Dave Farley gained a 4-2 race advantage over the in-form Jordan Frampton.

The home team then took a decisive hold on the meeting as they gained two maximum heat wins in the next two races to go 16-8 in front after 4 heats.

First, Dean Felton and Carl Belfield took advantage of falls by the Crusaders’ Hunt and Daniel Blake. And then the appropriately named Lee Derbyshire was followed home by his partner Parker, with Andrews (returning to the team he last rode for ten years ago) in third for Sittingbourne.

Heat 5 saw disaster strike with Jordan Frampton in the wars. Taking the rider replacement place, the young Crusaders reserve fell on the first turn and remounted.

He set off in chase of the others but crashed on the fourth turn and was taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle. It was crushing blow, both for the 20-year-old speedster who has been in terrific form in recent matches and for the beleaguered Crusaders.

Sittingbourne, though, hit straight back in the next race as Andrews and Mark Baseby scored a 5-1 over the Buxton pair of Bethell and Charles Wright to reduce the Hitmen’s lead to just four points.

Derbyshire won Heat 7 from Hunt after Blake had been excluded for falling and the 4-2 put Buxton six in the lead. This stretched to eight as Parker won the following race from Scarboro with Wright taking third in front of Baseby.

The Hitmen then gained another heat win as Andrews was excluded after falling when in third and Baseby was excluded after his bike’s silencer failed. The desperately unfortunate 5-0 to Buxton gave the homesters a 13-point lead; and with Bethell and Wright combining for another maximum race advantage over Hunt in the next heat, the Hitmen went into the interval with an almost unassailable 38-21 lead.

Scarboro came in for a double points tactical ride in Heat 11 but it was Derbyshire who gained his third win of the afternoon. However, with Scarboro taking second and Andrews third, Sittingbourne took the heat 6-3 to pull three points back. Felton won the next race for Buxton but Hunt and Baseby kept Parker at the back for a shared heat.

Andrews took a tactical ride in Heat 13 but could only manage third behind the home pair of Bethell and Derbyshire. Belfield won the penultimate race from Baseby with Farley taking third in front of Blake to give Buxton a 4-2 and the final race looked like being a repeat of Heat 13 as Bethell led from Derbyshire and the Crusaders pairing of Scarboro and Andrews.

Sadly for the Buxton number one, he shed a chain while leading and ground to a halt. Derbyshire went on to complete his paid maximum - with Scarboro finishing second and top scoring for Sittingbourne with 14 points.

Scorers: Sittingbourne Crusaders – R Scarboro 14; J Cockle R/R; C Hunt 7; D Blake 0; D Andrews 8+2;, J Frampton 2; M Baseby 5+2.