TWO suspected broken toes could not stop Durrington motorbike ace Daryl Bolter surging to a career-best third place in the latest round of the European Enduro Championship, held in Poland.

Encouraged by his fourth place finish in Hungary three weeks ago, Bolter travelled to the town of Kwidzyn in confident mood, picking up eighth place in the first stage of the event.

But at the end of day one, disaster struck. He caught his foot on a tree stump at high speed, leaving him in severe pain with badly bruised and swollen toes.

After spending the night with his foot in an icepack, the brave rider took the decision to prepare for day two and see whether he could salvage any points.

But what started out as a damage limitation exercise turned into the greatest ride of his life, as he recorded the fastest time of the day, leaving his nearest rival trailing by eight seconds.

The victory lifted his overall placing to third.

With his toes on the mend, Bolter expects to be injury-free in time for the next round in Italy on July 10.