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 a solid 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 and in doubt as to whether he could continue with the competition.

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

But what started out as a damage limitation exercise turned into the greatest ride of his life, as he carved open a strong field of French, German and Italian riders.

He recorded the fastest time of the day, leaving his nearest rival trailing by a full eight seconds.

The margin of victory lifted his overall placing to third, meaning that at the half-way point in his debut Euro Enduro season, the Husqvarna rider is poised in third place in the championship.

Sponsor Alan Ranger explained that the conditions in Poland suited Bolter's style down to the ground.

Warned in advance to expect a slippery, rocky course, he was pleasantly surprised to find that much of the race took place over his favourite loose, sandy terrain.

Ranger said: "It goes back to his motocross days.

"He trained on sandy ground as a youngster, so it is what he knows best of all."

With his toes now on the mend, Bolter is looking forward to being injury-free in time for the next round in Italy on July 10.

His storming performance in Poland means that he is now the number one rider for the Italian manufacturer Husqvarna, ahead of a number of Italians.

Ranger said: Negotiations are underway to see whether he can get direct factory support for the Italian round.

"One of the points of Enduro is that the riders do the repairs on their own bikes.

"With factory support, he would have use of Husq-varna's own lorry and equipment, which would really help him.

"In his first season, 20th place would be good.

"Third is amazing."