JOE Lawlor revealed how some fatherly advice had helped to inspire his first career paid maximum as Cradley overwhelmed under-strength Buxton 62-27.

Number seven Lawlor backed up fellow reserve Conor Dwyer in heat two before taking a trio of chequered flags, stretching his lead once in front in each.

“Words cannot describe the feeling, I am over the moon,” said Lawlor, who is embarking on his first full season in senior speedway.

“I have been waiting a long time to do this after a rusty start at Cradley. Things have not been going my way with bike troubles and the like but I told the club I would come good and finally, I have.

“It is always a tricky track. Everyone else seems to hate it but I don’t, the harder you ride it the easier it is. My dad has been telling me that for years and when I took his advice, it made my life a lot easier.

“I have stayed unbeaten and feel so confident now. Hopefully, I can do the same again next time, that’s the plan.”

It was an eventful day all round with Luke Harris also remaining unbeaten by an opponent, while Danny Ayres set the three fastest times around Buxton in 2017 as well as suffering a retirement and a fall.

Cradley quickly seized control at the Hi-Edge Raceway and then racked up four straight maximums between heats six and nine.

The pass of the day came from Harris, who roared between Hitmen Luke Priest and Ben Woodhull to go from third to first and win heat 10.

Ayres, who had already clocked 55.5 seconds on two occasions, finished heat 15 in a time of 55.7 to outshine Dan Bewley’s 56.1 for Belle Vue earlier this month.

The meeting was won by heat 10 and the margin might have been greater had it not been for Ayres’s double trouble and a retirement in the last race for skipper Tom Perry.

Buxton 27: Tom Woolley 9, Shelby Rutherford 7+1, Luke Priest 6, Ben Woodhull 3, Lee Geary 2, Carl Basford 0, Lee Dicken R/R.

Cradley 62: Joe Lawlor 11+1, Luke Harris 10+2, Conor Dwyer 9+1, Danny Ayres 9, Tom Perry 8+2, Dan Greenwood 8, Ryan Burton 7+1.