The Flying Finn is back at Eastbourne but this time in an Eagles race jacket.

Joonas Kylmakorpi has been called up for tomorrow's Elite League clash with Poole Pirates to replace broken-leg victim Toni Svab (6pm).

It is an ironic twist of fate for the rider who was deemed surplus to requirements at the start of the season and shunted off to Ipswich.

Two weeks ago, Kylmakorpi punished Eagles by going on a match-winning scoring spree as the Witches produced a shock.

Ipswich won 46-44, and Kylmakorpi's contribution was 14 points, which included a win over Eastbourne skipper Joe Screen and a vital third place in the last-heat decider.

Now Kylmakorpi, who lives at former Eastbourne star Trevor Geer's home at Polegate, is set to play a leading role in the Sussex club's bid to win the league and cup double.

Although he is contracted to Ipswich for 2002, Kylmakorpi is still retained by Eastbourne, and his name is now No. 1 on Jon Cook's calling card list with Svab ruled out for the rest of the season after crashing during last weekend's World Cup practice at Sheffield.

Eagles boss Cook said: "It's a tragedy for Toni because he has been tremendous for us but Joonas was fantastic for Ipswich, and now he has another chance to show what he can do for Eastbourne."

With Ipswich out of contention for the play-offs, Kylmakorpi will be redundant when the regulation season ends, and that should mean plenty of opportunities for him to link up with Eagles.

The 22-year-old with dual Finnish and Swedish nationality would like nothing better than to earn a permanent Eagles recall.

"It is a good club with a good track. At the moment, I have to go three hours for a home match. It would be nice to go five minutes down the road," he said.

Kylmakorpi is probably the only one who was not surprised by his recent Arlington display.

He said: "I have come back from an injury, and I have new engines. I am scoring double figures in every meeting now. I have probably scored more points in England in the last two weeks than I did in all the ones at the start of the season."

Things have suddenly turned around for Kylmakorpi, who top scored for Finland earlier this week after getting a late call-up for the World Cup.

Yet that came after he had bombed out in two previous visits to Eastbourne this year when he scored one point in the Sussex Championship meeting and drew a blank in the Knockout Cup.

That was followed by almost two months on the sidelines after he crashed during a match at Ipswich.

Eagles first noticed Kylmakorpi when he rode at their winter training school four years ago but they reckoned he was Swedish at the time.

Kylmakorpi said: "I was born in Sweden but my parents are Finnish and I have passports for both countries. I suppose I feel more Finnish than Swedish, but although I have ridden for Finland this year I can still ride for Sweden in the future."

Eagles have lost the last seven league and cup matches between the teams and managed only one draw in the last ten, and you have to go back to June 17, 2000, to find the last time Eastbourne beat Poole at Arlington.

Eagles: Mark Loram, Stefan Andersson, Joe Screen, David Norris, Dean Barker, Savalas Clouting, Joonas Kylmakorpi.

Poole: Gary Havelock, Bjarne Pedersen, Hans Andersen, Grzegorz Walasek, Tony Rickardsson, Tomasz Chrzanowski, Mariusz Staszewski.