PETERBOROUGH produced the performance of the season to grab a brilliant win at Lakeside and secure a play-off place.
Still reeling from three defeats last week, including two at home, the Panthers’ top four place was under serious threat, but that place is now secure after a famous win at the Arena Essex Raceway.
Danish World Cup duo Niels-Kristian Iversen and Kenneth Bjerre inspired the side with both only losing once to an opposing rider, whilst Rory Schlein, Troy Batchelor and Krzysztof Buczkowski weighed in with vital wins.
Kenneth Bjerre making a lightning start to win Heat one, and Krzysztof Buczkowski looked well on the pace despite losing third place to Peter Ljung.
A large slice of luck in Heat two led to a shared heat, with the Lakeside pairing of Chris Neath and Stuart Robson looking well in control when Neath hit problems on the back straight, and Robson could only run into his team-mate, which led to the former shedding a chain and retiring from the race.
Rory Schlein and Niels-Kristian Iversen had both endured a tough week, but were quickest from the traps in heat three, and team-rode perfectly for four laps to gain an excellent 5-1 heat advantage.
Troy Batchelor’s last visit to Lakeside was a nightmare, but the Aussie soon laid that to rest when he rode a brilliant four laps to hold off Lakeside track-specialist Adam Shields in Heat four, whilst Norbert Kosciuch tried to get to grips with the tiny Purfleet circuit at the back.
Heat five yielded arguably the ride of the night from Krzysztof Buczkowski, who showed that he is getting familiar with the smaller circuits in the Elite League.
He and Kenneth Bjerre gated, and Buczkowski came under serious pressure for three and a half laps, until Kauko Nieminen finally got by with just one turn left. One turn was all that Buczek needed, however, and he charged round outside of the Finn, whilst scraping the fence and on one wheel, to snatch victory on the line.
Troy Batchelor again made a fantastic start in Heat six, but Lee Richardson used all his track knowledge to get by on lap one, and Peter Ljung did the same the very next lap. A home 5-1 reduced the Panthers lead to four points.
Rory Schlein shrugged off a sore ankle to gate brilliantly in Heat seven, and it took an outstanding ride from his captain to convert a 3-3 into a Panthers’ heat advantage. After getting out of shape on the first turn, Iversen chased down Shields for four laps, until he seized his opportunity on the last turn to pull off a stunning manoeuvre to steal a point on the line.
Ljung and the in-form Neath showed the importance of fast-starting when they got a Heat eight 5-1, despite the best efforts of Krzysztof Buczkowski.
With the lead only two points, it took another great ride from Batchelor to hold off Nieminen and Shields and race to a vital win in Heat nine.
The partnership of Iversen and Schlein again proved to be a fruitful one when they raced to their third heat advantage out of three. This time it was Iversen at the front and Schlein providing the entertainment, very nearly stealing second place from Richardson after working his way past Ljung on lap two.
Another faultless start from Kenneth Bjerre led to his third straight win, but it was again Buczkowski who gained the plaudits with another gritty performance to gain a paid-win. He had to have eyes in the back of his head to hold off the Lakeside duo and give the Panthers a vital 5-1.
Schlein, who made his Panthers’ debut against Lakeside, regained his form in fine style with another classy win in Heat 12, whilst Mathieu Tresarrieu clearly struggled to adapt to such a small track.
Richardson was the first and only rider to lower Bjerre’s colours, making the most of a favourable gate position to claim a good win over the Panther pair of Bjerre and Batchelor, who tucked in for second and third.
Leading by eight points, a Panthers majority in Heat 14 would see a play-of place secure and a priceless win sealed, and Niels-Kristian Iversen didn’t disappoint. Both he and Norbert Kosciuch led from the start, but the Pole was passed by both Lakeside riders on lap two. Iversen, however, was out of sight and he raced to the decisive win.
With heavy rain now falling, track conditions were visibly dangerous and there was some contention over whether the last heat would go ahead.
It did go ahead eventually, and the fears of team manager Trevor Swales were confirmed when Iversen was felled on the first turn.
The skipper dusted himself down and took his place in the re-run, and showed why he has been given a wild card at this weekend’s Nordic Grand Prix. He first passed Ljung on turn two, then set about Richardson for a lap and half, before rounding the Great Britain man on turn four. He joined Bjerre at the front and held on for a final heat 5-1.
Team manager Trevor Swales was elated, especially after such a disastrous run of results.
He said: “It was a superb performance from the top five. It just goes to show what we can do when we all click. The worrying thing now is that we’re riding better away from home than we are at home! If we can transfer our current away form to the Showground then we’re laughing!
“It was great to see such strong performances from Krzysztof, Rory, Niels and Troy. Buczek was absolutely magnificent, how he passed Kauko Nieminen in Heat five I’ll never know. He got through a gap that wasn’t there! Niels was fantastic as well, not many people manage to pass Richardson, especially at Lakeside. His ride in Heat 15 was outstanding.”
“It’s a great feeling to know that we can ride with no pressure on Thursday, although we don’t want to lose a third home meeting in a row by any means. We’re really not bothered who we get in the play-offs, at the end of the day it’s two meetings and anything can happen. We know that the play-off meetings are going to be hard, especially if Coventry qualify. There are going to be four teams that are more than capable of winning the league, and the team that steps up to the plate will win the league.”
“I would have been content with a point, happy with two, really happy with three, but I’m made up with four!”
LAKESIDE 39 (Lee Richardson 11 (2-3-2-3-1), Peter Ljung 7:2 (1:1-1-2:1-3-0), Kauko Nieminen 7 (0-1-2-2-2), Adam Shields 4:1 (2-0-1:1-1-0), Chris Neath 10:4 (3-1-2-2:1-1:1-1:1), Stuart Robson 0 (R-0-0), rider replacement for Jonas Davidsson R/R).