FORMER Panthers skipper Nicki Pedersen romped to a faultless maximum on his return to the Showground – but it wasn’t enough to stop his old side opening the new season with a win.
Pedersen was in blistering form as he reeled off five straight wins in preparation for the New Zealand Grand Prix at the end of the month, and he looked the quickest rider for most of the meeting.
But the Readypower Panthers were by far the more solid side in this first-night challenge fixture which drew a big crowd to the Showground, several keen to see World Champion Greg Hancock, who started with a win, and club legend Ryan Sullivan who took the flag twice.
The Panthers’ own class of 2012 showed plenty of encouraging signs, with Olly Allen claiming the notable scalp of Hancock in Heat 9.
And there was also a superb ride from Linus Sundstrom in Heat 13 as he got the better of Hancock in the early stages and then breezed past Sullivan to join skipper Kenneth Bjerre for a 5-1.
The Sullivan seven had kept in touch thanks to Pedersen’s tactical ride win in Heat 10, but back-to-back 5-1s for the Panthers in Heats 13 and 14 made sure of their win.
Co-boss Jan Staechmann said: “I thought it was a very encouraging night for us, there were some big plusses for us in the team and I’m very happy.
“To run no last places was very good, and it’s good to see everyone scoring points. That will be very important when the Elite League starts, and we’re going to have three or four riders who are battling to stay out of the reserve spots, which is an ideal scenario in my book.
“I know it was only a challenge match, but everyone still wanted to win and the Sullivan Seven wanted to win as well because nobody wants to come second at a speedway meeting!”
READYPOWER PANTHERS 55: Kenneth Bjerre 11+2, Linus Sundstrom 9+2, Jesper B Monberg 8, Richard Lawson 7+3, Rene Bach 7+1, Lasse Bjerre 7, Olly Allen 6+3.
SULLIVAN SEVEN 38: Nicki Pedersen 18, Ryan Sullivan 8, Greg Hancock 8, Rohan Tungate 2, Kyle Newman 1, Richard Hall 1, Cameron Heeps 0.