MAXIMUM man Lasse Bjerre led Peterborough to a second successive victory as they catapulted themselves back into play-off contention tonight (Tuesday).
Bjerre went through the card to notch 12 points from his four programmed rides as Plymouth were put to the sword in the second part of a double-header at the East of England Showground.
The meeting was cut short due to the strict curfew in force at Alwalton, but Panthers had done more than enough to wrap up maximum points on a bumper night of racing that saw a total of 28 heats completed in the space of three hours.
Skipper Ulrich Ostergaard may well have joined his countryman Bjerre in claiming a maximum against Plymouth had there been time for heat 14 to go ahead.
He had won his three completed rides while arguably the sweetest success of all came from Richard Hall who powered home in heat 12 to bag a first race win since returning to the club recently.
Panthers, already on a high after brushing aside Berwick earlier in the evening, were dominant throughout against a Plymouth side that managed just one race victory and one heat advantage.
Both arrived in heat 11 when Kyle Newman swept round the outside of Ales Dryml and one-time Panthers man Sam Simota held off Max Dilger for third.
The visitors’ plight was admittedly not helped by the loss of Ben Barker following a frightening heat five smash. The visiting number one was knocked unconscious by the third-bend spill and was withdrawn on medical grounds.
But Newman was already being deployed on a tactical ride in that race and had to play second fiddle to Ostergaard in the re-run. Bjerre later thwarted the Devils’ second tactical ride attempt when beating home Rasmus Jensen in a heat 10 thriller in which the Plymouth got the better of Adam Roynon in a titanic battle for second spot.
“The boys did exactly what I expected them to do,” said team boss Carl Johnson. “That is to win two meetings and pick up all six available points.
“I know we have taken a fair bit of criticism after losing twice at home in recent days, but I remain adamant that we are capable of reaching the play-offs and these results will only help our cause.
“We battled brilliantly against Berwick before getting on top in the final few heats and then dominated against Plymouth.”
Panthers are back in action on Friday when they travel to table-toppers Somerset for a revenge mission. The reigning champions won at the Showground at the weekend.
SCORES
‘TC HARRISON’ PANTHERS: Lasse Bjerre 12 (max), Ales Dryml 9+2, Ulrich Ostergaard 9, Adam Roynon 7+1, Nicki Barrett 6, Richard Hall 5, Max Dilger 3.
PLYMOUTH: Kyle Newman 8, Rasmus Jensen 7+1, James Wright 5+1, Josef Franc 5, Sam Simota 5, Roland Benko 0, Ben Barker 0 (withdrawn).
