A MARVELLOUS maximum from captain Ulrich Ostergaard helped Peterborough stay in the thick of the Premier League play-off race by completing a third successive Tuesday double-triumph.
The Danish racer went through the card as the ‘TC Harrison’ Panthers edged to a 42-36 victory against Workington in a battle of two teams chasing a coveted top-six finish.
His haul included a truly stunning heat 11 ride in which he charged from last to first past team-mate Max Dilger and the Comets duo of Ricky Wells and Josh Grajczonek to take victory.
Despite being unbeaten, Ostergaard did not top the Panthers’ scorechart as Ales Dryml tallied up 13 points. Admittedly he took one more ride than his captain in a meeting cut a couple of races short due to the strict curfew in place at the East of England Showground.
A lengthy delay following a heat nine spill for Comets man Mason Campton, which caused damage to the air fence, proved costly on that front.
It meant the action was halted after 13 heats with the result still very much in the balance.
A 5-1 from Ostergaard and number one Bjerre in the final race stretched the home advantage to six points – one short of the margin required for maximum points – while Workington could still have hit back to take victory.
The Comets are now favourites for the sole remaining play-off spot and they briefly lead in the early stages at Alwalton thanks to Ricky Wells’ victory over Bjerre in the opener which earned a 4-2.
Dryml and Adam Roynon teamed up for a 5-1 in heat three to give Panthers the edge and that is the way it stayed during a meeting in which eight of the 13 completed races were shared.
That was usually down to Panthers riders collecting far too many last places. Roynon and the mis-firing reserve duo of Dilger and Nicki Barrett racked up seven between them against Workington after coming home at the rear 11 times in the earlier meeting against Glasgow.
Panthers’ four-point haul tonight leaves them two points behind Newcastle, the team currently occupying sixth spot.
Panthers have seven points still up for grabs in their final two meetings of the regular season. They go to Plymouth on Friday (September 12) and then host Rye House on Sunday (September 14).
SCORES
‘TC HARRISON’ PANTHERS: Ales Dryml 13, Ulrich Ostergaard 12 (max), Lasse Bjerre 9+1, Adam Roynon 3+2, Nicki Barrett 3+2, Max Dilger 2, rider replacement for Richard Hall.
WORKINGTON: Ricky Wells 9+2, Joe Jacobs 9+2, Mason Campton 7+1, Josh Grajczonek 5, Rene Bach 4, Simon Lambert 2, rider replacement for Kyle Howarth.