JACK Holder starred for the second successive Friday as Peterborough collected a vital SGB Championship victory on Friday night.
Holder reeled off five flawless victories for a full 15-point maximum as the 'T Balfe Construction' Panthers beat Berwick 53-39 at the East of England Arena.
The 21 year-old matched his feat against Scunthorpe in a KO Cup tie the previous week when going through the card in fantastic fashion in a meeting held up for an hour following a serious crash.
Bandits number one Nick Morris was briefly knocked unconscious by a heat one spill and received lengthy treatment before being taken to hospital, while extensive work was carried out on the track at the request of both sets of riders.
But Panthers produced a performance which was well worth the wait as Holder continued his rich vein of form.
He received able support from fellow Aussie ace Rory Schlein, who was only beaten by an opponent in the last race.
The guest number one earlier completed a hat-trick of victories before following in Holder for a victory-clinching 5-1 in heat 13.
Skipper Ulrich Ostergaard then ensured Berwick were denied a consolation point with a third-to-first surge in the penultimate race before Holder stormed round Bandits man David Howe to sign off in style in the finale.
“I must thank both sets of riders and the referee for being so determined to get the meeting completed,” said Panthers team boss Carl Johnson. “It’s never nice to see a rider involved in a bad crash and we had to give the medical staff all the necessary time to provide Nick with the best possible treatment.
“The delay allowed us to carry out some work on the track, which was wanted by both teams, and I must thank the supporters for their patience during that time.
“They were treated to another terrific night of racing in the end and we managed to pick up a result we desperately needed.
“Win, lose or draw, the racing has been absolutely fantastic here this season and Jack is a joy to watch.
“He is enjoying a stunning run of form and produced another incredible performance. He is winning races by huge margins and is almost untouchable at the moment.”
The first heat was eventually completed at the fourth attempt following that hold-up.
Morris had also hit the deck in the first attempt to stage the opening race, when referee Paul Carrington allowed all four riders to restart.
Bradley Wilson-Dean then touched the tapes in the re-run before Morris’ spectacular crash in the third attempt. Schlein spearheaded a 4-2 for Panthers when the race did go the distance and further gains soon followed.
Captain Ulrich Ostergaard and Paul Starke teamed up for a 5-1 in heat three before the first of Holder’s triumphs inspired a 4-2 in the next race.
A series of five successive shared races followed as Panthers preserved an eight-point cushion. The highlight of that sequence was a heat eight triumph for hard-working reserve Tom Bacon – his third in Peterborough colours.
He went tapes-to-flag in a race in which partner Wilson-Dean hit the deck for the second time on the night. The New Zealand champion also slipped out of heat six when a Schlein success minimised the damage.
Both of those riders were involved when Panthers extended their lead into double-figures with a 4-2 in heat 10, but Berwick instantly deployed skipper Kevin Doolan on a tactical ride in the next instalment.
His double-points mission was thwarted by a Holder victory as the visitors had to settle for a 5-3 in a re-run race. Richard Hall was excluded for getting out of shape in the initial staging – an act which led to Joe Jacobs taking a fall.
That proved to be Berwick’s sole gain of the night, but Panthers produced a couple more advantages to put the result beyond doubt.
Unbeaten men Holder and Schlein sealed victory with their 5-1 in heat 13 before the same pair claimed a 4-2 to finish.
Peterborough complete a hectic run of home fixtures tomorrow (Sunday) when entertaining Glasgow Tigers (5pm).
SCORES
PETERBOROUGH: Jack Holder 15 (max), Rory Schlein (guest) 12+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 9+1, Paul Starke 8+2, Tom Bacon 5+1, Bradley Wilson-Dean 2, Richard Hall 2.
BERWICK: David Howe 11+1, Kevin Doolan 11+1, Jye Etheridge 8+1, Joe Jacobs 5+1, Dany Gappmaier 3+1, Alfie Bowtell (guest) 1+1, Nick Morris 0 (withdrawn).