TEAM BOSS Carl Johnson admitted a mid-match slump cost his side at Belle Vue.
Crendon Panthers went down 51-39 at the National Speedway Stadium despite holding the Rentruck Aces in the early stages. Rohan Tungate only dropped one point from his opening four rides as Peterborough were level after six races. But then the Aces pulled clear with two 5-1s in Heats 8 and 10. Johnson said: “We started really well and kept it tight. “However the middle part of the meeting saw it slip away from us. It’s a difficult track to stay dialled in for the riders with the set-ups. “Our middle order guys weren’t making enough starts and it’s just one of those things. We are having riders having good nights and off nights, but none clicking all on the same night. “We need to get everyone firing at the same time. But I feel we are making progress. We just can’t afford to have passengers.” Ben Barker and Aaron Summers produced a vital Heat 2 5-1 to give the Crendon Panthers an early lead. Tungate was excellent and got the better of Dan Bewley in Heat 5 to once again get the visitors level. The two mid-meeting Rentruck Aces maximums did the damage and Panthers just couldn’t force any further heat advantages to narrow the gap. Belle Vue 51: Dan Bewley 13+1, Kenneth Bjerre 11+1, Max Fricke 9+1, Steve Worrall 7+1, Dimitri Berge 5, Jaimon Lindsey 3+1, Ricky Wells 3. Peterborough 39: Rohan Tungate 10+1, Hans Andersen 10, Aaron Summers 5+4, Ben Barker 5+1, Charles Wright 4, Bradley Wilson-Dean 4, Lasse Bjerre 1.