PETERBOROUGH captain Hans Andersen was taken to hospital after an horrific Heat 10 crash during Monday’s 51-38 home defeat to Ipswich.
The Witches went to the top of the Premiership with their second Alwalton victory of the season, but the Crendon Panthers were left waiting for a full medical bulletin on their skipper.
Andersen tangled with Witches rider Cameron Heeps going into turn three as he tried to make an inside pass, with both riders coming down heavily and the Dane suffering a particularly serious landing.
Whilst Heeps was able to walk back to the pits after treatment, Andersen had been knocked unconscious and after coming round on-track, he was taken immediately to hospital accompanied by the paramedic.
Initial reports are that Andersen, whilst naturally dazed from the accident, has full movement and is set for a CT scan to assess any damage beyond the concussion.
Ironically the accident occurred in what was already a re-run of Heat 10 as Witches captain Danny King had crashed out in the initial staging, fortunately without injury, after a close tussle with Andersen again on the third bend.
The meeting was subject to a one-hour delay before the paramedic returned to enable racing to continue.
Ipswich led 30-24 at the time of the stoppage and put the match effectively beyond the Panthers with a 3-2 and two 4-2s in the races immediately following the resumption.
And when Heeps and Allen combined for a 5-1 in Heat 14, they had confirmed a maximum four-point haul from the meeting.
For Panthers it was a night of few positives, although Rohan Tungate was a glowing exception as he piled up 16 points from six rides, including winning both Heats 13 and 15.
Ty Proctor, too, showed some encouraging signs on his debut and notched a win in Heat 8, but with a total of twelve last places on the night Panthers never seriously looked like getting back into the meeting after dropping six points down after three races.
Manager Carl Johnson said: “It’s disappointing to have lost the meeting, but it’s more about Hans tonight and we’re hoping that he’s alright.
“He’s obviously gone for a gap that was there, wasn’t there, we can’t really see from where we are, and he and Cameron met each other in the corner at the wrong spot.
“It’s always fast around here and when you have a crash it’s never a small one, especially when you collect somebody’s back wheel – and he came down hard on his head.
“As for the meeting, one or two riders were off the pace, which is disappointing, and we need to regroup again.
“We’ve said it before and we’ll keep looking to come back stronger, but Ipswich are a good side with riders who ride this track well, and they’ve proved it both times they’ve been here. They deserved the win tonight and fair play to them.”
Panthers now have a ten-day break from racing before hosting Wolverhampton on Thursday July 11.
PREMIERSHIP PETERBOROUGH 38: Rohan Tungate 16, Ty Proctor 8+1, Charles Wright 5, Aaron Summers 4, Scott Nicholls 3, Hans Andersen 2, Paul Starke 0. IPSWICH 51: Chris Harris 11+1, Cameron Heeps 10+1, Krystian Pieszczek 8+2, Richard Lawson 7+1, Jake Allen 6+1, Danny King 5+1, Danny Ayres 4. Premiership points: Peterborough 0 Ipswich 4