Stars and supporters turned out in force to salute popular Peterborough captain Ulrich Ostergaard today.
The sun shone on the Danish ace as his ’10 Year Spectacular’ testimonial proved to be a major success at the East of England Showground . . . even if the main man did end up finishing last!
Ostergaard could only manage one point from his five rides in a terrific individual meeting dominated by former T Balfe Construction Panthers talents.
Niels Kristian Iversen roared through the card to take victory with a full 15-point maximum, two clear of his title-winning captain back in 2006, Hans Andersen.
Polish racer Krzysztof Buczkowski was the other man on the podium after producing some typically thrilling rides around the Alwalton track.
Ostergaard said: “It was a brilliant day which I will never forget.
“The weather was perfect, the crowd was fantastic and the riders put on some great entertainment.
“It was lovely to see so many top guys on the track and it great to speak to fans who had travelled from all over the country.
“I’m delighted with how the meeting went even though my own riding wasn’t quite as good as I had hoped.
"This event would not have happened without a lot of hard work from a lot of people behind the scenes and I want to publicly thank everyone who has been involved in making today such a great day."
Ostergaard joined his hero Hans Nielsen for a pre-meeting signing session. Nielsen, the winner of 22 world titles during his glittering career in the 1980s and 1990s, later completed a couple of demonstration laps in what is likely to be his final appearance on a bike in Britain.
The same applied to former Peterborough star Olly Allen who took to the Alwalton track for the last time following his retirement. He was joined by Sky Sports pundit Chris Louis in an exhibition race.
There was also a series of support races with top British star Chris Harris successful in the first before tumbling out of the second when clipping the fence leaving the final turn.
Peterborough asset Danny Phillips and young Danes, Peter Karger and Tobias Thomsen, were also winners in those.
There was also a glimpse into the future as the Young Lions laid on six entertaining races. The very first of them produced the tightest finish of the whole meeting as Sam Bebee pipped Kean Dicken by the narrowest of margins.
Michael Palm Toft was the pick of the current Peterborough riders in the main meeting with a double-figure return.
MPT signed off with a victory in his final ride to earn a 10-point haul, two more than the tally managed by fellow race-winner Nicklas Porsing.
ULRICH OSTERGAARD 10 YEAR SPECTACULAR Scores: Niels Kristian Iversen 15pts (max), Hans Andersen 13, Krzysztof Buczkowski 12, Kenneth Bjerre 10, Michael Palm Toft 10, Rory Schlein 9, Danny King 8, Nicklas Porsing 8, Kenneth Hansen 7, Anders Thomsen 7, Simon Lambert 6, Emil Grondal 5, Mads Korneliussen 4, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 3, Piotr Swiderski 2, Ulrich Ostergaard 1, Tobias Thomsen (res) 0.
