CAPTAIN Ulrich Ostergaard spoke of his pride after table-topping Peterborough roared to East Anglian derby glory on Monday night.
The ‘T Balfe Construction’ Panthers recorded their second Premier League success of a memorable Bank Holiday Monday when blowing away Ipswich 56-36 at the East of England Showground. That followed up a 53-40 victory at Scunthorpe earlier in the day.
Ostergaard, back on song after recent mechanical troubles, was one of four Peterborough riders to power into double-figures during a vintage performance, which featured some simply stunning racing, against the Witches.
But the skipper wasted no time in hailing reserve ace Simon Lambert as the club’s star turn. He piled up a combined total of paid 31 points during two superb seven-ride shifts on the day.
“I’m so proud to be captain of this team,” said Ostergaard. “We did fantastically well home and away, and also entertained the fans.
“We made some great starts which hadn’t been happening in previous meetings, but we also showed we can make passes as well.
“There was some great races – I was in a couple of them myself – and I’m sure everyone will have enjoyed watching them.
“I’ve been disappointed with my own form lately so I was relieved to be back in the points and helping the team to win meetings.
“There were lots of great performances at Scunthorpe and against Ipswich, but Simon is definitely the man of the day.
“To do 14 rides like that is a brilliant effort and he was a huge part of our success.”
Such was Peterborough’s superiority, they restricted Ipswich to only three heat advantages.
One of those was gained when number one Danny King had to settle for second in a fifth-heat tactical ride and another arrived in the finale when King and Nico Covatti claimed a 5-1 to salvage a slice of pride.
The contest had long since been settled by then. Peterborough sealed victory with three races to spare as star guest Kenneth Hansen took the flag in a 4-2 in heat 12.
And they ensured the visitors could not snatch a consolation point when claiming a 5-1 in arguably the most spectacular battle of the season.
Ostergaard triumphed in a terrific three-way scrap for second spot in heat 13, with Witches men King and Covatti, to follow in partner Cook, who missed all the drama in behind.
That probably just shaded an edge-of-the-seat eighth heat, which also ended in a 5-1 for Hansen and Lambert, in terms of excitement.
Hansen scythed between Ipswich pair Lewis Kerr and Ollie Greenwood in the first couple of corners before Lambert roared from the rear into second spot.
He eased past Greenwood on the second lap before collaring Kerr when exiting the fourth bend on the final lap.
Hansen only suffered one defeat amid a stack of four victories while Cook also saw his maximum hopes dashed when bringing up the rear in the finale.
There was also another encouraging performance from Emil Grondal, who piled up paid 11 as he featured in three of Peterborough’s six 5-1s to put recent engine troubles behind him.
And there was no bigger cheer all night than when guest reserve Luke Chessell cruised round for his only point of a hectic day in the re-run of heat four after remounting.
He played his part in a special day which will live long in the memory as Peterborough zoomed four points clear at the top of the standings.
SCORES:
PETERBOROUGH ‘T BALFE CONSTRUCTION’ PANTHERS: Simon Lambert 12+3, Craig Cook 12, Kenneth Hansen (guest) 12, Ulrich Ostergaard 11+1, Emil Grondal 8+3, Luke Chessell (guest) 1, Rider replacement for Tom Perry.
IPSWICH: Danny King 12, Nico Covatti 8+1, Morten Risager 7, James Sarjeant 3+2, Paco Castagna 3, Lewis Kerr 2+1, Ollie Greenwood 1+1.
