Panthers started the season as they mean to go on with an emphatic win over Wolverhampton. Despite the steady rain, which led to some slow lap times, there was plenty of action to keep the crowd entertained.
Jesper B Jensen (the only rider retained from last year’s team) used all of his track craft to score some valuable points. In heat 3 he chased Wolverhampton’s Fredrick Lindgren for four laps and pipped the Swede to the finish line.
And Jensen caused a sharp intake of breath from the fans as he squeezed between Billy Hamill and the fence going down the home straight to take the lead in heat 9. Speaking after the event, Jensen joked that he just ‘closed his eyes and put the throttle on!’
The other Panther to make his mark was reserve Ulrich Ostergaard. The Dane made an impressive debut scoring 9+1 from his four programmed rides. Although he has claimed not to be a gater he made an electric start with fellow reserve, Richard Hall, in heat 2 as the pair roared to a 5-1. And it’s results like that which can prove to be the difference between winning and losing a meeting.
Wolverhampton could certainly have done with some fire-power from their reserve pairing who managed just four points between them. Of the rest of the Wolverhampton team, it was only Lindgren and Hamill who really shone. Last year’s Panther, Peter Karlsson, managed some good wins (including a double points’ score in heat 11 and the scalp of Panthers’ new number one rider, Hans Andersen in heat 15) but didn’t look quite as fast as he usually does round the Showground in his earlier rides.
In heat 1, Karlsson and Andersen tussled for the lead going into the first bend, causing the referee to rule an unsatisfactory start. When the re-run got underway it was Andersen that had fresh air leaving the pits turn.
But the Panthers’ captain had something of a mixed night. Although he was clearly quick out of the gate he didn’t manage the flawless maximum he would have liked, suffering an engine failure in his second ride (while leading) and failing to beat Lindgren in heat 10. He did, however, help Tomasz Bajerski through to third place in that heat – a valuable peace of team riding which can often be more important than a race win.
Panthers certainly showed their strength in depth last night. They were not all firing on full cylinders (Ryan Sullivan is capable of more than seven points once he has regained his race fitness and Tomasz Bajerski was unfortunate enough to suffer two blown engines in the space of two days) and yet they still managed to win.
Belle Vue had better watch out next week if they do come across a full strength Panthers side!
Report by Sarah Tooze
Scores
Panthers Hans Andersen 10 (3 R 2 3 2) Tomasz Bajerski 6+2 (1 2 2' 1') Jesper B Jensen 8+1 (3 2' 3 R R) Neils Kristian Iversen 7 (1 3 1 2) Ryan Sullivan 7 (2 2 2 1) Richard Hall 4+3 (2' 0 1' 1') Ulrich Ostergaard 9+1 (3 1' 3 2)
Wolverhampton Peter Karlsson 14 (2 1 6* 2 3) Krzysztof Pecyna 0 (M M 0 R) Magnus Karlsson 4 (0 1 0 3) Fredrik Lindgren 12 (2 3 3 3 1) Billy Hamill 8 (3 3 2 0*) William Lawson 2 (0 0 1 0 1) Christian Hefenbrock 2 (1 0 1 0)
