ONE man alone has dominated the Panthers headlines in the past couple of days.

Polish racer Karol Zabik incredibly went from being sacked to re-instated and then signed for next year in little over a whirlwind 24 hours.

So unexpected and unbelievable were recent developments that one couldn't help suspecting they were the handywork of a soap opera script writer rather than a humble speedway club – but this is all fact, not fiction.

So it was somewhat refreshing to return to the track last night when a barmy couple of days on 'Planet Panthers' came to an end with the city side pocketing a well-earned success over Ipswich – despite the best efforts of some unfriendly weather that had this clash in jeopardy during the afternoon.

The 12-point triumph failed to catapult Panthers out of the Elite League drop-zone, but it did complete a rather pleasing set of home victories this month against the four teams bound for play-off battle (the Witches, Swindon, Lakeside and table-topping Poole).

And while back-in-favour Zabik did his best to earn a few more column inches with some daredevil riding on a sodden Showground track (his display yielding five points and a spectacular tumble into a piece of fourth-bend air fence which he is visiting on an all-too-regular basis), he was briefly knocked out of the limelight by another vertically-challenged member of the Panthers corps.

Pint-sized Danish racer Kenneth Bjerre could hardly disguise his dislike of the conditions, but that didn't stop him continuing his stunning streak of form by becoming a maximum hero.

And even this man, who tends to smile about as regularly as Gerry Adams shaves, couldn't resist cracking a toothy grin or two after completing his 14+1 full house with a fabulous final race surge down the inside of Ipswich man Jarek Hampel.

"It was not nice out there," said Bjerre. "But we have a job to do and it was good to win a few races. I am pleased that we won a difficult meeting on a hard night."

Only some demanding work turned the Alwalton quagmire into something resembling a speedway track – a job for which Panthers legend and current track curator Richard Greer and his team deserve huge credit.

The same applies to two teams who put on an exciting enough spectacle despite the unhelpful under-wheel conditions which were highlighted by heat times ranging from anything between five-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half seconds outside of Hans Andersen's 59.1 track record.

Predictably many races were turned into processional fare, but there were enough moments of drama to please the punters.

Heat three was a cracker for everyone except Witches number eight Carl Wilkinson (deputising in the main body of the visitors' team for ear infection sufferer Robert Miskowiak) who went from first to third before tumbling out two corners from home.

Ipswich were cast 10 points adrift after only five heats thanks to a couple of 5-1s from the impressive Bjerre/Henning Bager combination, but Rory Schlein and Chris Schramm (a rider who began his career in this city) replied in kind to cut the visitors' arrears.

Panthers soon rebuilt the comfortable cushion and Schlein's heat nine tactical ride passed off peacefully as Bjerre took the flag by a country mile.

And from then on there was no doubt about the victors as a Panthers team which boasted at least one heat victory from all seven riders again shone on home shale.

"I need to make a long list of thank-yous," said team manager Trevor Swales.

"They are to the track staff and the Showground for their assistance in getting a meeting on because at 5pm and 6pm it looked like we might be struggling; both sets of riders for going out there and putting on a show and Simon Lambert for coming over and supporting the boys even though I pulled him out of a guest booking earlier in the afternoon when the situation with Karol changed.

"Simon is a cracking kid with a bright future in the sport and I just hope it is with us."

There are plenty of Panthers folk who will second that statement about the King's Lynn and Boston youngster.

And, given the city side's fine current form, there will be plenty more who won't be at all worried about an ever-more-likely involvement in a relegation play-off against rock-bottom Wolverhampton.


Panthers

Ryan Sullivan 8 (3, 1, 3, 1)
Lukas Dryml 5 (1, 0, 3, 1)
Kenneth Bjerre 14+1 (3, 2*, 3, 3, 3)
Henning Bager 6+2 (2*, 3, 0, 1*)
Danny King 8 (2, 1, 2, 3, 0)
Karol Zabik 5 (0, 3, 0, 2)
Claus Vissing 6+1 (3, 1*, 1, 1)
Ipswich
Piotr Swiderski 5 (2, ret, 1, 2)
Rider replacement for Tobi Kroner
Jarek Hampel 9 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2)
Carl Wilkinson 0 (0, f, 0, 0)
Rory Schlein 12+2 (3, 2*, 2, 4 t/r, ret, 1*)
Steve Johnston 6+2 (1*, 1, 1*, 3, 0)
Chris Schramm 8 (2, 0, 3, 0, 0, 3)

HEATS

1 - SULLIVAN (64.5), Swiderski, Dryml, Wilkinson. 4-2, 4-2.
2 - VISSING (67.0), Schramm, Johnston, Zabik. 3-3, 7-5.
3 - BJERRE (66.8), Bager, Hampel, Wilkinson (fell). 5-1, 12-6.
4 - SCHLEIN (66.3), King, Vissing, Schramm. 3-3, 15-9.
5 - BAGER (67.3), Bjerre, Johnston, Swiderski (ret). 5-1, 20-10.
6 - SCHRAMM (67.8), Schlein, Sullivan, Dryml. 1-5, 21-15.
7 - ZABIK (67.1), Hampel, King, Wilkinson. 4-2, 25-17.
8 - DRYML (67.2), Schlein, Vissing, Schramm. 4-2, 29-19.
9 - BJERRE (66.4), Schlein (t/r), Johnston, Bager. 3-5, 32-24.
10 - SULLIVAN (67.1), Hampel, Dryml, Schramm (f/rem). 4-2, 36-26.
11 - JOHNSTON (66.9), King, Swiderski, Zabik (f/rem). 2-4, 38-30.
12 - BJERRE (66.8), Hampel, Vissing, Johnston. 4-2, 42-32.
13 - KING (67.2), Swiderski, Sullivan, Schlein (ret). 4-2, 46-34.
14 - SCHRAMM (67.8), Zabik, Bager, Wilkinson. 3-3, 49-37.
15 - BJERRE (66.3), Hampel, Schlein, King. 3-3, 52-40.

Key: * = paid points, t/r = tactical ride, f = fell, ret = retired, f/rem = fell and remounted.