THIS was one of those horrible nights.

Serious injuries are part and parcel of a white-knuckle world where riders risk life and limb every time they climb aboard their 500cc brakeless beasts.

But two bad smashes in the same part of the Showground track, just two races and little more than half-an-hour apart, brings home just what a dangerous game this is.

Recent Panthers recruit Karol Zabik suffered a suspected dislocated left elbow when he spectacularly crashed out of heat nine after getting out of shape on the fourth bend.

The meeting was delayed while Zabik received lengthy treatment and an interval taken while he was transported to hospital.

Then, even worse followed when Lakeside man Adam Shields was left seriously injured after slamming into the fence while leaving the same bend.

A county ambulance had to be called to Alwalton to attend the stricken Australian rider who was in severe lower back and chest pain. Early indications suggested Shields had suffered broken bones in his back, a fractured rib and a punctured lung.

It is a crushing blow for Lakeside who have also lost Swedish rider Jonas Davidsson for the rest of the season and have Joonas Kylmakorpi on the long-term injury list.

Proceedings were held up for around 40 minutes (the meeting had also been 20 minutes late starting as the doctor was not in attendance) and the 10pm Showground curfew time had passed by the time racing could resume.

A 4-2 outcome in the re-run of that 12th contest left the two sides locked together and meant the result could stand as a draw – and that was for the best with neither side keen to continue in the circumstances.

Panthers team manager Trevor Swales said: "The result of the meeting pales into insignifance when someone is injured as badly as Adam appears to have been.