There is a new name above the Panthers door, a new positive outlook among the club's supporters and new belief in a team that has spent the past few days propping up the Elite League.

And already progress is being made as Panthers left the basement behind by charging to victory in front of the Sky television cameras in the sort of weather only normally seen in New Orleans.

The Showground was lashed by strong winds and heavy rain throughout, but that proved no problem for the Peterborough side determined to whip up a storm of their own.

Grabbing a slice of glory in the first home meeting since new owner Rick Frost settled into the hot-seat was top of the Panthers things-to-do list - and it can now be ticked off as a job well done.

Frost oozed pride as he watched the drama unfold from his preferred
viewing position on the centre green and his presence is clearly having a positive effect as the damage done during some difficult months at the end of the Colin Horton era is repaired.
"It is really good to be at the club again," said double-figure performer Kenneth Bjerre, whose 10-point performance was slightly marred by an awkward exit in heat 15.

"We want to get ourselves out of the relegation zone by winning meetings and this was a great start. Every- one is enjoying racing again and we are being paid as well!"

Admittedly Swindon were considerably weakened by the spectacular third heat exit of Mads Kornliussen - a rider who scored 16 points on his previous visit to Peterborough but who made it no further than the third lap of his opening ride on this occasion.

The Danish rider incredibly escaped a high-speed back-straight crash with cuts, bruises and concussion but took no further part in proceedings.

And his absence proved too big a hurdle to overcome for a Robins' side relying too heavily on talisman Leigh Adams and young reserve whizzkid Jurica Pavlic, who delivered 29 of the visitors' 41 points between them.

But this was a prime example of the benefit of boasting strength in depth in team speedway.

While the Swindon scorecard was littered with pointless rides, Panthers registered only four last places from 15 heats and even two of those were down to accidents.

Skipper Ryan Sullivan, who set the ball rolling with a fine first heat defeat of Adams, led the way with a paid 12-point haul, but no Panthers man was paid for fewer than seven points on a night when all played a big part in the march to victory.

Lukas Dryml continues to both frustrate and exhilarate after following up a novice first heat fall with a couple of cracking rides later, Henning Bager made himself at home in the main body of the Panthers team and the reserve combination of Claus Vissing and squad rider Ty Proctor really impressed.

And it was young Proctor who rubber-stamped this eye-catching success with a smashing heat 14 performance as he and Bager roared to a maximum over Pavlic and tactical substitute James Wright that ended Swindon's slim hopesProctor was quick to thank his Red- car team-mate and former Panthers skipper Gary Havelock for the loan of an engine that was certainly effective at Alwalton and Panthers promoter Mick Bratley was even faster off the mark to praise the display of the young Aussie.

"I thought Ty was absolutely fantastic," he insisted. "To come into an Elite League meeting and deliver an important heat win like that is a great effort."

It is one down and six to go in Panthers' hectic month of home meetings - half-a-dozen more performances of this nature and they won't need to worry about being involved in a relegation play-off.

Scores:
Panthers
Ryan Sullivan 11+1 (3, 1*, 3, 2, 2)
Lukas Dryml 7+1 (f, 2, 3, 2*)
Kenneth Bjerre 10 (3, 2, 2, 3, fx)
Henning Bager 5+3 (2*, 0, 1*, 2*)
Danny King 6+2 (1*, 3, 1, 1*)
Ty Proctor 6+1 (2*,1, 0, 3)
Claus Vissing 7 (3, 2, 1, 1)

Swindon
Leigh Adams 17 (2, 3, 6 t/r, 3, 3)
James Wright 4+2 (1*, 1, 0, 2*, 0 t/s)
Mads Korneliussen 0 (fx, withdrawn)
Travis McGowan 1 (1, 0, 0)
Troy Batchelor 7+1 (0, 3, 3, 0, 1*)
Joel Parsons 0 (0, 0, f, 0)
Jurica Pavlic 12 (1, 3, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1)

Heats:
1 - SULLIVAN (60.1), Adams, Wright, Dryml (fell). 3-3, 3-3.
2 - VISSING (60.9), Proctor, Pavlic, Parsons. 5-1, 8-4.
3 - BJERRE (awarded), Bager, McGowan, Korneliussen (fell/exc). 5-1, 13-5.
4 - PAVLIC (60.6), Vissing, King, Batchelor. 3-3, 16-8.
5 - ADAMS (60.9), Bjerre, Wright, Bager. 2-4, 18- 12.
6 - BATCHELOR (61.3), Dryml, Sullivan, Parsons. 3-3, 21-15.
7 - KING (60.3), Pavlic, Proctor, McGowan. 4-2, 25-17.
8 - DRYML (62.2), Pavlic, Vissing, Wright. 4-2, 29-19.
9 - BATCHELOR (61.7), Bjerre, Bager, Parsons (fell). 3-3, 32-22.
10 - SULLIVAN (62.3), Dryml, Pavlic, McGowan. 5-1, 37-23.
11 - ADAMS (t/r, 62.4), Wright, King, Proctor. 1- 8, 38-31.
12 - BJERRE (62.6), Pavlic, Vissing, Parsons. 4- 2, 42-33.
13 - ADAMS (62.1), Sullivan, King, Batchelor. 3- 3, 45-36.
14 - PROCTOR (63.4), Bager, Pavlic, Wright (t/s). 5-1, 50-37.
15 - re-run - ADAMS (61.7), Sullivan, Batchelor, Bjerre (fell/exc). 2-4, 52-41.
Key: * = paid points, f = fell, fx = fell & excluded, t/r = tactical ride, t/s = tactical substitute.