The star rider endured a miserable night during a 54-38 Elite League B defeat at Ipswich, managing only a tactical-ride boosted eight points.

And team boss Trevor Swales could not hide his disappointment at the performance of his skipper.

He said: "No team is going to win a meeting when the number one only scores six points.

"I have always said that Hans is only human and he is allowed a bad meeting, but we are getting too many of them this season.

"It is becoming a bit of a habit and for once I am very disappointed with him. The buck has to stop somewhere and I'm afraid a lot of it is with Hans after this meeting.

"Someone of Hans' calibre should be getting between 10 and 12 points from five rides against this sort of opposition, not six.

"Form comes and goes while class is permanent, but at the moment Hans seems to have lost his way a little bit."

British GP-bound Andersen felt he was let down by equipment at Foxhall and has vowed to return to top form when Panthers hit the road again on Monday when travelling north to Belle Vue.

Andersen said: "I had a couple of engines my tuner recommended I tried on slick tracks but it didn't exactly go as I hoped. The first one blew to bits and the second one was over-spinning.

"It is unfortunate that we lost the meeting but I was not the only man to have a bad night. I will be out to prove it was a one-off for myself when we go to Belle Vue."

Improving reserve rider Morten Risager produced one of his best performances for the club to top score with 9+1 last night.