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Panthers ace Bjerre in yet another GP final
PANTHERS man Kenneth Bjerre took a major step towards securing his World Championship future with a third successive final appearance on Saturday night.
PANTHERS man Kenneth Bjerre took a major step towards securing his World Championship future with a third successive final appearance on Saturday night.The Huntingdon-based ace picked himself up off the deck to come third in a re-run showpiece race at the Nordic GP held on his home Danish track at Vojens.
Bjerre slid backwards into the back-straight fence after becoming the latest rider to be clattered by Russian teenager Emil Sayfutdinov. The pair were fighting for third place on the third lap of the final when the accident happened.
Bjerre was fit enough to continue but had to settle for last place behind winner Andreas Jonsson and Rune Holta in the second staging after failing to mount a challenge from gate three.
But his 15-point haul boosted his hopes of a top-eight finish and a ticket to the 2010 series. Bjerre climbed to sixth position in the overall standings and has a handy 13-point cushion over ninth-placed Hans Andersen.
He said: "I'm a little bit sore in my back and legs after the crash but nothing too bad. There was nothing I could do - I was just wiped out.
"I was left with the choice of gate three or four for the final and didn't really know where to go. I went for three because it is closer to the inside but I didn't get away very well at all.
"I made a better start in the re-run but there was nothing I could do, but I have to be happy with a score of 15 points.
"I always felt that once I made my first final, I could go on to reach plenty more and that is how it has turned out.
"I'm pleased to have made three in my first season and I now have to concentrate on keeping the momentum going.
"Winning in front of the Danish fans would have been a really good bonus, but the main thing is picking up the points to stay in the top eight.
"It is very easy to have a bad night and I have to make sure that doesn't happen in the last three GPs of the year."
Bjerre racked up 11 points during his five qualifying heats before zooming round the outside of outgoing world champion Nicki Pedersen to follow home Jonsson in the second semi-final.
The Slovenian GP on September 12 is the next date on the calendar ahead of the penultimate round in Italy before the curtain comes down at brilliant Bydgoszcz in Poland.
Bjerre is also competing in the Grand Prix Challenge final at Coventry on September 18 where the top three finishers qualify for the 2010 series. He won the equivalent meeting 12 months ago to earn his place on the biggest stage.
Panthers skipper Niels Kristian Iversen's hopes of another classy GP showing were dashed.
Iversen collected his solitary point in the very first race of what proved to be a miserable night.
Any ambitions of following up his charge to the final of the Danish GP and the semi-finals in Latvia earlier in the season were soon in tatters.
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
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