Basso left bruised but delighted after Panthers beat ipswich

Chris Harris and Benjamin Basso took each other out in Heat 7. Photo: David Lowndes

Basso was involved in no fewer than three crashes in a meeting which contained several alarming moments, but he put all that behind him to play a pivotal role in Panthers’ victory.

After suffering the ultimate nightmare of taking out his own team-mate Chris Harris in Heat 7, Basso recovered to go unbeaten by an Ipswich rider in his last three outings.

And that included a dust-up with former World Champion Jason Doyle in Heat 11, who was disqualified for running Basso into the back straight fence.

In fairness to the Australian, he had caught a rut which took him into Basso’s path, and the Dane was happy to accept the apology afterwards.

Basso said: “I actually feel a little bit sore in my ribs, but other than that I’m alright!

“I couldn’t really see what it was (with the track) but the bike just picked up. I think it was a bit soft on the inside, so I guess it’s a rookie mistake if you could call it that.

“There’s nothing much to say about it other than next time I’ve got to watch out for that.

“Then with Jason I just saw my life flash before my eyes, but it happened to all of us and I actually think I hit the same rut in the re-run. It happens, and there’s no hard feelings there.”

Basso, who was the only newcomer to the Panthers’ team for 2022, has quickly become a crowd favourite and his celebrations after a match-winning 5-1 with skipper Scott Nicholls in Heat 14 were well received.

With six points on the board from their last two home fixtures, Panthers head into the return fixture at Ipswich tonight (Thursday) with renewed confidence at a venue where they have enjoyed plenty of success in recent past.

Basso added: “We’ve got to go into the meeting with belief that we can win, and I definitely do believe that we can win at Ipswich.

“It’s a team sport so it’s about getting everyone to make some points, and I think we’re on the right path now – we’ve just got to keep it going.”

Jordan Palin made a strong return to Panthers colours on Monday, including a Heat 2 win, but Jordan Jenkins gets the nod in the Rising Star position tonight.

Meanwhile Ipswich are set to bring in American racer Broc Nicol as a guest for Ben Barker, who suffered shoulder damage in his Heat 8 crash at Alwalton.