Richie roars as Peterborough Panthers deliver a superb performance in the Premiership Pairs

The Crendon Panthers led the meeting after the qualifying races and progressed direct to the final thanks to a sensational showing by Richie Worrall, who again showed his liking for the Beaumont Park track.

Worrall won five of his six rides, dropping his only point to King’s Lynn’s Nicolai Klindt in Heat 4, and with Ben Cook and ‘Rising Star’ Jordan Jenkins supplying a steady stream of third places, Panthers defied the odds to top the scorechart after Heat 21.

They were two points behind early leaders Ipswich after two races apiece, but Worrall served notice of his form by leading Sheffield’s star duo Jack Holder and Tobiasz Musielak in Heat 7 before Musielak fell on the third bend as Jenkins collected third place in his compulsory outing.

Worrall added a further win over Belle Vue’s Dan Bewley and Brady Kurtz, and then defeated Leicester No.1 Max Fricke in Heat 14 with Cook in third place ahead of Justin Sedgmen.

That put Panthers into the joint lead with Ipswich, one point ahead of Belle Vue, and they added another 6-3 in Heat 17 after a great battle between Worrall and his twin brother Steve, whilst Cook picked up third again at the expense of Wolverhampton’s Rising Star Leon Flint.

As they came to the tapes for Heat 19 against Ipswich, Panthers needed a 6-3 to be sure of finishing top, and initially they were under threat when Erik Riss made the start for the Witches.

Worrall switched for the inside and made a clean pass into bend three as Riss went down, with any contact having been initiated by Riss moving back across into Worrall who was already going through, a viewpoint shared by referee Phil Griffin who disqualified the German.

Worrall duly won the re-run ahead of Danny King with Cook third to put the Panthers straight into the Final whilst Belle Vue and Sheffield contested the semi.

Bewley and Kurtz had picked up a 7-2 over Wolves in their last qualifying ride and were clearly coming into form at the right time as they gated to a maximum over the Tigers.

And then despite Panthers having choice of gates for the Final it was the Aces duo who emerged on top as Worrall for once missed out after a stunning display – but it was still a night of positives after a tough season so far.

Worrall said: “It was a meeting I was really looking forward to because I do like this track.

“It’s a good bunch of lads and every single race was tough, and I do like having a good race where you can push hard within reason and it’s going to be safe.

“The starts were to my liking, not too deep but plenty of grip on there, and it was one of those nights where everything seemed to work well for me.

“We were the underdogs coming into this, so to have a night like that is good for the Peterborough fans and it gives them a little bit of something to be happy about.”

Panthers are back in action on Monday (July 3) when they visit Sheffield in the Sports Insure Premiership - but before that, the club stages Ulrich Ostergaard’s Farewell meeting at the East of England Arena on Sunday (4pm).

QUALIFYING SCORES:PETERBOROUGH 33: Richie Worrall 23, Ben Cook 8, Jordan Jenkins 2.

BELLE VUE 32: Dan Bewley 20, Brady Kurtz 12, Jake Mulford 0.

SHEFFIELD 29: Jack Holder 16, Tobiasz Musielak 13, Dan Gilkes 0.

LEICESTER 26: Max Fricke 19, Drew Kemp 5, Justin Sedgmen 2.

IPSWICH 26: Danny King 18, Erik Riss 8, Dan Thompson 0.

KING’S LYNN 22: Nicolai Klindt 22, Thomas Jorgensen 0, Anders Rowe 0.

WOLVERHAMPTON 21: Steve Worrall 16, Sam Masters 5, Leon Flint 0.

SEMI-FINAL: Kurtz, Bewley, Holder, Musielak – [Belle Vue beat Sheffield 7-2].

GRAND FINAL: Kurtz, Bewley, R.Worrall, B.Cook – [Belle Vue beat Peterborough 7-2].