The last speedway meeting in Peterborough ends with emotion, sadness, a crash and a Panthers victory

The last race at the iconic venue was marred by an horrific crash between Iversen and Wolverhampton’s Ryan Douglas which led to the event being curtailed due to damage to the fence.

Referee Mick Bates used his discretion to award victory to Iversen, who had been leading at the time, with Steve Worrall second and another Crendon Panthers regular Ben Cook in third place.

The meeting was raced in front of a huge crowd, necessitating a delay to start time, showing once again exactly what Peterborough Speedway means to the local and wider community, and underlining the general sense of disbelief that the club are unable to continue to operate.

Iversen was the class act of the field and sailed into the final with 14 points, dropping his only point to Michael Palm Toft in Heat 19 as the former Panthers title winner signed out with a win – as did current skipper Chris Harris, who took the flag in Heat 18.

Worrall and Douglas were both consistent throughout the evening on their way to 11 points apiece whilst the remaining place in the final was decided on the very last lap of Heat 20 as Cook snatched the win from Leon Flint by moving through on the inside to put himself on to 12 points.

That meant the final line-up, somewhat poignantly, featured two current Peterborough and two current Wolverhampton riders – both successful and viable clubs who will not be competing in 2024 due to their venues becoming unavailable.

Iversen looked set to record a deserved victory on-track as he led the final into the second lap, but he was being closely challenged by Douglas, and disaster struck on the exit of bend two as Douglas clipped Iversen, sending both riders slamming into the back straight fence and crashing down the straight – with Cook taking very rapid avoiding action onto the grass.

Remarkably Douglas was able to walk away but Iversen was not so fortunate although he was conscious and communicating with medical staff before being taken away to hospital for checks.

With the fence damaged irreparably there was no chance of a re-run, and Iversen was declared the rightful winner having led both the qualifying scores and the final at the time of the stoppage.

That meant team manager Rob Lyon joined Worrall and Cook on the rostrum to collect the winners’ prize on Iversen’s behalf as the curtain came down on 53 years of the Panthers at the Showground.

Club owner Keith Chapman said: “It was a bad way for it to end, but these things do happen and I thought the decision by the referee to call the result was the best one.

“It’s a sad night anyway, but to have that happen in the last race really makes it worse.

“But Niels was a fitting winner. He’s right back to the old Niels, really back on form and enjoying himself.

“It was fantastic to see so many people here, and let’s hope it shows the Council what they’re going to miss. This is what the people want and maybe it will do some good, who knows?”

SCORES: Niels-Kristian Iversen 14, Ben Cook 12, Steve Worrall 11, Ryan Douglas 11, Lewis Kerr 10, Leon Flint 10, Michael Palm Toft 8, Richard Lawson 8, Connor Mountain 6, Tom Brennan 6, Chris Harris 6, Simon Lambert 6, Scott Nicholls 5, Jason Edwards 4, Ashton Boughen 3, Paul Starke 0.FINAL (awarded): Iversen, Worrall, Cook, Douglas (f.dq)