Peterborough’s hopes of a vital away point were extinguished when on-fire Kenneth Bjerre’s bike burst into flames.

The Panthers needed a share of the points from the last heat at Belle Vue to keep the losing margin to six points that would have given them some reward for a battling display.

Bjerre, who won the Swedish Grand Prix on Saturday, had to switch to his spare machine after discovering a broken engine bolt while on his way to the line for the crucial heat 15.

He went out on his second bike and he and partner Troy Batchelor were on a 4-2 when the Dane suddenly stopped with his bike ablaze.

He said: “I can’t ever remember that happening to me before. Because the engine was cold a backfire caused the carburettor to catch fire.”

The race was stopped while team mechanic Ray Blackwell doused the flames and in the re-run the unlucky Batchelor,who had been leading, was beaten by the Belle Vue pairing of number one Hans Andersen and James Wright who gave the home side a 51-41 win.

Lewis Bridger bounced back from a disappointing run of form to claim three paid-wins, but Peterborough’s weakness at reserve was again a determining factor, despite the best efforts of guest Craig Cook. The two-point return from the reserve partnership of Cook and Linus Eklöf was out-scored heavily by the home pairing, who weighed in with 11 points.

BELLE VUE 51 (Hans Andersen 15 (3-3-3-3-3), James Wright 10:3 (2:1-2:1-3-1-2:1), Patrick Hougaard 8 (FD-3-3-2), Tobias Kroner 0 (R-0-0), Peter Karlsson 7 (2-1-3-1), William Lawson 5 (3-0-0-2), Leigh Lanham 6:3 (2:1-1:1-1-1-1:1).

PETERBOROUGH 41 (Joonas Kylmåkorpi [G] 4:1 (1-1:1-2-0), Ulrich Østergaard 5:1 (FD-2-2-1:1), Lewis Bridger 8:1 (2:1-3-0-3), Kenneth Bjerre 13:1 (3-2:1-2-6-D), Troy Batchelor 9 (3-1-2-2-1), Linus Eklöf 0 (0-0-0), Craig Cook 2 (1-0-0-0-1).

Ht 1: Andersen, Wright, Kylmåkorpi, Østergaard, fell, disqualified, 5-1.
Ht 2: Lawson, Lanham, Cook, Eklöf, 5-1.
Ht 3: Bjerre, Bridger, Hougaard, fell, disqualified, Kroner, retired, 1-5.
Ht 4: Batchelor, Karlsson, Lanham, Cook. 3-3.
Ht 5: Hougaard, Østergaard, Kylmåkorpi, Kroner, 3-3.
Ht 6: Andersen, Wright, Batchelor, Eklöf, 5-1.
Ht 7: Bridger, Bjerre, Karlsson, Lawson, 1-5.
Ht 8: Wright, Østergaard, Lanham, Cook, 4-2.
Ht 9: Hougaard, Batchelor, Lanham, Eklöf, 4-2.
Ht 10: Andersen, Bjerre, Wright, Bridger, 4-2.
Ht 11: Karlsson, Kylmåkorpi, Østergaard, Lawson, 3-3.
Ht 12: Bridger, Hougaard, Lanham, Cook, 3-3.
Ht 13: Andersen, Batchelor, Karlsson, Kylmåkorpi, 4-2.
Ht 14: Bjerre (TR), Lawson, Cook, Kroner, 2-7.
Ht 15: Andersen, Wright, Batchelor, Bjerre, disqualified, 5-1.


RELEASE DATE: Monday 10 May 2010