Sacked Panthers rider makes a winning return

Sacked on May 10 – matchwinning hero on June 10. Even by speedway standards that is quite some storyline.

A month after being axed as part of a major team revamp, Danish ace Michael PalmToft wasback as a guest forPantherslastFridaynight.

And he made sure it was a triumphant return to the East of England Showground by delivering the success in the penultimate race which secured victory against Glasgow.

Palm Toft took the chequered flag while stand- in skipper Simon Lambert completed his latest sevenride shiftwithathird place to earna4-2whichputPanthers in an unassailable position.

All that remained was for number one Craig Cook and another top guest, Lasse Bjerre, tobaga5-1 inthefinale which ensured Glasgow departed empty-handed.

The Scottish side are the Manchester City of this particular Premier League. Come to think of it, they’re probably the Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea as well given their major investment in the past couple of years is yet to produce silverware.

The fact they are such big spenders means beating them is particularly satisfying for a Panthers club which relied on generosity of supporters and the determination of a man based almost 200milesawaytokeepgoing.

Andthecitysidemanaged to see them off last Friday despite tracking a patched-up, six-man team featuring two guests and a debutant.

It was a clear contender for performance-of-the-season as Panthers - without captain Ulrich Ostergaard and fellow Dane Emil Grondal due to fixtures in their homeland - recovered from being six points in arrears early on to steam to victory with six advantages in the final seven races.

Cook dropped his only point of the night when beaten by Glasgow guest Kyle Howarth in a shared opener beforeaLamberttriumphinspired a 4-2 in heat two with latest capture Zdenek Holub claiming his first Panthers point in his first ride for the club.

But Palm Toft and the returning Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen, whowasoutofsortsafter amonthoutwithconcussion, were on the receiving end of two 5-1s in the space of three races.

Cook launched a rapid revival by taking the flag in a 4-2 in heat six before Holub became an instant hero with a terrific fourth-to-second swoop to follow in the superquick Bjerre for a 5-1 in the next race to haul Panthers level.

Lambert t hen won a sharedeighthheatonhisway to adouble-figuresreturnfor the fifth successive meeting and that proved to be the last deadlock of the night as Panthers upped the ante.

A hat-trick of 4-2s eased them clear with Palm Toft, Cook and Bjerre coming home in front before a heat 12 hiccup put the outcome back in the balance.

Lambert suffered mechanical issues at the start and went into the tapes after being sent out as a replacement for the struggling Busk Jakobsen.

He was left with no alternative other than to race of a 15-metre handicap in the re-run and was powerless to prevent the visitors claiming a 5-1 despite coming within a whiskerof passing Fernando Garcia.

That was a second noholds-barred battle between those two riders after they had a titanic scrap for third place in heat. It was won by LambertwhowasclearlyunhappywiththestyleofhisArgentinian rival’s riding.

But Panthers were not about to allow a notable success to slip through their grasp. Cook and Bjerre emerged from a thrilling heat 13 in possession of a 4-2 before the same outcome, courtesy of Palm Toft and Lambert, sealed victory in the penultimate race.

And their return to the Premier League summit – forthenext48hours– wasassured when Cook and Bjerre capped a fine night with a fantastic finish.

Guest rider Michael Palm Toft leads the way for Panthers against Glasgow.