A Hammer blow

Panthers missed out on a second away triumph in 24 hours.

The city team arrived at the Arena Essex Raceway on a high last Friday following a derby success at Ipswich.

But they left empty-handed after being undone by a lack of race-winners (they only managed four all night) and heat advantages (their only gain came in the sixth instalment).

Ulrich Ostergaard continued his pleasing start to the season by claiming two of the victories. He inspired the 4-2 which arrived in a re-run of heat four and then became the only rider to beat Hammers number one Nick Morris when they met in heat six.

Panthers were able to dePanthers ploy number one Scott Nicholls as a tactical substitute in place of reserve Tom Bacon in heat 11 after falling six points adrift, but he had to settle for second in a shared contest.

Lakeside produced backto-back 4-2s in heat 13 and the penultimate contest before the finale ended in deadlock when chosen pair Ostergaard and Nicholls were unable to provide the 5-1 required for Panthers to snatch a match point.

Ulrich Ostergaard has shown some good early-season form.