PETERBOROUGH retained the Championship Fours title in a tense finale at Redcar on Sunday.The Panthers became the first club in nearly a decade to take back-to-back Fours crowns having come out on top in a meeting which went down to the last race.
Peterborough topped the group standings and were joined in the Final by Edinburgh, with Glasgow and Lakeside taking the last two places after a three-way run-off which saw Chris Harris and Nick Morris get the better of Sheffield’s Lasse Bjerre.
Glasgow were then the nearest challengers to Peterborough, who held a three-point lead going into the final race.
Harris led for the Tigers whilst Scott Nicholls held third place which would have clinched the Panthers’ success – before Harris dropped a chain on the last lap which not only sealed victory for Peterborough, but also promoted Edinburgh to second place overall.
Nicholls said: “There's a togetherness at Peterborough. Everyone is pulling in the right direction and that showed today.
“The spirit is so good with everyone and that gives you a desire to win. I didn't do what I can today but the boys were really strong and got us over the line.
“It's a great boost for the club and totally what the promotion deserve. They've worked hard for this.”
OFFICIAL REFEREE SCORECARDSChampionship Fours - Qualifying Round, RedcarChampionship Fours - Final, Redcarspeedwaygb.co/news
Qualifying scores:Panthers 18 - Michael Palm Toft 6, Bradley Wilson-Dean 6, Ulrich Ostergaard 3, Scott Nicholls 3.
Edinburgh 17 – Erik Riss 6, Joel Andersson 4, Mark Riss 4, Josh Pickering (res) 2, Max Ruml 1.
Glasgow 13 - Chris Harris 4, Lewis Kerr 4, Claus Vissing 3, Richie Worrall 2.
Lakeside 13 – Nick Morris 6, Adam Ellis 5, Richard Lawson 1, Alfie Bowtell 1.
Sheffield 13 – Todd Kurtz 5, Lasse Bjerre 5, Charles Wright 3, Broc Nicol 0.
Workington 11 – Dan Bewley 4, Ty Proctor 4, Rasmus Jensen 3, Mason Campton 0.
Berwick 11 – Aaron Summers 5, Jye Etheridge (res) 3, Nikolaj B Jakobsen 1, David Howe 1, Kevin Doolan 1.
Redcar 10 – Thomas Jorgensen 3, Mikkel B Andersen 3, Ben Barker 2, Jonas B Andersen 2.
Ipswich 10 – Nico Covatti 6, Rory Schlein 3, Cameron Heeps 1, Danyon Hume 0.
Newcastle 9 – Tero Aarnio 3, Stuart Robson 2, Ashley Morris 2, Matej Kus 2.
Scunthorpe 7 – Josh Auty 4, Gino Manzares 1, Coty Garcia 1, Jake Allen 1.
Final scores:Panthers 22 – Michael Palm Toft 7, Scott Nicholls 6, Ulrich Ostergaard 5, Bradley Wilson-Dean 4.
Edinburgh 19 – Erik Riss 9, Joel Andersson 4, Josh Pickering (res) 4, Mark Riss 1, Max Ruml 1.
Glasgow 17 – Chris Harris 5, Lewis Kerr 5, Claus Vissing 4, Richie Worrall 3.
Lakeside 14 – Nick Morris 9, Adam Ellis 4, Richard Lawson 1, Alfie Bowtell 0.
scores from peterboroughtoday