KING’S Lynn suffered the agony of a last-heat decider defeat as they went down 46-44 in a thriller at Peterborough.
The Panthers edged a nip-and-tuck local derby as they pulled back from six points down with six races remaining, with Chris Harris and Ulrich Ostergaard carding a crucial 4-2 in Heat 15.
The Stars got off to the worst possible start when Ostergaard and Harris raced clear for a 5-1 in the opener, but the visitors quickly put themselves back into contention.
They were level after Heat 3 with two successive 4-2s, Jason Edwards passing his opposite number Jordan Jenkins for an excellent third place in Heat 2, and the Panthers lost Michael Palm Toft in the next race with a recurrence of his shoulder injury.
Edwards then took the scalp of the ultra-experienced Hans Andersen in a shared Heat 4 won by Benjamin Basso, and Richie Worrall produced a fine defence of the lead against home captain Scott Nicholls in the next.
Stars had a huge slice of fortune in their favour in Heat 6 when Harris, out in front by the proverbial mile, stopped on the last bend, enabling Pickering and Thomas Jorgensen to take a 4-2 which put them ahead overall.
That advantage grew to six points with Worrall holding off Ostergaard to win Heat 8 with Edwards contributing another useful point, whilst a thrilling Heat 9 saw Pickering get the better of Basso, who had earlier re-passed Jorgensen for second place.
But the Panthers came charging back with another Harris/Ostergaard 5-1 in Heat 10 to cut the gap to two points, as the home men both rounded Lewis Kerr into the third bend.
Stars led by two points with four races to go, and Richard Lawson had to ride out of his skin to navigate his way past Basso and Nicholls in Heat 12 – but the scores were levelled in the penultimate race as Jorgensen held on to split Basso and Nicholls.
The decider saw the outstanding Harris go clear but with Ostergaard holding third place, Stars skipper Pickering did his best to slow the Dane and bring team-mate Lawson back into play.
But those hopes ended on the third lap when Lawson shed a chain and retired from the race, leaving the Panthers celebrating an unlikely triumph and the Stars exiting the Showground frustrated.
Pickering said: “We wanted to win, we wanted all four points, but Peterborough did Ipswich the other week by ten points so they’re a strong side, especially when Bomber’s riding the way he is.
“I feel there’s plenty we can take away from it. Lewi had bike issues all night, but Richie rode very good, Lawson did good as well, and I feel like I played my part, but it just wasn’t enough.”
PETERBOROUGH 46: Benjamin Basso 15+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 11+2, Chris Harris 11+1, Scott Nicholls 6+1, Hans Andersen 3+1, Jordan Jenkins 0, Michael Palm Toft 0. KING’S LYNN 44: Josh Pickering 15, Richard Lawson 10, Richie Worrall 8+1, Thomas Jorgensen 7, Jason Edwards 3+1, Lewis Kerr 1, Niels Kristian Iversen r/r.
