PETERBOROUGH star Krzysztof Buczkowski raced to a stunning paid maximum as the Readypower Panthers rattled off a 58-36 win over fourth-placed Lakeside at the Showground.

PETERBOROUGH star Krzysztof Buczkowski raced to a stunning paid maximum as the Readypower Panthers rattled off a 58-36 win over fourth-placed Lakeside at the Showground.

The victory made it seventeen points from the Panthers’ last five Elite League matches as they continue to gain ground on the play-off places in a dramatic end to the season.

Polish ace Buczkowski delivered a performance full of pace and commitment, showing again exactly what he has brought to the team since his mid-season recall.

But this was no one-man performance from Peterborough as all seven members of the side picked up at least one race win with the Hammers being swept aside in a match the home side simply had to win.

There was an unfortunate start when skipper Kenneth Bjerre suffered engine failure when out in front in Heat 1, but he was unbeaten thereafter and the Panthers didn’t let the setback affect them as they secured 5-1s in Heats 2 and 3 to take the early advantage.

Lakeside’s Davey Watt and ex-Panther Richard Lawson reduced the arrears with a maximum advantage of their own in Heat 4 but the home side responded quickly and built their lead to ten when Bjerre and Ryan Fisher superbly got the better of Watt in Heat 6.

The visitors deployed Lewis Bridger for a tactical ride in Heat 7 and the move looked set to fail until Dakota North hit the fence on the third lap when battling Lawson for second place – but with Joonas Kylmakorpi out-front, the Hammers were limited to a 5-3.

Panthers’ Polish duo of Buczkowski and Norbert Kosciuch produced some spectacular action to get the better of Watt in Heat 9, and Kylmakorpi blocked another tactical ride in Heat 11 as Peter Karlsson had to be content with four points for his second place.

There was a scare in Heat 12 when Kosciuch crashed heavily on the back straight after clipping Piotr Swiderski’s rear wheel, but thankfully he walked away unscathed after treatment.

And Panthers came up with a storming finale as Bjerre and Kylmakorpi cruised to a 5-1 in Heat 13 with Buczkowski and North adding a 4-2 in the next.

The best was saved for last as Buczkowski and Bjerre gated in Heat 15 only for a fired-up Watt to dive inside both going into the second lap – but Buczkowski moved straight back around the outside, whilst Bjerre took the inside route on the back straight next time around to set up a crowd-pleasing final 5-1.

Panthers coach Ryan Sullivan said: “The boys are pretty dominant around here now. We’ve got the track working well for us, everyone is enjoying it and I think winning becomes a habit.

“It’s been a great team effort. Everyone in the team is scoring points and the atmosphere is really good with everyone working together.

“We’re not looking too far ahead just yet, we’re taking things one meeting at a time and that’s now seven in a row that we haven’t lost. We’ve had a few good away meetings where we’ve picked up a lot of points, so after a slow start to the year we’re certainly coming back strong.”

PETERBOROUGH 58: Krzysztof Buczkowski 14+1, Kenneth Bjerre 11+1, Joonas Kylmakorpi 8+1, Ryan Fisher 7+1, Patrick Hougaard 7+1, Norbert Kosciuch 6+1, Dakota North 5.

LAKESIDE 36: Lewis Bridger 9, Peter Karlsson 8+1, Davey Watt 8, Piotr Swiderski 5, Richard Lawson 4+2, Kevin Doolan 2+1, Sebastian Ulamek r/r.

NORBERT Kosciuch will miss Peterborough’s trip to Birmingham tomorrow following his crash at the Showground last night.

The Pole was sent to hospital for x-rays on his collarbone after the Heat 12 accident when he clipped the rear wheel of Piotr Swiderski and came to grief, but thankfully there are no broken bones.

Kosciuch has, however, suffered tissue damage and has returned to Poland for physiotherapy and will be unable to race at Perry Barr.

Panthers co-promoter Trevor Swales said: “Norbi has been told to rest for a week, but typical of speedway riders he wants to come back before that and we’re very hopeful that will be the case.

“We will be without him at Birmingham so we’ll use rider-replacement which means Fish (Ryan Fisher) and the reserves can take his rides, and then we’ll have a decision from Norbi about Friday’s match against Coventry later in the week.”