FLYING reserve Norbert Kosciuch led Peterborough to a 42-36 victory over Belle Vue in their final Elite League fixture of the 2013 season.

FLYING reserve Norbert Kosciuch led Peterborough to a 42-36 victory over Belle Vue in their final Elite League fixture of the 2013 season.

Kosciuch piled up 14 (paid 15) at the Showground for easily his best score of the campaign as the Readypower Panthers overcame stubborn resistance from the Aces in a meeting curtailed two races short due to worsening weather conditions.

Despite the wind and sporadic rain showers, there was plenty of entertaining racing with Panthers riders having to work their way through from the back on several occasions.

But it was a disastrous night for one of their form men of the second half of the season, with Patrick Hougaard crashing out of the lead on the second bend of Heat 3 and taking a further fall in Heat 9 when trying to pass Ales Dryml.

The early stages saw a trading of 5-1s with Krzysztof Buczkowski, most unusually, twice on the receiving end as Panthers were pegged to a 16-14 lead after five races, having been helped by an excellent maximum in Heat 4 as Kosciuch and Ryan Fisher both overhauled their opponents.

Skipper Kenneth Bjerre took his second win of the night with a fine ride to go around Craig Cook in Heat 6, and Panthers moved six points up with a 4-2 in Heat 8, Kosciuch making it four unbeaten rides up-front.

The Aces clawed two back in Heat 10 with Bjerre and Fisher beaten by an excellent move from Kevin Wolbert, but Panthers gained a big result in the next race when Belle Vue No.1 Matej Zagar’s efforts to take Buczkowski wide proved to be in vain – and with the Slovenian out of position, Dakota North shot through on the inside to set up a home 5-1.

Kosciuch, with confidence clearly flowing, charged inside Dryml to take Heat 12, but his run came to an end in a hectic turn three to Heat 13 as he fell when in close proximity to Bjerre and Zagar.

The re-run saw a good scrap between the two No.1s with Zagar eventually taking the honours, but it was clear that conditions were becoming tricky with a much slower winning time recorded.

The 4-2 to the Aces brought the gap down to six points on the night, and with the meeting subsequently abandoned the visitors therefore took a league point.

Panthers co-boss Trevor Swales said: “Fair play to the riders on both sides for putting on some entertaining speedway in tough conditions – they all got stuck in and gave it a go.

“Norbi obviously was going great guns which was good to see, but it was important for us as a team to finish off with a win and we’re very pleased to do that.”

PETERBOROUGH 42: Norbert Kosciuch 14+1, Kenneth Bjerre 10, Krzysztof Buczkowski 8, Ryan Fisher 5+1, Dakota North 5+1, Patrick Hougaard 0, Joonas Kylmakorpi r/r.

BELLE VUE 36: Ales Dryml 9, Kevin Wolbert 8+2, Matej Zagar 8, Magnus Zetterstrom 5+1, Craig Cook 4+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 2+1, Kauko Nieminen r/r.

ENDS