PETERBOROUGH 58 EASTBOURNE 36

PETERBOROUGH remain in contention for a play-off place following their thumping Showground victory over Eastbourne on Monday.

And they had Linus Sundstrorm in stunning form racing to a faultless 15-point full-house and the Swede received some great support from skipper Kenneth Bjerre who registered a 13+2 paid-maximum.

There were also double-figure contributions from Krzysztof Buczkowski (11) and Norbert Kosciuch (10).

It was Readypower Panthers second home victory in four days and now moves them back to seven-points behind the fourth-placed Eagles.

It was a meeting where they were always in control - winning fourteen of the fifteen races – and in the process enjoying their biggest win of the season.

Bjerre and Oliver Allen opened up the night with a 5-1 and by the time the same pairing combined for another maximum in Heat 6 they had already built up a 24-12 lead.

Eastbourne tried to get back in the match by nominating Simon Gustafsson for double-points in Heat 7, but the Swede finished a distant third behind Buczkowski and Eagles team-mate Cameron Woodward.

Sundstrom and Michael Jepsen Jensen quickly fired in another 5-1 in Heat 9 and Bjerre then came from behind against Woodward to win a thrilling Heat 10.

Joonas Kylmakorpi did have better luck with his tactical ride in Heat 11 taking the chequered flag ahead of Buczkowski and Lukas Dryml resulting in a 7-2, but Peterborough still held a massive 40-20 lead.

And they finished the night in style with three 5-1s in the final four races – which included Sundstrom and Bjerre combining in Heat 15 to complete their maximums.

PETERBOROUGH 58: Linus Sundstrom 15, Kenneth Bjerre 13+2, Krzysztof Buczkowski 11, Norbert Kosciuch 10, Oliver Allen 4+2, Michael Jepsen Jensen 4+2, Richard Lawson 1.

EASTBOURNE 36: Joonas Kylmakorpi 10, Cameron Woodward 8, Simon Gustafsson 5+2, Lukas Dryml 5+1, Timo Lahti 4+1. Denis Gizatullin 4, Lewis Bridger 0.

JASON Bunyan has been added to the Peterborough squad in a doubling-up capacity.

Bunyan, who last rode for the Panthers in 1997, will share a team berth with Richard Lawson - taking over the position previously held by Kyle Newman.

The 33-year-old was recently released from a similar position with Elite League rivals Coventry and is a vastly-experienced rider across all domestic leagues.

Ironically, he only managed one league meeting for the Bees - at Brandon against Peterborough – scoring 7+2 from five rides.

This season he’s mainly been plying his trade with Rye House in the Premier League where he has accumulated a 6.70 average from sixteen matches.

But the biggest headline the Milton Keynes born rider has made this year was when he was named as the Wild Card for the New Zealand Grand Prix in Auckland at the end of March.

He gave a decent account of himself on the day and in a further irony scored his one-point when defeating Panthers skipper Kenneth Bjerre.

Co-boss Jan Staechmann welcomes the new rider addition. He said: “It has been a tough year for Kyle to try and break into the side whilst sharing with Richard Lawson. Availability and injuries have also thrown a spanner in the works on occasions and we thank him for his efforts for us this season.

“In his place we would like to welcome Jason Bunyan to the team with immediate effect.

“Jason has previously guested for us this year and is a very likeable guy who gives no less than one-hundred-percent on the track. That is something I like in a rider.”

RE-DECLARED TEAM

Kenneth Bjerre 8.38

Michael Jepsen Jensen 6.90

Linus Sundstrom 6.85

Oliver Allen 6.18

Krzysztof Buczkowski 6.15

Norbert Kosciuch 4.98

Richard Lawson 3.15 D/U

TOTAL = 42.59

Jason Bunyan 3.00 D/U