Kenneth Bjerre was on fire when he won the Swedish Grand Prix in Gothenburg on Saturday.

And Peterborough ’s little Dane was literally flaming when he returned to his former home club Belle Vue last night.

The sides went into the final race with the Autogate Aces leading by six points and needing to increase the advantage to seven, at least, to take the full three points for a home win to put them back into second place.

Bjerre was the danger man, but he almost missed the start of the race because of a problem with his number one bike.

He made a last-gasp switch but only got as far as the first bend after the race started before the machine caught.

Bjerre leapt off and threw it to the ground before running to safety to leave a fireman to douse the increasing flames.

The race had to be halted and Bjerre was excluded from the rerun as the cause of the stoppage.

Crucial

Belle Vue cashed in with captain Hans Andersen completing his first maximum for the club and being followed home by teammate James Wright. Andersen had arrived at the stadium in a hurry – and stayed in one all night!

He had ridden in Poland on Sunday but a problem with a connecting flight meant he might not make it to Manchester in time.

So he flew from Gdansk in Poland yesterday morning to Copenhagen and from there to Manchester, arriving at 6.30pm, only an hour before racing was due to start.

A taxi got him to the track in time and he played a priceless part in a crucial victory.

The Aces led all the way with Wright again in superb form.

Team manager Chris Morton said: “This was a tough match and the boys did well to get all three points.

“Leigh Lanham did a great job for us as his arm, which had kept him out for a fortnight, was giving him a lot of trouble but he still took five rides.”

BELLE VUE: Hans Andersen 15, J Wright 10, P Hougaard 8, P Karlsson 7, L Lanham 6, W Lawson 5, T Kroner 0.
PETERBOROUGH : K Bjerre 13, T Batchelor 9, L Bridger 8, U Ostergaard 5, J Kylmakorpi 4, C Cook 2, L Eklof 0.

Tweet