With persistent rain falling throughout the Robins were never able to gather any positive momentum and trailed throughout the encounter.
Alun Rossiter’s side were dealt a bitter blow in heat three when Mads Korneliussen was involved in a terrifying back straight crash. The Danish rider drifted into the fence and was flung from his machine in a horrendous manner. Thankfully, after medical attention Korneliussen get to his feet but understandably withdrew from the remainder of the meeting with concussion.
Yet again, Leigh Adams provided the backbone of Swindon’s performance as the dependable skipper notched a seventeen point haul. The Australian received sturdy support from Jurica Pavlic who gleamed 12 points from his hectic seven rider schedule. Meanwhile, Troy Batchelor collected two heat victories as he contributed seven points whilst James Wright acquired paid six.
A rejuvenated Peterborough side demonstrated commendable strength in depth and all of their seven riders contributed at least seven points each.
Peterborough captain Ryan Sullivan conjured a lightening start and led from the tapes in the opener. Leigh Adams chased Sullivan hard for the duration of the race but was unable to make use of an outside line that provided little grip in the early stages. At the rear, a third lap fall from Lukas Dryml handed James Wright the solitary point.
The Peterborough reserve pairing of Vissing and Proctor combined for a well worked 5-1 in race two that handed them an early four point lead. Jurica Pavlic looked fast throughout but was unable to find a route past the Panthers duo who team rode to a heat advantage.
A horror crash for Mads Korneliussen brought a premature halt to heat number three. The Danish rider lead in the early stages but was passed on turn two of lap three by Kenneth Bjerre. Korneliussen then struck the back straight fence and hit the ground with alarming ferocity. The race was awarded as a Peterborough 5-1 which handed the home side an early eight point advantage.
A change of bike set up saw Jurica Pavlic stamp his authority on a fast paced heat four. The nineteen year old flew away from the tapes and repelled a challenge from Claus Vissing, meanwhile Troy Batchelor struggled to remain in contention after tussling with Daniel King in a tough first corner.
Leigh Adams collected a comfortable heat five victory whilst James Wright rode tenaciously to roar past Henning Bager into third spot on the final lap. The Robins’ number two blasted around the Peterborough rider which cut the deficit to six points.
Troy Batchelor put the disappointment of his opening rider and romped to an emphatic victory in the ensuing heat. A race seven 4-2 from the Peterborough pairing of Daniel King and Ty Proctor shuffled their lead onto eight points, before an identical return followed for the home outfit in race eight.
Troy Batchelor steadied Swindon with a tapes to flag race win in heat nine but Peterborough struck back emphatically with a well worked 5-1 on heat ten.
With the Robins trailing by fourteen points, Leigh Adams was nominated for a tactical ride in heat eleven. The dependable skipper certainly didn’t disappoint as he romped to victory whilst a superb second placed finish from James Wright saw Swindon remarkably collect a much needed 8-1 race advantage.
With the Peterborough lead slashed to seven points, the home side responded with a 4-2 in heat twelve. Jurica Pavlic once again showed plenty of speed but was ultimately unable to pass a hard charging Lukas Dryml out front.
Adams rode to victory in a heat thirteen that saw Troy Batchelor unable to stamp his authority on the race. The resultant 3-3 maintained Peterborough’s commanding nine point lead heading into heat fourteen. Alun Rossiter nominated James Wright for a tactical substitution ride and the British youngster was unable to stamp his authority on the race.
The initial staging of heat fifteen was halted on the second lap as Peterborough’s Kenneth Bjerre tussled with the third bend air fence. At the time, Swindon were easing towards a 5-1 heat advantage with Adams and Batchelor looking comfortable out front. In the re-run, Ryan Sullivan managed to split the Robins’ pairing which concluded the meeting with a 4-2 in Swindon's favour.
