IPSWICH moved level with fourth-placed Belle Vue and four points off leaders Swindon with this victory at a packed Foxhall Stadium on Saturday night.Former Witch Hans Andersen put on a one-man show to earn Peterborough the aggregate bonus point with Ipswich needing a 4-2 in the final race to level the aggregate scores.

By Elvin King

IPSWICH moved level with fourth-placed Belle Vue and four points off leaders Swindon with this victory at a packed Foxhall Stadium on Saturday night.

Former Witch Hans Andersen put on a one-man show to earn Peterborough the aggregate bonus point with Ipswich needing a 4-2 in the final race to level the aggregate scores.

Andersen won the heat to bring his tally of points to 20 from seven rides, and Ipswich were left to rue a 5-1 by the Panthers in the final race of the corresponding meeting at the East of England showground.

There was more passing in the opening two races than in the whole of the previous night's clash at Coventry with the large crowd entertained to the full.

Mark Loram was the Ipswich hero for the second night running and again using an engine he brought over from Sweden had the satisfaction of beating Andersen in heat 13.

Robert Miskowiak showed his worth to the side - and his potential - with a victory over the in-form Andersen in race nine.

Chris Louis also beat the Great Dane, but this was a morale victory for the Panthers after team manager Trevor Swales made a shrewd move in the penultimate heat.

Swales brought in Andersen as a tactical substitute, which meant the visiting captain started 15 metres adrift but with his points counting double.

Peterborough were in danger of suffering a deficit in the heat, but with Andersen passing Carl Wilkinson on the second lap he ensured that the heat was drawn with a 4-4 scoreline.

Andersen never threatened to pass Louis, to confirm Ipswich as victors on the night to add two points to their Elite League tally.

Wilkinson, who failed to score in his two previous Ipswich meetings, thrilled the fans when he beat off Grand Prix standard riders Ryan Sullivan and Niels-Kristian Iversen in style to follow home Loram in heat seven.

This was a bonus for the Witches and their second consecutive 5-1 after the opening five races had ended level.

The rider replacement facility for the injured Jesper B Jensen totalled just four (paid six) points and if Andersen had not been in the form where he feels confident of winning every race Ipswich would have won much more comfortably.

Sullivan was the only other Panther to win a heat, while the only heat advantage gained by the visitors was when the tactical rider rule was used in heat 10 with Iversen's points doubled to four.

After Andersen passed Pepe Protasiewicz on the second lap of heat one, the referee had a ticklish decision to make in the following race.

Tobi Kroner was leading and Wilkinson went beyond Richard Hall on the second lap. But the Peterborough man hit the deck as Wilkinson was through.

It looked 50-50 who was to blame and Paul Carrington excluded Wilkinson, which incensed the Ipswich side of the pits.

Kroner showed his pedigree when he won the re-run, but he was not so assured in heat four when he spun off on the third lap when in a 5-1 situation with Loram.

This handed Newport's Joel Parsons more points and Ipswich will be disappointed that they allowed the raw guest to accrue a paid four crucial points.

Miskowiak led Andersen for over two circuits in heat five before the Dane elbowed his way into the lead, while Jansson has his big moment when he gated and won heat eight.

Protasiewicz was back on song after a recent lull and he sped round the outside down the back straight to win race 10 in style and stop tactical rider Iversen gaining a maximum six points.