PETERBOROUGH return to the East of England Arena on Thursday when they host play-off chasing Sheffield in the Sports Insure Premiership (7.30pm).
Four of the Crendon Panthers’ last five matches have been on the road, in addition to the recent Premiership Pairs at Leicester, but they have three fixtures on their own circuit before the end of the month.
That starts with the visit of the Tigers, who make their first appearance of the season at Alwalton in the reverse fixture from the recently abandoned Round 1 match at Owlerton.
Sheffield led 37-23 on that occasion when a halt was called after a heavy downpour, and the Tigers have added two victories since then, winning emphatically at King’s Lynn last Thursday and then getting the better of Ipswich 51-39 in a tense contest on Monday.
However, that result came at a cost as Lewis Kerr suffered a broken collarbone in Heat 1 and he misses the clash with Panthers, with the visitors to operate the rider replacement facility.
Kerr’s outings can be shared between Josh Pickering, Kyle Howarth and Rising Star reserve Dan Gilkes, who was briefly a member of Peterborough’s squad last season before suffering serious injury.
Panthers are unchanged from their defeat at Leicester last Thursday, which means a second Showground appearance for recent signing Vadim Tarasenko.
He was superb on his home debut against Belle Vue, scoring 14 points from six rides, and another inspirational display will be needed against a Sheffield side who include top GP star Jack Holder and spectacular Polish racer Tobiasz Musielak.
Manager Rob Lyon said: “There’s no doubt Vadim’s arrival has lifted the spirits in the camp a bit, and he put on a great show on his first time around here.
“Hopefully he can continue that kind of form and lift the other boys, and we can get some wins on the board.”
Following Thursday’s meeting, Panthers are back on the road next week with a re-arranged trip to Wolverhampton on Monday (July 17) and they then visit Ipswich next Thursday.
PETERBOROUGH: Niels-Kristian Iversen, Richie Worrall, Benjamin Basso, Ben Cook, Vadim Tarasenko, Hans Andersen, Jordan Jenkins. SHEFFIELD: Jack Holder, Lewis Kerr R/R, Adam Ellis, Josh Pickering, Tobiasz Musielak, Kyle Howarth, Dan Gilkes.
*PETERBOROUGH Speedway are delighted to be supported by Crendon Timber as team sponsors and City Auction Group and PurpleRock as club sponsors.