HANS Andersen declared himself moderately happy with his first outing as a Swindon rider after finishing second at the Bob Kilby Memorial Trophy last night.

The Robins skipper was edged out by Birmingham’s Bjarne Pedersen in the final, with ex-Robin Matej Zagar third and triple world champion Nicki Pedersen fourth after he retired.

And Andersen, who finished second at the Brandonapolis event at Coventry last week, was positive about his Abbey Stadium bow, even if he was disappointed not to secure victory.

“I’m fairly pleased to come second, I did it also on Friday,” said the Dane.

“I’m pleased to be on the rostrum but second place is first loser.

“It would be nicer to win, but at the end of the day second is better than nothing.

“I was pushing him (Bjarne Pedersen), but he rode a clever race so fair play to him, I don’t mind losing to someone who rides good.

“I felt I had some speed in the bike and I had confidence in the equipment, so it’s not too bad.”

Andersen received strong backing from a good-sized Abbey Stadium crowd from an early stage last night, and the Grand Prix ace added that he was delighted to already have the fans fully behind him.

“It’s nice to have the support and have people believe in you, it makes the job easier,” he said.

Robins boss Alun Rossiter was full of praise for how Andersen had performed at a damp Blunsdon circuit.

Rossiter said: “Hans was excellent. I think there’s been a few people questioning him because he had two poor seasons.

“But hopefully two second places (at Brandonapolis and last night) in two strong fields will put that to bed and show that he is fitter and sharper.

“Once he gets dialled in even more he will keep on getting better.

“He wrote last season off because he wasn’t fit, but I think these last two meetings bode well.”

Rossiter was also impressed with the displays of his other Swindon riders, and singled out Nick Morris for particular praise.

He said: “I think Nick would have been in the semis if he hadn’t snapped a chain while he was leading heat seven, and also been excluded from heat nine (when he failed to make the start line).

“He could have got points there so he would have comfortably made it.

“(Peter) Kildemand rode well and Steady (Simon Stead) finished on a high with two race wins, which was excellent.”