Stancl Shines at Exeter
Exeter v Glasgow, Posted 07/09/04

Probably the meeting that most fans feared most before the southern tour started, this was the only meeting that it probably worked in Glasgow's benefit to be using r/r for James Grieves!

The County ground gets a lot of criticism for its safety fence and track but on a warm sunny evening the track looked pretty good and allowed some decent racing.

The meeting was late in starting after a gate malfunction at the start of heat 1 but when it did get underway Carrillo shot out of the gate. Sadly it wasn't to last, and he finished at the back, Stancl chasing Lemon but coming second.

Shades of 'that' result started coming back after Exeter followed this up with two 5-1's with Cockle falling in heat 2. Parker had a gate to tapes win in heat 4 with Cockle claiming a deserved third after holding off Simmons who shed a chain at the end of lap 3.

Heat 5 again saw Carrillo gate well but slide back to last although this time Stancl took the victory to share the points. Time for the first TR in the form of Shane Parker which seemed a strange move given he would be against Lemon. Sadly Shane missed the gate and the meagre extra point gained was disappointing.

The impressive Stancl was to take the next TR in the following heat and gave everyone a fright by literally bouncing off the Exeter fence but managing to stay on for second place and a 3-5 advantage. Obviously the referee thought it scary too as he requested that the fence be scraped as the riders must be having difficulty in seeing it - that's a first on me!

A sadly expected 5-1 for the home team in heat 8 was followed by a shared heat 9 which also saw Lobb warned for moving at the tapes. Another 5-1 home advantage followed in heat 10 with Bentley on borrowed machinery and Cockle having an engine failure.

Carrillo's sole point of the night came in the awarded heat 11 when Gordon fell at the back with Stancl well out in front. Cockle was improving every race and did well in heat 12 to retain third behind Bentley and the bonus point was safe.

Heat 13 is always seen as the 'big' one in a meeting but this one was a bit of a damp squib. Stancl won by a considerable distance, Parker had a puncture at the back and points were again shared.

James Cockle's enthusiasm saw Glasgow bring him in as a reserve replacement in heat 14 and it so nearly paid dividends with the Glasgow pairing on a 5-1 for three laps before the youngster lost control on the final bend of lap 3 and fell. Bentley did well to avoid his teammate after protecting him well for the previous three laps.

A little more drama followed in heat 15 when Stancl again seemed to bounce off the fence before following Lemon home for second, Parker getting third.

Overall we never expected anything from this meeting but it was a decent meeting with Stancl shining again. Special mention also has to go to James Cockle who after two disappointing meetings looked back to his Ashfield form with an effort second to none and although he was a little eratic too he deserved more than 3 paid 4.

In all, it was actually quite an enjoyable meeting-perhaps because we expected nothing from it or maybe it was because we were just grateful to see shale after yesterdays trip to Newport!

The scorecard and heat details can be found here.

Tiger Points:

George Stancl	*****	Impressive and not fazed by Exeters fence
Eric Carrillo	*	Another poor meeting
Paul Bentley	***	Continues to perform well
Shane Parker	**	Not helped by engine troubles
James Cockle	****	If effort were points he'd have a maximum
David McAllan	*	A poor meeting