Workington
Preview
Posted 12/03/05
Glasgow Tigers start their 2005 season with
an away Premier Trophy meeting at Workington, the scene of possibly
the most embarrassing meeting for Glasgow last season. It is unlikely
to be an easy place to visit this year either.
Workington retain their no 1, Carl Stonehewer, from
last season and he is a formidable opponent round his home track.
He has already had an outing this season in the Peter Craven Memorial
Trophy at Belle Vue but was plagued by engine failures. Nieminen also
returns, another rider strong at home and the Comets also have a very
strong reserve in James Wright who averaged over 7 round his home
track last season. Newcomers Shaun Tacey and Scott Robson also go
well round Derwent Park and it very much looks as if Workington have
gone for a strong home advantage when team building. Kevin Little
and Tony Dart look to be the weaker links for the Comets at home -
the talk from the Comets Press and Practice session was that Dart
was struggling to find the racing line round the Derwent circuit.
On the Glasgow side, Banger Shane and George will
remember the last embarrassing visit all to well. In fairness Banger
was the only one to get pass marks in that one and riding at 4 is
capable of performing well although we would have preferred him to
be up against Little rather than Nieminen. Shane and George should
both feel they have something to prove and will hopefully avoid the
engine failures they suffered last time.
The performances of Glasgow’s new guys could
be critical, especially the second string. Unfortunately neither Matthew
or Jamie did particularly well at Workington with their respective
teams last season but they do both like the larger tracks. Trent is
a very strong reserve although again he did not do particularly well
at Workington last season when with Stoke…. although that was
from the main body of the team. Unfortunately although he lists it
as one of his favourite tracks, Gary Beaton looks unlikely to score
unless he can take advantage of Dart in heat 2.
All in all it has the makings of another tough night
for the Glasgow faithful but so early on in the season you never know.
