Tigers
Scrape Bonus
Posted 13/03/05, by Casper
Glasgow came away from Craven Park with the
bonus point against the odds on a damp night in Hull.
Lee Dicken passed a late fitness test to take his
place in the Vikings team despite the facial injuries obtained at
Glasgow on Sunday.
It looked as if it was going to be business as usual
with heat 1 being won from the gate but heat 2 provided a few more
talking points. On the first running, Branney took out his team mate
Wilson at the end of the first lap and was rightly excluded. In the
re-run, Wilson overcooked the second bend on the third lap and came
off. The referee had no option but to exclude him and award the race.
Yet again Glasgow lost a 5-1 in heat 3 more or less from the gate.
Heats 4 and 5 were also from the gate, Glasgow getting a heat advantage
in the latter.
Heat 6 was a bit of a surprise 5-1 to the home team
after Sanchez passed Parker towards the end of the first lap. In heat
7 Birkinshaw fell at the end of the first lap. Although he remounted,
he retired on the next lap. Heats 8 and 9 were both won by Glasgow
riders but shared. A few felt Dicken was a little lucky in heat 9
after clipping Norton on the second bend but both riders stayed on
their bikes and completed the race.Yet again the Birkinshaw/Bentley
partnership were to lose a 5-1 in heat 10 and the Tigers were looking
unlikely on form to hold out for the bonus point.
However the heat 10 defeat was enough to allow Stancl
take a TR in heat 11 and with Leverington brought in to replace Wethers,
George won from the gate to restore faith. Leverington was to replace
Norton in heat 12 also but was beginning to look a little tired. He
missed the gate and came in last after losing a four lap battle with
Branney. However his partner Birkinshaw made a superb gate and despite
the close attentions of Dicken throughout he held on for the win.
Although George Stancl gated well in heat 13, the Hull pairing past
him on the opening bends and were away for a 5-1.
Glasgow did as expected in heat 14 and brought in
Shane Parker from 15m. Many were surprised that it was in place of
Leverington, who had ridden well, as opposed to the jaded Bentley
but Trent had looked tired in his previous race. Branney has to take
great credit in this race for his awareness of the two Glasgow riders
and was involved in quite a battle with both, passing and re-passing.
The Glasgow pairing looked to have got the better of him on the third
lap but on the final lap the youngster swooped round the outside of
both on the third bend. An excellent piece of riding from the youngster
but one the two more experienced riders should have been able to anticipate
and block.
It looked to be game over as form on the night made
it look unlikely that Hull would get anything less than a 4-2 in the
final heat. Apparently, Stead altered his gear ratio for this one.
George and Shane were unable to compete with the impressive Thorp
but they team rode well to ensure Stead finished at the back and the
bonus came to Ashfield.
Before the meeting, realistically all Glasgow could
expect was to challenge for the bonus point and they achieved that.
Stancl looked good and yet again Trent weighed in heavily and rode
well. Surprisingly Parker was not up to his usual high standards but
when it mattered in heat 15 he did enough. The middle order is still
a major concern.
The scorecard and heat details can be found here.
Tiger Performance Points: (based on the comments
made to me by Casper)
| George Stancl |
**** |
Another solid performance |
| Matthew Wethers |
* |
Poor |
| Jamie Birkinshaw |
** |
Not very impressive and off pace early on |
| Paul Bentley |
** |
A shadow of his former self |
| Shane Parker |
** |
An off day |
| Danny Norton |
** |
Tried hard but didn't beat anyone |
| Trent Leverington |
**** |
Tired at the end but no wonder. Rode well |
