Tigers
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Posted 18/08/05
If someone had offered the Tigers a one point
defeat before the meeting, most fans would have grabbed it with both
hands. However, Glasgow probably come away from this disappointed
as the superb team effort on the night deserved more.
Its not a track Glasgow have done well at in recent
seasons but they contributed to a good meeting and raised a few eyebrows
by being very competitive.
Right from the start there was entertainment. The
first heat may not have gone Glasgow's way, Kings Lynn getting the
better of both of the two races in one when cruelly Topinka managed
to pass Stancl on the line. Unfortunately it was followed by a home
5-1 in heat 2 with Cockle falling and Roynon unable to catch Stange.
Heat 3 saw another faller, this time Ashley Jones ut Stefan and Claus
were unable to take advantage in the re run, beaten out of the gate
by Doolan.
Things started to turn round in heat 4. Although
Allen gated for the Stars but was passed firstly by Shane and then
by a very determined James Cockle. With Jaros suffering an engine
failure, Tigers were on a 5-1 when Allen made what can at best be
described as a desperate move on James Cockle, bringing him down in
the process. The result was an awarded 5-0 to Glasgow.
Heat 5 was to get even better. Doolan gated but was
soon passed by Stancl. Leverington meantime came through from last
to second, getting past Doolan on the third lap to give Glasgow a
5-1 and a 3 point lead. A relatively uneventful shared heat followed,
Parker winning from the gate although Adam fell off at the back but
the Stars clawed back some of the deficit in heat 7 courtesy of an
engine failure for Stefan when it looked as if the heat may have been
shared. Again heat 8 gave the Stars an advantage and allowed them
to reclaim the lead by a point, Trent this time coming off on the
third bend of the first lap. The third bend appeared to give a few
of the Tigers riders problems.
The mid meeting lull in drama continued in heat 9
with a shared heat won by Shane after passing the fast gating Doolan.
The interval signaled a change however with heat 10 proving to be
possibly the nights talking point. Ekberg was leading when Troy Batchelor
attempted a pass. Opinion on whether it is a fair pass seems to depend
on what part of the stadium you were viewing from but with Batchelor
going in too fast and a little out of control under Stefan, the Swede
was left with two choices - hit the fence or lay the bike down. He
sensibly chose the latter and the referee excluded Batchelor. The
ensuing insults leveled publicly at Stefan by the Kings Lynn promoter
calling him 'a disgrace' were nothing short of appalling and could
be viewed as inciting trouble. Abuse was leveled by someone claiming
to be a Kings Lynn fan at a Glasgow supporter - every track has its
idiots, the majority of whom you ignore, but you do not expect them
to include one of those carrying the promoters licence.
Shenanigans over, the re-run was shared from the
gate, followed by another two shared from the gate heats and the meeting
was still finely balanced going into heat 13. Expectations were high
of Shane but with Topinka and Allen outgating him and team riding
well, Shane was unable to find a way through and Kings Lynn opened
up a 5 point gap. This was immediately clawed back in the next heat,
Ekberg and Cockle easily beating Stange after Doolan had an engine
failure coming out of the gate.
It was fitting that an entertaining meeting went
to a last heat decider. As a repeat of heat 13 Kings Lynn must have
felt confident going into this heat but they were made to battle for
it. Shane led from start to finish and it was all down to the third
place battle between Topinka and Stancl. George led his fellow countryman
for the first two laps in a tense battle but Topinka got round him
and went on to claim the important point to give Kings Lynn victory.
Glasgow certainly surprised a few people tonight
and those making the journey to the Norfolk Arena enjoyed a good nights
speedway. Whilst the riders and fans were a credit to the sport it
is very sad that the same cannot be said of one of the Kings Lynn
promotion, someone who normally deservingly commands respect in speedway
circles. An apology to Stefan in the same way the ridiculous accusations
were made would go a long way to repairing the damage to his reputation
and that of Kings Lynn.
The scorecard and heat details can be found here.
Tiger Performance Points:
| George Stancl |
*** |
faded towards the end of the meeting |
| Trent Leverington |
** |
tried hard on a track that does not suit him |
| Stefan Ekberg |
*** |
solid performance and maintained his dignity |
| Claus Kristensen |
** |
only beat one opposition rider-a rookie reserve |
| Shane Parker |
**** |
led by example again on a track he knows well |
| Adam Roynon |
* |
surprisingly struggled |
| James Cockle |
***** |
Another excellent performance |
