Tigers
Win - Just
by
SA Posted 04/07/05
Glasgow set about putting the drama of the
past week behind them as they faced the Isle of Wight at Ashfield
in what proved to be a very close contest.
With a Conference League guest the only option at
no 2, Glasgow astutely brought in Sean Stoddard whilst another yojugnster,
Adam Roynon, made his home debut at reserve. Stefan Ekberg was back
in the side after missing the previous nights meeting.
Sean Stoddart had a nervous start, hitting the tapes
and having to go off 15m as a consequence. The re run saw Boyce win
from the gate but the heat was shared after his partner Jensen had
an engine failure on the first lap. Despite starting from 15m, Sean
Stoddart gave a good account of himself and claimed second place when
Stancl sportingly slowed to allow him through.
The second heat was also won by the Islanders from the gate, Doyle
being the victor but he was made to fight all the way by Roynon. At
the back Phillips pressure was to pay off as he forced an error from
Cockle on the final bend which saw the Glasgow youngster fall.
The next two heats were to go the way of the Tigers with maximums
in both. Firstly Ekberg won heat 3 comfortably and although his partner
Kristensen was put under pressure by the Islanders pairing initially
a hard move on them on the second lap saw him pull clear. Parker and
Cockle followed this with an easy win in the following heat, both
riders comfortably ahead of the Islanders.
The fast gating Boyce once again claimed a victory from the gate in
heat 5 despite every effort from Stefan Ekberg to pass and with Claus
claiming third the heat was shared. It was followed by another win
from the gate, this time for Stancl in heat 6 and it was beginning
to look as if passing was going to be a rarity.
It all changed in heat 7 however as the Islanders were both out of
the gate well ahead of the Tigers pairing. Shane was to show his class
however passing both Islanders with ease by the end of the first lap
for another share of the spoils.
Jensen was to suffer his second engine failure of the meeting but
thanks to Phillips quick gating the fourth heat in a row was shared.
It all went wrong for the Tigers in heat 9 as Isle of Wight stormed
back into the meeting with a 1-5. Stefan Ekberg had fought back and
got round Suchanek but fell whilst challenging Doyle for first place
on the second lap. He remounted but by that time was to far back to
make any challenge and unfortunately Kristensen was of the pace.
With the Islanders only two points behind the pressure was now on
Glasgow and when Marsh was first out of the gate in heat 10 things
were looking ominous. However as he has done on a few occasions this
season George shadowed him for a lap before passing on the second
bend of lap 2 to claim the win for the sixth shared heat of the evening.
Shane followed that with a tapes to flag victory in heat 11 but full
credit has to go to the stylish Adam Roynon who after missing the
gate passed the Islanders no 2 on the first lap to give the Tigers
a heat advantage and a little breathing space.
Unfortunately this was short lived as Isle of Wight took a heat advantage
in heat 12, the heat providing the closest race of the night. After
an all four back when both Glasgow riders hit the floor, Stefan Ekberg
and Jason Doyle provided excellent entertainment racing so close their
elbows seemed to touch a few times. Doyle won the battle on the line
with his partner Marsh claiming third spot.
Heat 13 has often provided some good racing this season but was a
bit of an anti climax with Shane recording a surprisingly easy win
over his great mate Craig Boyce with Stancl’s third place meaning
the Tigers once again had a four point cushion.
Ostergaard could not believe his luck in heat 14 when Kristensen not
once but twice made the mistake of going far too wide – the
second time he was punished or it and Ostergaard went on to win the
heat with Roynon in second and Claus slipping to third in a three
way close finish for the minor placings.
With a four point lead for Glasgow, the Islanders needed a 1-5 in
heat 15 to draw, something no doubt Boyce was thinking of as he appeared
to jump the start. However the referee allowed it to go meaning that
Boyce was able to inflict the only defeat of the evening on Shane
Parker and ruin his chances of a maximum. Whilst Shane claimed second
place, George was not so lucky and a puncture on the second bend of
the last lap meant that although Tigers won it was only to be by a
slender two point margin.
After all the drama’s of the weekend, Glasgow are probably just
relieved to get the win. Sean Stoddart stepped in late and certainly
proved himself to be a very good choice of CL guest. Shane was very
unlucky not to get yet another maximum whilst Adam Roynon certainly
impressed in his first home meeting for the Tigers. It has been a
very difficult weekend for Stefan but he came out and rode well, possibly
deserving of more points for his efforts. James Cockle has had a bad
weekend bike wise and taken a few falls, he is still on a learning
curve and although he may be disappointed with his score today he
is still scoring and putting in the effort. Claus was poor, he was
gating well enough but after that seemed to go backwards.
Overall not a convincing win but after the week Glasgow have had it’s
a welcome win. The bonus is almost certainly lost but hopefully Glasgow
can now start to move on from the recent traumas and start putting
a few results together.
The scorecard and heat details will follow.
Tiger Performance Points:
| George Stancl |
*** |
solid display, unlucky puncture |
| Sean Stoddart |
*** |
did very well as a CL guest |
| Stefan Ekberg |
*** |
a lot of enthusiasm and a little unlucky |
| Claus Kristensen |
* |
very disappointing |
| Shane Parker |
**** |
robbed of his maximum, another first rate display |
| Adam Roynon |
*** |
excellent home debut, looks promising |
| James Cockle |
** |
still struggling a little but never gives up |
