Comfortable
Win for Tigers
by
Casper Posted 12/07/05
Somerset were the opposition on Sunday as
Glasgow went for back to back wins after beating Stoke at Loomer Road
the previous night.
As the Rebels had finished runners up in the recent
Pairs at Ashfield and Zetterstrom had on that day been possibly the
fastest rider, it certainly did not look an easy meeting but the Tigers
team pulled together to record a comfortable victory after a shaky
start.
It did start off worryingly however with Zetterstrom
winning the opening heat comfortably from the gate. Although Adam
Roynon led heat two, he was passed by both Smart and King before the
end of the first lap and then later by his team mate giving the Rebels
their only 1-5 of the meeting.
Stefan Ekberg has looked impressive since signing
but was unable to get past the quick gating Paul Fry in heat 3 and
with Claus trailing in last Somerset had a 6 point lead after only
3 races and it was looking like a long night for the Tigers.
Not for the first time this season Shane Parker led
the comeback winning heat four. He and James Cockle gated and held
off Cunningham until the final lap when the experienced man was able
to take advantage of a small error from Cockle and slip through for
second. The 5-1 that had so far eluded the Tigers came along in the
next heat however courtesy of Claus and Stefan. Claus gated and whilst
Zetterstrom looked as though he would challenge, he suffered an engine
failure towards the end of the first lap and it was all over.
It looked for a short while as if the Tigers would
repeat the feat in the following heat. Stancl gated and won but the
action was for second between Cunningham and Leverington with the
riders passing and re-passing on the second lap, before the Rebel
finally got the upper hand. The heat advantage gave Glasgow the lead
for the first time in the meeting.
Fry was once again first out of the gate in heat
7 but it was only a matter of time before Shane was going to pass
him, tracking him before passing at the end of lap two. At the back,
Hawkins got the better of Adam Roynon who appeared to be feeling the
effect of three meetings in three days.
Leverington won an awarded heat 8 after Cockle fell
twice at the back.
Kristensen seemed to be benefiting from riding with
Ekberg as the meeting went on and got the better of Cunningham in
a hard battle for second place behind his Swedish partner to ensure
the pairings second 5-1 of the night. Stancl and Leverington repeated
the feat in heat 10, giving Somerset the opportunity to bring Zetterstrom
in as a TR in heat 11. However Shane beat him comfortably although
with Adam Roynon suffering engine failure at the back Somerset did
pull back 2 points.
Heat 12 was a strange affair. The riders went out
to tapes as normal but as they prepared to line up a message was passed
to Ritchie Hawkins by the referee to return to the pits and the two
minutes was cancelled. In the pits, adjustments appeared to be made
to his bike - it was rumoured later that a chain guard had been missing
and was fitted - and all four riders were then put under a fresh two
minutes. If that was indeed the case it seems strange that there was
no exclusion but no explanation has been forthcoming. Once the race
got underway, there was a little more controversy as Cockle slid off
on the apex of the third and fourth bend but the referee deemed there
to have been contact made by Hawkins and excluded him. In the re-run,
Cockle looked to be struggling a little but Ekberg once again showed
what a good team man he is by protecting and almost cajoling the youngster
round the four laps to record another 5-1.
Zetterstrom showed the speed he had demonstrated
in the pairs and won heat 13 comfortably, the heat being shared. Naturally
Somerset brought Fry out on a TR in heat 14, his win from the gate
being too late to make any difference to the score on the day but
ensuring the Rebels secured the bonus.
Glasgow once again had the luxury of three riders
challenging for the heat 15 places, electing to send out George and
Shane. They responded with a comfortable 5-1, Zetterstrom giving up
after an over zealous attempt to challenge the Tigers pairing at the
start of the race saw him clip the fence.
It was a pleasing performance from the Tigers as
although the reserves looked to be feeling the effects of a busy weekend
the team pulled together to ensure the victory and Adam aside scored
well throughout.
Zetterstrom did not really live up to the promise
he showed at the pairs and it was undoubtedly Paul Fry who was their
best rider.
The scorecard and heat details can be found here.
Tiger Performance Points:
| George Stancl |
**** |
another good performance |
| Trent Leverington |
*** |
rode well |
| Stefan Ekberg |
**** |
excellent display again |
| Claus Kristensen |
*** |
more like the Claus of the early meetings |
| Shane Parker |
**** |
another good performance |
| Adam Roynon |
* |
struggled, looked a bit tired |
| James Cockle |
** |
struggled a little but never gave up |
