Stefan
Leads Tigers to Victory
by
Casper Posted 14/07/05
After three postponements, the Hull leg of
the KO Cup tie eventually went ahead and saw Glasgow not only progress
to the next round but also do so in style by recording an away win
at Craven Park.
The meeting didn't start particularly well for the
Tigers when in heat 1 George Stancl slid off on his own at the start
of the second lap, leaving Trent as the sole Tiger in the re-run.
However, Branney then touched the tapes and went off 15m so it basically
became a tussle between Leverington and Sanchez which Leverington
won from the gate.
Hull's new Italian Terenzani showed in heat 2 that
he is excellent round his home track with an easy win in heat 2. Cockle
and Roynon were lying in 2nd and 3rd respectively but inexperience
saw them leave a gap for Giffard to pass Adam at the end of the second
lap.
Heat 3 was from the gate with the Hull Pairing split
by Ekberg whilst Claus tried hard but could not find a passing line
at the back. However there was to be some excellent passing in heat
4. Makovsky outgated Parker but Shane passed him on the back straight
only for Makovsky to regain the lead on the third bend. Shane then
tracked the Czech for almost two laps before passing on the back straight
of the third lap and leading him home. Giffard and Cockle were meantime
having their own battle at the back with Cockle holding the upper
edge for the majority of the race. However a slight error on the second
bend of the last lap was pounced upon by Giffard and the heat was
shared.
George Stancl put the disappointment of the first
heat behind him when he came out and won heat 5 in the fastest time
of the night. the Tigers had been on a 5-1 for just over a lap and
a half but Kramer managed to squeeze past Trent to split the Tigers
pairing.
Heats 6 and 7 were from the gate but with Glasgow
claiming a 4-2 followed by a 5-1, the Tigers took the lead for the
first time in the meeting. Sadly it was short lived as Hull recorded
a 5-1 from the gate in heat 8 with Leverington sliding off but remounting
whilst third but trying too hard. it seemed to inspire the Vikings
as they recorded another 5-1 in heat 9, once again from the gate,
despite Parker trying everything he could to get past Kramer.
It was becoming very much a case of first out of
the gate wins and this perhaps played a part in Sanchez jumping the
start in heat 10, being somewhat fortunate not to touch the tapes.
The re-run saw the impressive Ekberg and the rejuvenated Kristensen
gate and claim a Tigers 5-1 to pull the scores level.
After a fall for Makovsky in the first running of
heat 11, Stancl and Leverington gated resulting in another Tigers
5-1. Once again heat 12 was from the gate, this time a shared heat
with Ekberg claiming victory. Thorp did however give the Tigers fans
a worrying moment on the final lap as he nearly caught the flying
Swede.
Heat 13 saw the elusive pass that we had been missing
for a few heats but sadly it was to Glasgow's detriment. Sanchez was
off 15m after a tapes offence and when Stancl and Parker gated Glasgow
were confident of the 5-1. However Sanchez rode out of his skin and
got his reward when he caught George Stancl on the line to claim second
place.
Normal service was resumed in heat 14 with a Hull
5-1 from the gate and Glasgow still look very weak in the penultimate
heat of a meeting.
Hull still had a chance to avoid home defeat if they
could record a 5-1 in heat 15 but even before a wheel was turned the
few Glasgow fans in attendance were confident that Ekberg and Parker
would not allow that to happen. Kramer shot from the gate for the
Vikings, Ekberg just settled into second place and despite Thorp's
best attempts he was never really in any danger of losing it.
Overall it was a solid team performance from the
Tigers but undoubtedly the star of the show had to be Stefan Ekberg,
surely the best of all riders on the night. Even Paul Thorp admitted
that the track was a gaters paradise and commented that Glasgow were
deserved winners on the night as well as on aggregate.
The scorecard and heat details can be found here.
Tiger Performance Points:
| George Stancl |
*** |
another good performance after shaky start |
| Trent Leverington |
*** |
provided good back up at second string |
| Stefan Ekberg |
***** |
easily the best rider on display |
| Claus Kristensen |
*** |
benefits from riding with Ekberg |
| Shane Parker |
**** |
another good performance |
| Adam Roynon |
*** |
will be disappointed over heat 2 |
| James Cockle |
*** |
a couple of errors but effort there as always |
