Closer
but Rye Still Win
Posted 01/08/05
The Tigers kept the score closer this week in the league encounter
with Rye House but the Hoddesdon outfit were still a class above as
they recorded another victory at Ashfield.
The meeting started in exactly the same way as last
week with Robson and Kennett recording a convincing 5-1 from the gate.
Unfortunately heat 2 was not a replay of last week. Boxall gated and
won the heat comfortably, followed home by Adam Roynon. The action
was all at the back between James Cockle and Tommy Allen. James was
ahead but at the end of each lap Allen threatened to pass him on the
outside and when James failed to block this, Allen did finally pass
him on the final bend to finish half a bike length ahead of the Glasgow
man. Amazingly, referee Jim McGregor appeared to have fallen asleep
in the box and awarded third place to James Cockle.
Ekberg and Kristensen gated in the third heat but
Danny King was flying. He passed Kristensen at the end of the second
lap before coming under Ekberg half a lap later, going on to claim
the win for a shared heat.
There were two races in one in heat 4 but unfortunately
neither featured passing with Shane trying everything to get past
Neath for all four laps whilst Cockle pressured Allen. An engine failure
for Stuart Robson on the opening bends of heat 5 gave Glasgow a shared
heat after Kristensen and Ekberg seemed to get in each others road
on the first bend. The race was won easily by Kennett. Heat 6 was
also shared, an uneventful well spread out procession from tapes to
flag.
Adam Roynon made a poor gate in heat 7 but cut under
Danny King beautifully on the second bend. Adam was unable to catch
Werner in second although he did get close on the third lap. King
was well off the pace at the back when he pulled up on the back straight
of the final lap.
Once again Kennett blew the competition away to win
heat 8 comfortably. James Cockle did well to push Tommy Allen wide
on the opening bends and allow his partner Leverington through. However
again Cockle failed to protect the outside line on the fourth bend
and Allen took advantage to swoop round him at the end of the third
lap. To add insult to injury, Cockle then fell on the first bend of
the fourth lap.
Neath was on fire and as expected won heat 9 by a
considerable margin. Stefan Ekberg had to work hard for most of the
race to cover the slower Kristensen and keep Boxall at the back to
share the heat.
We saw a flash of the old George Stancl in heat 10
when he flew from the gate and was untroubled to the flag. Behind
him, Trent Leverington had to work very hard to hold off Danny King
to gain the well deserved second place that gave the Tigers their
only 5-1 of the night.
There may not have been any passing in heat 11 but
it was still a good race with Kennett Parker and Robson all within
inches of each other for the first two laps, Kennett eventually winning.
Adam Roynon replaced James Cockle in heat 12 and did well to hold
off Brent Werner at the back to claim third place. Ekberg was on the
back wheel of Boxall the whole race trying inside and out but unable
to find a way past the youngster.
The first running of heat 13 saw a nasty looking
crash with 3 riders hitting the deck. Shane and Robson were up relatively
quickly despite hefty knocks but Neath took much longer to get to
his feet and although he came out for the re-run he was well off the
pace. It was correctly called as all 4 back and with the Tigers pairing
hitting the front from the gate things were looking up. However a
lack of concentration by Stancl allowed Robson through on the fourth
bend of the first lap. Shane went on to win comfortably.
Heat 14 was to see yet another costly error from
the Tigers. The Rockets gated but Adam Roynon once again came through
up the inside of Boxall on the second bend into second. On the third
bend of the second lap Kristensen followed suit with a superbly timed
pass on the Rye House rider. Glasgow were lying on a 3-3 which would
have meant going into heat 15 only two points down. However for some
inexplicable reason Kristensen decided to ride round the boards on
the pits bend, leaving Boxall saying 'thanks very much' as he had
the easiest of inside passes to re-claim third place. It may seem
harsh but it has to be one of the most amateur pieces of riding seen
in a Glasgow jacket this season.
Although a 5-1 could give Glasgow a share of the
spoils, heat 15 looked to be a formality especially with Kennett on
a paid maximum. The first running however saw the second nasty accident
of the night, again down to four riders giving no quarter in first
bend bunching. Ekberg and Robson bore the brunt of the accident, both
down for a significant length of time, although it could have been
worse if it had not been for lightening quick reactions from Kennett
to lay his bike down at the back. Robson was unable to take his place
in the re-run and was replaced by Boxall whilst a shaken looking Ekberg
had to come out on Kristensen's bike as his own was wrecked. After
an unsatisfactory start, Shane won the race from the gates, the only
pressure on him coming in the early laps from, surprisingly, Steve
Boxall. Kennett blew his paid maximum coming in a poor third whilst
Ekberg at the back was clearly on a bike that was unsuitable for him
although you cannot fault his commitment.
Overall the meeting was a vast improvement on last
weeks display but a few of the riders are still operating well below
their capabilities for whatever reason. Once again Rye House pulled
together as a team, this time the other six covering for Werner and
were worthy winners.
The scorecard and heat details can be found here.
Tiger Performance Points:
| George Stancl |
** |
one good race, not consistent |
| Trent Leverington |
*** |
worked hard |
| Stefan Ekberg |
*** |
consistent and unlucky with these accidents |
| Claus Kristensen |
* |
Ht 14 shocking, protected a lot by Ekberg |
| Shane Parker |
**** |
more like Shane |
| Adam Roynon |
**** |
worked hard, rode well |
| James Cockle |
* |
not a happy day for James |
