Glasgow
Leave It Late
Posted
17/06/05
A six point victory for the Tigers was not
enough to claim the bonus point against a determined Newport side
at Ashfield.
Bearing in mind the amount of rain that had fallen
in the previous 24 hours, the track was in remarkably good shape although
the heat times were a few seconds down on normal.
The opening heat saw the almost traditional win for
George Stancl, despite being outgated by Lund George was in front
coming out of the second bend and well clear. Korneliussen looked
rather wobbly in this heat but, as he was to show later, he was merely
getting to know the track.
Newport benefit from Atkin at reserve and he and
partner Ezergailis silenced the Glasgow support with an emphatic 5-1
in heat 2. Atkin protected his partner well when Cockle threatened
on the third lap whilst Birkinshaw appeared to have bike problems
at the back. Things only got worse for the Tigers when Newport repeated
the feat in heat 3 more or less from the gate. In fairness Claus Kristensen,
riding in Stancl's old kevlars, was on borrowed equipment and although
he gated the bike clearly was not set up properly for him at this
stage.
In a complete reverse of fortunes, Glasgow were to
claim the 5-1 in heat 4. It initially looked as if it was going to
be the battle of the guests up front between Grieves and Pijper but
Birkinshaw came from nowhere on the third bend of lap three to sweep
past Pijper on the outside. Claus had obviously made changes to the
bike he was riding and came out to claim a win from the gate in heat
5 although Korneliussen made him work hard for it. Trent came in third
with Lund well off the pace at the back.
Heat 6 was also from the gate and provided the second
impressive win of the night for Stancl. Pijper made contact with Wethers
on the opening bend and the Glasgow man only just managed to stay
on but was relegated to the back. In the majority of cases the rider
would have gone down for an all four back restart. A poor gate from
Grieves in heat 7 was not to hinder him as he swept round everyone
on the opening bends and won comfortably, with Collins claiming second.
James Cockle also gated poorly but shadowed Ezergailis before slipping
through nicely on the inside of the second bend of lap 3.
Atkin and Lund claimed an easy 5-1 from the gate
in heat 8 after the Glasgow pairing were caught sleeping as the tapes
went up. Matthew retired on the second lap with engine troubles but
was well at the back at the time. The first running of heat 9 saw
Atkin excluded after sliding off on the second bend. He did try to
claim for all four back but to no avail. Glasgow looked set for a
heat advantage in the re-run but an excellent pass by Pijper on the
inside of Leverington at the start of the final lap earned Newport
a share of the spoils.
Unfortunately heat 10 saw a nasty accident for Tony
Atkin. He had been having a decent battle with Wethers, passing the
young Aussie on the inside early on. Matt had just got past him on
the outside of the second bend when Atkin lifted, lost control and
collided heavily head on with the fence. his helmet took the brunt
of the collision, the front of it being broken off by the impact.
The veteran Welshman did return to racing later on after lengthy treatment
to a head knock but was clearly not fit and sought further advices
front he doctor at the end of the meeting. The re-run saw Collins
pass Wethers crossing the start finish line at the end of the first
lap to limit Glasgow's heat advantage to a 4-2 with the impressive
Stancl winning.
Korneliussen won heat 11 in impressive style from
Grieves. Cockle took a heavy fall into the fence at the end of the
first lap trying to go round the outside of Collins and did well to
clear the track with his bike and allow the race to continue.
Collins had looked good all night and won heat 12
despite Birkinshaw getting past him on the second bend of the final
lap. Whilst many riders may have settled for second place, Collins
is not one of them and he pounced on a lapse of concentration by Birkinshaw
on the final bend to reclaim his lead. A gutsy but clearly struggling
Atkin trailed in last.
Stancl and Grieves won heat 13 from the gate, the
only threat to them being themselves as they came close to colliding
with each other on the final bend.
Surprisingly Newport brought the injured Atkin in
for the struggling Ezergailis in heat 14. With Glasgow needing a 5-1
to retain a slim chance of the bonus point, Kristensen flew from the
gate followed by Cockle. However with Claus well clear the young Londoner
fell victim to the tactical nous of Collins at the end of the second
lap. Although Glasgow got the 4-2 to lead for the first time on the
night, the result ensured Newport would take the bonus point.
Stancl and Grieves did not have it quite as easy
in heat 15 but Stancl executed a superb pass up the inside of Korneliussen
on the first bend of the third lap giving Glasgow a 5-1 and George
his thoroughly deserved maximum.
Overall Newport deserve some sympathy as they could
quite easily have sneaked the win, having led all the way to heat
13. Although Ezergailis struggled, it was a real team effort from
the Wasps with every rider playing their part. Collins and Atkin pre
injury were particularly effective.
Although Newport have caused a few surprises away
from home this year it is disappointing from a Glasgow point of view
to struggle so much. To not even lead at home until after heat 14
is worrying but you could say its leading at the end of heat 15 is
what counts. Shane's team riding was badly missed and Claus's missing
equipment also played its part although in fairness he did adjust
well. Matthew had an absolute nightmare and it perhaps seems ironic
that Birko had one of his better meetings on what was to prove his
last in a Tigers jacket. James Grieves was an excellent guest but
undoubtedly the star of the show was George Stancl.
The scorecard and heat details can be found here.
Tiger Performance Points:
| George Stancl |
***** |
gating, passing, team riding - excellent |
| Matthew Wethers |
* |
very poor |
| Trent Leverington |
** |
not one of his better meetings |
| Claus Kristensen |
*** |
poor start but fought well |
| James Grieves |
**** |
superb guest as expected |
| James Cockle |
** |
tried hard as always but didn't gate well |
| Jamie Birkinshaw |
*** |
a couple of nice passes after a slow start |
