Glasgow
Claim Pairs Title
Posted
27/06/05
They say the sun shines on the righteous,
I am not sure if speedway fans fall into that category or not but
the sun certainly shone at Ashfield for the biggest speedway event
in Scotland's for many years.
After a delayed start to allow the large crowd of just under
3000 in, it took three attempts to run the first heat. Nerves seemed
to get the better of Mark Lemon causing him to break the tapes and
have to go off 15m. the second attempt saw Andre Compton excluded
after he played skittles with Stephens and Ashworth on the opening
bend, sending both riders clattering into the fence. It was third
time lucky to run the heat which was won by Stephens from the gate
and despite a plucky effort Mark Lemon was unable to catch Sheffield's
Ashworth.
We got our first glimpse of Shane on track in heat two with
Glasgow up against Hull. Paul Thorpe gated and went off into the distance.
Meanwhile, Stancl had gated second but dropped back to allow his partner
Parker through and protected him in the earlier stages of the race
against Emil Kramer before the Viking tailed off at the back. What
was more worrying was Shane was clearly in great pain and finished
the race with only one hand on his bike, the other dropping by his
side as soon as he crossed the line. Heat three was an excellent race
with two races in one. Brady had gated and was persued by Robson.
Meantime Neath held Harrison at the back until the final bend of the
third lap when the Monarch cut up inside him to claim the third place.
Meanwhile out front Brady was still under pressure from Robson and
the pressure paid off when he cut under Brady on the final bend and
beat him on the drive to the line.
There was an easy win for Somerset in heat four with both
Kings Lynn riders suffering engine problems – Allen on the first
lap whilst last and Topinka on the final lap, again whilst last but
still having enough to coast round for the placing.
Most expected James Grieves to be a rider who would shine
on the day but Andre Compton got the better of him on the opening
bends of heat 5 and drove home for the win. Unfortunately his partner
tailed in at the back. Similarly much was expected of a strong Workington
pairing when they came out in their first race in heat 6. However
the Hull pairing made the gate and Workington were left playing catch
up. Stonehewer quickly passed Kramer on the inside when the Hull rider
seemed to wobble but he could not catch Thorp. Meantime James Wright
at the back continued to pressurise Kramer and was rewarded when he
caught him on the line.
Exeter looked early on as if they could be a surprise package
and outgated Rye House to lead heat seven. Mark Lemon held second
place until the second bend of lap two when Robson showed he could
pass as well as he could gate when he swept round the outside of Mark
Lemon who went on to suffer engine failure at the end of the second
lap. He always looked capable of catching Stephens and did so on the
backstraight of the final lap. Glasgow were out in heat eight against
the impressive looking Somerset pairing. Zetterstrom was away from
the gate and Stancl once again settled in behind his partner but to
a large groan from the home fans, George threw a chain at the end
of the first lap and it was left to Shane to hold on to second place.
Heat nine saw Harrison win the race by a proverbial mile
leaving his partner Brady to face the challenge of James Grieves.
Despite Grieves giving it everything he had, Brady did well to hold
on for second place. After an unsatisfactory start, heat 10 saw Topinka
and Allen claim an easy win from the gate against a disappointing
Workington pairing.
Robson was again guilty of an unsatisfactory start in heat
11 before gating in the re run. A reckless move bordering on the dangerous
saw Compton cut under Robson on lap two, had the Rye man not been
so experienced he may well have faced the same consequences as Stephens
in the opening heat. Robson showed him how to pass cleanly when regaining
the lead on the next bend and pulling clear. Neath pressured Compton
on his own for the remainder of the race but was unable to pass. Heat
12 saw Zetterstrom again pull clear but this time the Hull pairing
followed the tactics Glasgow used on them in their opening ride by
settling in to team ride and keep Cunningham at the rear.
Heat 13 probably caused the most discussion unfortunately
over an accident that was to see Ross Brady end up with a suspected
broken ankle. Lemon and Harrison were having a good battle whilst
Stephens and Brady were also in close competition. Going into the
third bend, Brady collided at speed with the safety fence in a sickening
crash. Debate seems divided as to whether he had been clipped slightly
by Stephens, picked up extra drive of his own accord or merely hit
a rut and lost control. Sadly the outcome was Brady was out of the
meeting and Stephens form altered dramatically for the remainder of
the competition. The re-run saw Lemon beat Harrison with Stephens
a long way behind in third.
Topinka and Allen had surprised in their previous outing
but were well beaten from the gate by the home team in heat fourteen.
It was followed by yet another unsatisfactory start caused by Robson
in heat fifteen, all four back being called for the re-run. The re
run if anything was an even more unsatisfactory start, this time Neath
being the guilty party but with him at the back the referee seemed
happy to let it go. Robson again showed his passing ability in a decent
race by sweeping round Franc on the third bend of lap one then chasing
Grieves and cutting up the inside of him a lap later.
Finally Stonehewer seemed to wake up in heat sixteen when
he became the only rider to reach the tapes before Zetterstrom after
a competitive opening couple of bends. Unfortunately for Workington
his partner James Wright fell victim to an engine failure on the backstraight
of the second lap whilst comfortably in third. Heat seventeen was
a formality with nothing to ride for but great credit has to be given
to Rusty Harrison who almost qualified as a single man team for the
latter stages. His determination was underlined by the way he chased
the Sheffield pairing all the way, passing Ashworth on the penultimate
bend.
Hull really needed a maximum in heat 18 to keep alive their
slim qualification hopes but were thwarted when Topinka took the win
from the tapes. They settled for team riding to claim second and third
and almost certain non qualification. Exeter secured the points they
needed to qualify in heat 19 by settling for second and third after
Grieves gated for Newcastle.
Heat 20 was all geared up for a fitting finale to the qualifying
rounds with both teams having a chance to qualify. With Shane obviously
at a disadvantage due to his injury he cleverly out psyched the experienced
Stonehewer at the tapes, resulting in the Workington man breaking
the tapes and having to go off 15m whilst also denying his partner
the inside gate for the re start. Shane made the start and although
Wright was close behind, George came under him and moved him wide
to come through. Stonehewer did not give up and managed to come up
the inside of Stancl on the final bend, beating him on the run to
the line. It was however the result Glasgow needed to get through.
Glasgow were out in the first semi against Rye House and
George chose the right time to make an electric start to lead Robson
all the way. Shane worked hard to hold off Neath at the back and Glasgow
were in the final.
The second semi was something of a local derby with Exeter
facing Somerset. The Rebels were to record a comfortable maximum from
the gate to claim their place in the final.
The consolation final saw Lemon pass Neath on the opening
bends and go on to take the win. However Robson was able to keep Stephens
at the rear to claim third place for the Rockets.
The atmosphere was electric as the Glasgow and Somerset pairs
came out for the final and it was obvious as soon as the tapes went
up that Glasgow were going to ride tactically as a team in their attempt
to claim the title. Zetterstrom had been flying all afternoon from
the gate and as soon as the tapes went up George and Shane allowed
him to go, concentrating on team riding to keep Cunningham at the
back. With no help from his partner, Cunningham tried hard to find
a way through but George and Shane gave an excellent display of the
team riding that the pairs competition is all about to win the title
to the delight of the home fans and everyone associated with Glasgow
speedway.
In all it was a good meeting even though the extremely hot
weather conditions slowed the running of it with the water truck being
out almost every heat. Despite countless gallons of water being put
on the track it did get very dusty in the afternoon sunshine.
There were a few surprises and a few disappointments on the
day. Exeter were a pleasant surprise as were Somerset, Workington
most definitely a disappointment with both riders who normally excel
at Ashfield being off form.
The surprising thing was the apparent lack of understanding
by some of the riders as to how the pairs worked. Too often, one rider
shot out of the gates and was almost unaware of his partner or did
not look for him until crossing the finishing line. Glasgow won by
team riding in every heat they rode in. The semi final was the only
race they did not spend most of their time on track together within
a few feet of each other and that was down to the excellent riding
of Stuart Robson.
Glasgow Tigers 2005 PL Pairs Champions – on merit.
Well done George and Shane
