Another
Lame Derby Ends in Defeat
Posted
07/05/05
Edinburgh won a tame Scottish Derby quite
comfortably in a meeting that was again saw a couple of strange refereeing
decisions, albeit not having any effect on the outcome.
The news beforehand that Bentley was missing was
met with a measure of cynicism by the opposition-and to a certain
degree some Glasgow fans - Glasgow using rider replacement.
Surprisingly Stancl was outgated by both Monarchs
in the first heat but gave chase and past Pijper on the third bend.
A lap later he used the grip on the fourth bend to pass Brady and
although Pijper followed him through George went on to win comfortably.
Will Lawson won the second heat from the gate with
Trent Leverington surprisingly at the back. He made amends in heat
3 with a second place after coming in as rider replacement but the
main action in this heat was at the back with Harrison getting the
better of Matt at the end of the third lap to claim third place.
Rather than have Trent race three in a row, Cockle
came in for Leverington in heat 4 and his fast gating combined with
a good solid ride to come in second behind Shane gave Glasgow their
first 5-1 of the night. It looked as if luck was on Glasgow's side
for a change when Woodward appeared to loose a chain on the 4th bend
of heat 5 allowing Birkinshaw to pick up a point in a heat that otherwise
was a from the gate win for Stancl and Glasgow led for the only time
in the meeting.
An uncharacteristic mistake from Shane Parker when
he appeared to catch a rut on the outside of the second bend saw him
go from first to third. He gave chase and managed to pass Brady on
the last bend of the second lap but Pijper was out of reach.
The same rut appeared to catch George in the following
heat but he was unable to stay on his bike and clattered into the
fence. Whilst George was able to walk away his bike was not so fortunate.
Nermark won the re-run from the gate with Wethers second.
Pijper and Lawson came out of the gates in front
in heat 8 but Leverington split them at the end of the first lap when
he sneaked through past Lawson. Harrison had a relatively easy win
for the Monarchs in heat 9 with the racing action being for second
between Parker and Woodward. Shane was made to battle all the way,
Woodward actually passing him at one point before Shane came back
through to take second on the line. James Cockle's bike appeared to
pack up at the end of the first lap and although he managed to get
it going again he limped round at the rear before finally submitting
to the bike troubles on the back straight of his third lap.
An easy 5-1 for the Monarchs followed in heat 10
although Trent nearly wiped out Matt when sliding off at the end of
the first lap before remounting.
As anticipated George came out as a TR in heat 11
but Nermark made a good gate and Stancl could only claim second with
Trent, in for Jamie Birkinshaw, claiming third. Surprisingly Glasgow
chose to put Parker in as Tactical Substitute in heat 12 at the expense
of James Cockle, who was obviously having bike problems. However there
was little chance he was going to catch Harrison and the very much
in form Lawson and Shane had to settle for third.
The first running of heat 13 saw the first controversial
decision of the night when Stancl, Parker and Brady came off on the
first bend. Most expected all four back to be called but the referee
decided Stancl was to blame and he was excluded. Shane hit the front
in the re-run but was to be on the receiving end of undoubtedly the
best move of the night when Nermark superbly drove underneath him
on the fourth bend to give the Monarchs a heat advantage.
Matthew Wethers came in as reserve replacement in
heat 14 and was also nominated as TR. James Cockle was on his second
bike for this one and was a little off the pace whilst Lawson was
well out in front. The contest was for second between Matt and Woodward,
both riders in close proximity. Coming into the first bend for the
final lap it looked as if there may have been slight contact between
the two and Matt came off and into the boards. The referee allowed
the race to continue, Woodward then suffered an engine failure going
into the third bend, allowing Cockle to catch up and coast by him
on bend 4. Lawson was by this time coming out of the fourth bend and
with Matt still on track the referee chose this time to put on the
red lights and award the race. Astoundingly he awarded Woodward second
place and although it would have no effect on the outcome of the meeting,
James will no doubt feel aggrieved at such a strange decision.
After a lengthy delay in which two kick boards could
possibly have been replaced, heat 15 came to tapes. Nermark, initially
nominated, was replaced by Lawson after tape touching. When the re-run
got underway, George and Shane gated and it was game over. It was
academic by the time Harrison suffered engine failure, a fate that
was also to befall Lawson on the last lap. It looked as if Lawson
was just going to push his bike into the pits but was pointed in the
right direction and pushed home for a point.
Overall the meeting lacked any bite and had the feel
of a meaningless match about it. Edinburgh deserved their win, Glasgow
were a patchy side. Wethers was disappointing on his old track whilst
Birkinshaw was well off the pace. Surprisingly Trent seemed to struggle
to get going. James Cockle did well especially considering his bike
problems and it does look as if he and Shane can provide a useful
pairing, especially in heat 9. Shane as always rode his heart out
whilst George did have a decent night despite his two exclusions.
The change - or changes - that are coming up are
badly needed for Glasgow, the balance just is not there and there
are too many passengers at the moment, for whatever reason.
The scorecard and heat details can be found here.
Tiger Performance Points:
| George Stancl |
*** |
Decent Meeting |
| Jamie Birkinshaw |
* |
Well off the pace |
| Matt Wethers |
* |
Very Disappointing on his old track |
| r/r |
|
|
| Shane Parker |
**** |
Led by example again |
| James Cockle |
**** |
Never gave up, rode confidently |
| Trent Leverington |
** |
Poorer than of late |
