Tigers
Beat Stead
Posted
15/05/05
Glasgow completed a punishing schedule of
three meetings in three days with a home victory against a weak Reading
side and the added bonus of an excellent home debut from Claus Kristensen.
Had it not been for Readings guest, Simon Stead,
the margin would have been far greater as it is unlikely any other
opposition rider could get near his scores at Ashfield.
Once again George Stancl won the opening heat for
the Tigers from the gate. Matt had gated ahead of Masters but the
Reading man was able to get by him on the third bend first time round.
Wethers was able to re-claim third at the end of the third lap when
Masters suffered an engine failure.
James Cockle was first out of the gate in heat 2
but Tresarrieu swept round the outside on the second bend and went
on to win the heat by an impressive margin. We have become used to
seeing 5-1's in heat 3 but they have been against us. The new pairing
of Kristensen and Leverington reversed this trend, Claus winning by
a considerable margin and Trent holding off a late challenge on the
line from Wolff. Simota appeared to start pulling up whilst last on
the first lap but got going again to finish at the back.
Stead won heat four from the gate, Birkinshaw falling
and remounting on the last bend in his vain attempt to catch Tresarrieu
at the back. Masters was first out of the trap in heat 5 but Claus
put to bed the theory that he is merely a gater with an excellent
pass inside the Reading man on the second bend of the second lap before
pulling well clear. Heat 6 saw another Stead win from the gate in
a well spread out race.
Not for the first time this season the Ashfield crowd
were treated to a superb display of tactical riding by Shane Parker
in heat 7. Both Shane and James Cockle gated well, James coming round
the outside line on the second bend and into the lead. James rode
a good line for the entire race whilst Shane behind him slowed everyone
down and covered the young reserve for almost the entire race. The
winning time was just under 3 seconds slower than the majority of
the rest of the races showing just how special a ride it was by Shane.
Reading surprisingly chose to bring Stead out off
15m as a tactical substitute in heat 8 and more surprisingly it was
at the expense of the impressive looking Tresarrieu. Masters gated
but Wethers went round the outside of him on the second bend, Jamie
following suit. Bizarrely Masters then held his team mate up! Once
past him, Stead gave chase but Birkinshaw rode a good line until the
second bend of the final lap when Stead was finally able to get through
although it was too late for him to catch Wethers. Jamie again came
off on the final bend and with Masters having retired with engine
problems towards the end of the second lap, Jamie got up to push home
for the point that made it a shared heat.
Kristensen gated first in heat 9 but Stead came up
the inside of him on bend two and it was all over. Stancl and Wethers
made the gate in the following heat but this time it was Wolff who
came inside Wethers on bend two in a hard but fair manoeuvre which
saw Wethers cut off and slip back to third.
Reading used their first TR of the night with Andrew
Appleton on double points in heat 11 but he was unable to challenge
Parker with Cockle finishing at the back after a mistake on the third
bend of the first lap allowed Masters through. The Racers followed
this up with their only 5-1 of the meeting when the stylish Tresarrieu,
in for Priest, won from the gate and was followed home by Simota despite
Birkinshaw's attempts to catch him.
Stead's only defeat of the night came courtesy of
a tapes to flag win by Shane Parker in heat 13 after Shane gated superbly.
The Yorkshireman was unhappy at the end of the race apparently over
the way the riders were lined up at the start and exchanged words
with the referee on this.
Kristensen and Cockle won heat 14 from the gate,
Cockle doing well to hold off Wolff for second.
Glasgow elected to put Kristensen out in heat 15
in stead of Stancl to give him more track time and given the way he
had been riding it seemed the correct move. However he was to come
in last with Stead once again winning from the gate.
Reading were disappointing. Barring guest Stead,
Tresarrieu looked a classy rider with promise at reserve but the rest
of the Reading team looked surprisingly jaded.
There is no doubting that had Stead not been guesting
for Reading, Glasgow's win margin could have been almost double. Whilst
10 points may not be enough to claim the bonus it does give Glasgow
a chance. The most pleasing thing has to be however that for the first
time this season the whole team weighed in with the points rather
than just rely on two or three riders.
Special mention has to be made of Claus Kristensen.
He has received much criticism this season and his confidence must
have been at a low. Many doubt the promotions wisdom in bringing him
in to Glasgow and although one meeting does not make a rider there
is no doubt his home debut was far beyond expectations.The Dane was
walking around with a smile as wide as the Clyde at the end of heat
14, that can only do his confidence the power of good.
Pictures from home meetings can normally be found
on Ian Adams Website
or Lioness'
Webshots Site on a Monday evening.
The scorecard and heat details can be found here.
Tiger Performance Points:
| George Stancl |
*** |
Good meeting |
| Matthew Wethers |
*** |
Quietly effective, good heat 8 |
| Trent Leverington |
*** |
Decent attempt in main body |
| Claus Kristensen |
***** |
Excellent Debut |
| Shane Parker |
**** |
Classy again, excellent team riding |
| James Cockle |
*** |
Another solid performance |
| Jamie Birkinshaw |
** |
Rode better than points suggest |
