Tigers Lose First League Meeting
by SA, Posted 07/05/06

It was always going to be a difficult task at Berwick without Kauko and Glasgow ended up going down by 7 points with two riders scoring almost 80% of the points.

The meeting had looked in doubt with heavy rain falling from just after 6pm but it let up in time for tapes up although was never far away throughout.

Heat 1 was shared from the gate with Danny Bird well in front. David McAllan chased Meldrum for third, getting close at the end of the third lap but was unable to pass. Again things looked as if they would be from the gate in heat 2 but on the final bend Robert Ksiezak slid into the pits bend fence whilst lying in second which allowed Branney through to finish behind his team mate Warwick and claim Berwick's first 5-1 of the night.

James Cockle came out as rider replacement in heat 3 but bizarrely the only challenge in this race was by Dicken on Cockle. The Bandits pairing of Smethills and Makovsky were so far in front it was almost embarrassing.

With Cockle having had two in a row, Stewart Dickson elected to bring Ksiezak in as a reserve switch in heat 4 and both he and partner Shane Parker gated. Robert managed to hold off Bergstrom for a lap and Branney was able to pass him on the home straight a lap later but neither Bandit could mount a challenge on Shane and the heat was shared.

Danny Bird made an exceptional start in race 5 and no-one got near him as he recorded what at this stage was the 2nd fastest time of the season. The only other action in the heat was an engine failure for Smethills at the start. not to be outdone, Shane Parker came out and completely blew away the opposition in heat 6 to set the fastest time of the season. Unfortunately at the back Robert was unable to hold on to third, David Meldrum getting past him at the end of the third lap.

Danny Bird came out as r/r in heat 7 and after an unsatisfactory start due the the referee feeling there was a bit of encroachment between Bird and Bergstrom, Danny again shot from the gate to record a convincing win. Bergstrom claimed second after coming from fourth and although Dicken chased Warwick to the line the heat was shared.

Cockle and McAllan were well beaten in heat 8 leaving the Tigers 10 points down and as expected Parker came in as a TR in heat 9. Shane shot from the gate but unfortunately Robert came down on the first bend. the referee called first bend bunching with all four back. Unfortunately this time it was Makovsky who made the gate with Robert ironically having an engine failure at the gate. Parker tried everything he could but was unable to catch Makovsky and had to settle for second place.

Heat 10 was won by Burza from the gate but the talking point was the second place battle between Meldrum and Cockle. James appeared to be holding on when Meldrum elbowed him coming out of the second bend throwing his balance a little and the two then had a slight coming together again coming down the back straight which was enough to let the Berwick man through for a 5-1 and leave Cockle - and the Glasgow fans - fuming.

Glasgow sent out the unbeatable Danny Bird as a TR in heat 11 to claim 6 points. Unfortunately David McAllan was last out of the gate however and unable to catch Warwick in third although he never gave up the chase.

James Cockle came into heat 12 in place of Robert Ksiezak who had expensively blown his engine on the start line of his previous race. With Smethills clear, Cockle was lying in second place being challenged by Branney. Branney however overcooked his challenge on the second bend of the second lap, spinning and falling, and although he remounted he later retired from the race. The race was destined to be a 3-3 although that did not stop Dicken going for a gap somewhat unnecessarily to claim second place from his partner when Cockle wobbled on the finals bends.

Remarkably Tigers were still in with a mathematical chance of winning the meeting and unsurprisingly Bird and Parker kept this alive with a comfortable 5-1 from the gate in heat 13. Unfortunately the remote chance was blown away by a home 5-1 for Makovsky and Warwick in heat 14, the home pairing having sussed that there was no dirt left on the inside and winning comfortably.

Predictably heat 15 saw Parker and Bird line up against Burza and Makovsky with the Tigers in 1 and 3. The first running saw the Tigers outgate their opponents. Shane went wide, Makovsky tried to keep going where there was no room and collided with the second bend fence leaving the referee no option but to re-run the race with Makovsky excluded. In the re-run, the Tigers pairing once again stormed to a comfortable 5-1 to end the meeting on a high note and give Glasgow a very realistic chance of the bonus point in the return meeting.

It did very much look like a two man team for Tigers although James Cockle kept battling and weighed in with important points. Danny Bird was, however, simply a class above. Shane too was in top form. Robert and David both suffered from engine problems and expensive blown engines.

Tiger Performance Points:-
(based on expectations)

R003