Tigers Lift the Spring Trophy
Posted 30th May

It went all the way to the wire but Glasgow secured their first silverware of the season, winning the Spring Trophy.

The first leg of the Trophy had been cut short due to the weather back at the end of March - something many felt was to Edinburgh's advantage as Tigers are so strong in heats 13 & 15. Some felt the second leg was a mere formality and that Glasgow should win comfortably but that was not the case as the Tigers made it difficult for themselves on the night. Only an error by an Edinburgh rider in heat 14 stopped a 1-5 that would have taken the trophy East.

The opening heat of the meeting was won from the gate by Danny Bird. Partner David McAllan was at the back for the four laps, coming off on the first bend of the final lap trying too hard to catch Pijper in third.

With Edinburgh's reserve pairing, heat 2 is always going to be anticipated and there was a certain element of controversy in this one. Ksiezak and Sneddon gated out front and after an extremely hard second bend from Ksiezak, Robert came out in front. Cockle came through on the inside of Sneddon on the third bend into second and then went wide. Sneddon came off and although James had been in front the referee decreed that James was at fault for the stoppage, presumably feeling he had not left him enough room to race as no contact had been made. Needless to say the decision did not go down well with the Tigers fans and Dave Dowling was left in no doubt of their feelings. The re-run was a much more sedate affair, Robert Ksiezak making an electric gate and leading from start to finish, easily thwarting Sneddon's early attempts to pass.

It was ex-Tiger Matthew Wethers who was to get the victory from the gate in heat 3 but the plaudits in this race surely went to Lee Dicken who held off everything William Lawson could throw at him, even at one stage making room for Kauko to get through but unfortunately the Fin was unable to take advantage. Another ex-Tiger, Rusty Harrison, looked as if he may get a rare victory against Shane in heat 4 but once again Shane shadowed his prey for three and a half laps before coming inside him coming off the second bend of the final lap, driving past him on the back straight to claim the win in what was a shared heat.

Heat 5 was a relatively uneventful heat Nieminen winning from the gate although he went rather close to the fence on the final bend - as did Theo Pijper on the pits bend of the final lap. It was followed by a well spread out win from the gate for Danny Bird in heat 6.

Technically heat 7 was the third heat in a row to be won from the gate but once more we were treated to a superb piece of team riding from Shane Parker as he protected Robert Ksiezak all the way despite Will Lawson trying everything possible. The last time the Monarchs were at Ashfield, Lawson was able to take advantage of a final bend slip up to claim second but this time round the Tigers pairing made no mistake.

Edinburgh quickly restored the status quo however with Pijper and Sneddon recording an easy win from the gate in heat 8. Nieminen and Dicken gated in heat 9 but Harrison was able to pass Lee on the second bend although Nieminen won the race very comfortably.

Danny Bird continued to look untouchable in heat 10, winning from the gate. Partner David McAllan had gated second but Will Lawson was quickly past him. The battle was then between McAllan and Wethers for third. Wethers nearly got through on the second bend of lap three but although David was able to hold off that challenge he had no answer for Wethers outside swoop on the fourth bend.

More from the gate action in heat 11 with Shane winning but Robert Ksiezak came off on his own on the third bend whilst lying third, picking up a wrist injury as he did so.

You have to feel sorry for Lee Dicken in heat 12. In the first running he made an excellent gate and was clearly ahead of both opposition riders when the race was stopped due to Robert falling on the opening bend. In the re-run, Lee came out of the opening bends at the back and then came off at the start of the second lap, overcooking it when trying to catch Wethers. The frustration was clear for all to see as was the effort Lee was putting in - shown by the ovation he got when leaving to get changed a couple of heats later.

Once again Danny hit the front from the tapes and all the action was for second place. Harrison had out gated Parker and once again Shane shadowed him looking at inside and outside lines. It looked as if Harrison may get revenge for the earlier defeat as he was still in front going into the penultimate bend. However the master of Ashfield made a final challenge coming off the last bend and in a race to the line claimed second place by half a wheel.

Sadly heat 14 will be remembered for the wrong reasons. With Edinburgh on a potentially trophy winning 5-1, Derek Sneddon took his partner Will Lawson very wide on the fourth bend, leaving Lawson with no room to race. Lawson collided at speed with the fourth bend fence and received lengthy treatment on track before taking an ambulance trip back to the pits. The race was awarded as a 3-3, effectively opening the door for Glasgow and swinging the odds back in the Tigers favour. At the time of the accident it was already clear that Kauko Nieminen and James Cockle, in for Robert Ksiezak who had broken the tapes, had no chance of catching the Edinburgh pair.

It was therefore all down to one race for the Trophy - heat 15. With Edinburgh still 2 points up on aggregate, only a 5-1 could win it for the Tigers with a 4-2 needed for a run off. However both Danny Bird and Shane Parker had looked pretty invincible all day and they did not disappoint in heat 15. Shane hit the front and opened up a considerable margin whilst Danny in second held off Rusty Harrison. As they came round the final bend, Shane shut off to allow Danny through for a full maximum. However although it looked to the crowd as if Danny crossed the line first, the referee awarded the win to Shane but it was all academic as the Tigers top two celebrated the Trophy win.

Overall it was a pleasing win for the Tigers although they did make hard work of it at times. Kauko's return of 8 points is excellent especially considering he is returning only 3 weeks after a broken shoulder and has ridden 4 meetings in five days in three different countries traveling heaven knows how many miles. He was definitely feeling his shoulder but never gave up. David and James seem to have Edinburgh as a bit of a bogey team at the moment whilst Lee suffered a bit of bad luck. Danny, Shane and Robert all shone.

Finally we hope both riders who received knocks yesterday - Robert and Edinburgh's Will Lawson - recover quickly from their knocks. Robert spent the latter part of the meeting with an ice pack on his left hand whilst Lawson was sporting a nasty looking lower left arm injury as well as aches and pains elsewhere.

Tiger Performance Points:-
(based on expectations)

R003