Bonus Point Won as Tigers Lose
(Posted 27/04/07)

Redcar comfortably beat the Tigers on their home turf in an entertaining meeting but the bonus point came back north, although it went right to the wire.

Both sides were using guests - Jason Lyons in for Gary Havelock with Tomas Suchanek being in for David McAllan.

The meeting started well for Tigers with Stancl making the gate and partner Trent Leverington slotting into third place. unfortunately Trent came to grief however sliding off on the opening lap allowing Giffard through into third. George rode well up front to hold off a very determined challenge from Lyons.

Suchanek had looked on paper to be an inspired choice of guest but heat 2 rang the alarm bells a little. Courtney won from the gate with Dicken close behind. Suchanek fell on the opening lap but to be fair remounted and gave chase, managing to pass an out of his depth Rusty Hodgson on the penultimate bend.

Grieves and Kessler were electric from the gate in heat 3 to claim the Bears first 5-1 of the evening, holding off Parkers efforts to find a way through, this being followed by an uneventful shared heat 4, won from the tapes by Chris Kerr.

George Stancl suffered a chain snapping as the tapes went up at the start of heat 5, the chain unfortunately hitting George on the leg and leaving him in a considerable amount of pain on the centre green as the race went on. To compound matters, the Tigers pairing had gated but Trent Leverington quickly passed Kessler coming out of the second bend. the German slid off on the third bend and although he remounted he had lost his footrest and was unable to fully control his bike, being lapped by his partner and then by Leverington. Kessler did actually impede Trent after being lapped but Trent was too far behind James Grieves for it to make any real difference.

Lyons and Giffard inflicted the second 5-1 of the meeting in heat 6 more or less from the gate with Lee Smethills pulling up with engine problems on the second lap.

Kerr again came out of the opening bends ahead in heat 7 and went on to win comfortably. Shane had to settle back to help Robert Ksiezak who had a sick sounding bike.

At last Glasgow got a heat advantage in heat 8 courtesy of a good gate from Trent Leverington. It looked as if the heat would be shared but Suchanek was able to take advantage of an error by Jamie Courtney to slip through into third. the hope of a turn around was short lived however as Grieves and Kessler claimed their second 5-1 of the night against Dicken and Smethills in heat 9.

Surprisingly, Glasgow elected to bring Shane in as a tactical ride in heat 10. Although never far off Lyons back wheel however, the Glasgow captain had to settle for second place with his partner Ksiezak off the pace at the back.

There was classic speedway in heat 11 for the crowd to enjoy although unfortunately the Tigers were on the receiving end. Stancl and Leverington had gated and looked comfortable out front when an absolutely outstanding drive round the outside on the third lap saw Kerr pass both Tigers and go on to claim the win. The next heat saw the Tigers lose another potential 5-1. Shane Parker and Lee Dicken had led from the gate, both riding a good race but unfortunately Lee was unable to stop a last gasp pass and drive to the line by Grieves on the final lap although his effort could not be faulted.

Bears guest Jason Lyons emphasised what a good choice he was in heat 13 when he past George Stancl near the end of the opening lap to keep alive Redcar's chance of the bonus.

The logical thing to do in heat 14 seemed to be to bring out Lee Dicken, who had worked tirelessly all night and gated well, in place of a struggling Robert Ksiezak but once again Stewart elected to stick with the youngster and it was a decision that could have proved costly. Both Robert and guest Tomas Suchanek missed the gate leaving Kessler to shepherd Jamie Courtney home for a costly 5-1.

The Bears needed a 5-1 in heat 15 to force a run off for the bonus point and there was a real fear amongst the Glasgow contingent that it could happen. When Lyons and Grieves gated, it looked bleak but Shane and George managed to force their way through by pushing Grieves - on the outside gate - wide on the second bend and they then went on to ride a typical George and Shane pairs ride keeping Grieves at the back to bring the bonus point home to Glasgow.

Redcar were certainly a good side on a well prepared track which provided some entertaining racing and in Jason Lyons they had a guest who more than adequately covered for the injured Gary Havelock.

Glasgow's choice of guest had, on paper, looked inspired but Suchanek turned out to be a bit of a let down. Despite the late decision regarding whether he would be fit to ride, Lee Dicken rode very well and it is still a mystery as to why he was not entrusted with heat 14 ahead of Ksiezak. It would be easy to assume he may have been still feeling the effects of his hefty fall last Sunday but the last couple of away meetings have been the same. Robert seems to be struggling just now and would probably benefit from a spell at reserve to build his confidence back up although with David being a home meeting short this might not happen for a week or two yet. Lee Smethills struggled again but hopefully the move to reserve from Sunday will help him get his machinery problems sorted out and confidence levels back up. george and Shane once again came up with the goods although I think its fair to say that it still isn't a favourite track of Shane's. On expectations, Trent was possibly the Tigers star man, despite his slow start. He rode confidently and was determined and gave the Bears a lot more to worry about than his score perhaps suggests.

With both teams having one meeting left in the Premier Trophy groups stage, Tigers are definitely in the driving seat. Redcar travel to Newcastle on Sunday, the Diamonds already having beat them at STMP by 6 points whilst we have to make sure against the Monarchs at Ashfield. With King's Lynn and Birmingham still to face each other twice in the Midland section, the best runner up spot can't be guaranteed for the runner up of the Northern section.

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