Tigers Out of Premier Trophy
(Posted 03/07/07)

It was always going to be difficult to pull back the 16 point lead King's Lynn held from the opening leg of this tie. Despite an excellent start, Glasgow stuttered in the middle part of the meeting and that was enough to ensure it was the Stars rather than the Tigers who went through to the final against Birmingham.

All eyes were on home debutante Craig Watson in the opening heat and he did not disappoint, winning from the gate with David McAllan slotting into third place to start the night off with a Tigers heat advantage. The second heat was similarly won from the gate but it was King's Lynn's James Brundle who took the chequered flag ahead of Coles and Dicken with Cal McDade off the pace at the rear.

Heat three was once again from the gate, this time Shane Parker winning. Nermark challenged him briefly in the early stages but the heat was relatively uneventful.

Tigers came to life in heat four. Trent Leverington gated closely followed by Lee Dicken and Trevor Harding. Lee and Trevor were side by side coming into the back straight but the Glasgow reserve managed to outmuscle his opponent and slotted into second, giving the Tigers their first 5-1 of the evening. It looked as if another would follow when Parker and Ksiezak gated in heat 5. However Topinka slid off on his own on the opening bends and was perhaps a tad fortunate when referee Jim McGregor called all four back for the re-run. the Czech took full advantage however, coming out ahead of Shane Parker after a very tight opening couple of bends. Shane tried everything he could over the full four laps but Topinka held him off to claim the win. Behind them, Mills had gone round the outside of Ksiezak at the end of the opening lap and was untroubled in third place.

Wato won heat 6 comfortably from the gate with Harding and McAllan doing battle for second place for all four laps. Harding had the advantage all the way courtesy of a better gate but David never gave up and went wide on the final bend, picking up the drive and passing Harding on the line to record another Tigers 5-1.

It looked briefly as though Tigers may claim another in heat 7 after Nermark suffered an engine failure at the end of the second lap, whilst sitting in second place behind Trent Leverington. Michael Coles was briefly elevated to second place but was unable to hold off the challenge of Paul Lee who nipped through to split the Tigers pairing shortly after.

Heat 8 was to prove a bit of a turning point and it was a disastrous one for the Tigers. David McAllan's bike sounded sick on the way to tapes. When the tapes rose, the Lynn pairing of Mills and Brundle were quickest to react and went on to record an easy maximum from the gate. Tigers hit back immediately courtesy of a 5-1 from the gate from Parker and Ksiezak to restore Tigers 12 point lead on the night.

Nermark and Watson gated together in heat 10, Wato doing well to come out ahead of Nermark. On the second lap however, Nermark executed an excellent inside pass coming out of bend two to take the lead. Paul Lee pushed Wato hard towards the end of the race but Wato held on for second place.

Topinka came out in the black and white helmet cover in heat 11 but was unable to challenge the impressive Trent Leverington. Topinka did however incur the wrath of Lee Dicken at the end of the race over a coming together that the Glasgow rider felt Topinka had been out of order in causing at the end of the second lap and which had resulted in Dicken being demoted to the rear.

There was also contact in heat 12 but in a more controlled manner with Parker and Nermark jostling for position down the back straight of the opening lap. Shane showed the greater determination and pulled clear, going on to win the race relatively easily although with Dicken finishing at the rear Tigers were beginning to run out of races.

It finally fell apart for the Tigers in heat 13 in a rather cruel manner with Trent Leverington excluded in the first running. Wato had gated, Trent was lying second but Topinka managed to slip through towards the end of the opening lap. Trent fought back and was on the inside line coming into the second lap when he appeared to clip the inner boundary it it threw him off. Cal McDade quickly and cleverly laid his bike down leaving referee Jim McGregor with no option but to put on the red stop lights and exclude Trent from the re-run. Watson won the re-run comfortably from the gate but the shared heat was enough to ensure that the Tigers needed two 5-0's for a run off.

As most expected when McDade came in for Harding in heat 13, Nermark was brought in for McDade as a TS in heat 14. He was gifted double points right away when Coles bike packed in as the tapes went up but made no real inroads on Robert Ksiezak in second, Paul Lee winning the heat comfortably from the gate.

Heat 15 was a formality but there is always pride at stake. Shane and Craig gated in the first running but with the track becoming greasy due to the intermittent rain that had fallen in the latter half of the meeting Wato slid off on the difficult pits bend, Nermark doing exceptionally well to avoid him. Parker won the re-run from the gate by a considerable distance, ensuring a Tigers win on the night.

It was an entertaining meeting but the deficit proved too much for the Tigers to pull back. Watson had a very good home debut and looks as if he will be a very difficult rider to beat once he dials into the track. Special mention has to be made of Trent Leverington however who was once again outstanding at home for the Tigers.