Tigers Secure First Bonus Point
(Posted 23/07/07)

It wasn't exactly an Ashfield classic but at the end of the day Tigers did just enough to win the meeting and claim the aggregate point.

Kauko Nieminen was expected to provide a stiff test for the Tigers top men and he did that in style in the opening heat. Craig Watson got the drop on him at the start but coming out of the second bend Kauko was in front and he pulled well clear winning the heat impressively in a time only .2 outside the track record. With Workington’s guest looking well off the pace at the back most Tigers fans were filling in shared heat details when David McAllan seemed to have a rush of blood to the head on the final bend, gifting Workington an opening heat advantage.

The initial running of heat 2 saw Charles Wright rear off the start. Whether his clutch stuck open or not is unknown but he lost control and went straight ahead colliding horrifically with the first bend fence. After lengthy treatment he was withdrawn from the meeting although did thankfully make an appearance in the pits to watch some of the latter heats in the meeting.

The re-run saw the Tigers pairing record a 5-1, Lee Dicken winning comfortably although John Branney pressed Michael Coles at various points throughout the race before falling and remounting on the final bends.

Shane got the better of James Wright in heat 3 with Wright being challenged by Ksiezak in the early stages, Simon Walker off the pace at the back. Stonehewer and Dicken made the gate for heat 4 but Trent moved hard up the inside on bend two, accidentally interfering with his partner – something he was quick to apologise to Lee for at the end of the race. Trent challenged Stonehewer in the early stages and Branney made a late attempt to catch Lee on the line but for most of the race it was well spread out.

Heat 5 saw a very hard opening bend between Shane, Robert and Kauko. Robert may have come out of the second bend third but had played his part in making space for Shane, something Shane took full advantage of, going on to win another well spread out heat. Again it was followed by another heat from the gate, Craig Watson getting the better of Carl Stonehewer. Although Stoney never gave up, in reality Wato was not that troubled either.

Workington brought Kauko Nieminen in as a TS in heat 7. The start saw a good refereeing decision – although the referee made amends for that later – when the race was allowed to continue after Wright missed the gate due to his own rolling. Kauko was quickly up alongside Coles and passed inside him on the third bend of the opening lap. Up front, Trent was riding a superb race thwarting Wrights attempts to pass him. In particular, Trent executed an excellent blocking move on Wright when he attempted the outside swoop on him at the end of the third lap. However, just when it looked as if he was going to hold on, a wobble on the final bend was just enough for Wright to take advantage and slip through to take him on the line.

David McAllan won heat 8 from the gate although he and partner Lee Dicken nearly had a coming together on the second bend, sending Lee to the back. He went round the outside of John Branney at speed however on the fourth bend of the opening lap to claim third.

Carl Stonehewer hit the front in heat 9 closely pursued by Shane Parker. An attempt to get round the Comet on the outside of the fourth bend was aborted when Stoney blocked the move but one lap later Shane took full advantage of Stoney going wide to come up the inside of him on the fourth bend into the lead then pulling clear to win again by a good margin.

There was a delay before the start of heat 10 as Workington brought no 8 David Haigh in for the rider replacement but the referee did not have the relevant paperwork. This was quickly sorted out and was possibly the only talking point of the heat other than to acknowledge another fine win from the gate by Wato in a well spread out heat.

Comets brought the Tigers back down to earth with a bump with a very comfortable 1-5 in heat 11 courtesy of Kauko Nieminen and Simon Walker, Kauko shepherding his partner all the way in a style very reminiscent of Shane Parker.

James Wright may have outgated Parker in heat 12 but Shane was quickly past him on the opening bends and well clear. The only action was at the back where Branney mounted a challenge on Lee Dicken on the third lap but Lee was able to hold him off relatively comfortably.

The referee may have been praised for his actions in allowing heat 7 to go but he certainly caused a bit of consternation in heat 13. Nieminen led followed closely by Watson and Stonehewer with Leverington around a bike length behind when Wato came to grief at the star of the second lap, sliding off into the first bend fence. The referee rightly stopped the race and excluded Wato but unbelievably he also awarded the race. Understandably there was quite a delay as discussions were partaken on what still seems a ludicrous decision but to no avail. Stonehewer then came out and won a shared and uneventful heat 14 re-run from the gate, the share of the spoils ensuring a Glasgow win on the day but lining up a last heat decider for the aggregate point.

The Glasgow pairing of Watson and Parker hit the front on the first bend but Kauko Nieminen passed Wato to split them coming out of bend two. Shane pulled clear with Nieminen trying to give chase whilst at the back Wato had to work hard to hold off Carl Stonehewer for the four laps. That was how it finished however to give Shane his maximum and the Tigers 3 points.

Not the greatest of meetings, Kauko was the formidable opponent we expected him to be and he was well backed up by Stonehewer and Wright. Shane was in determined mood, Wato looked good out front and the team scored consistently throughout although there just seemed to be that spark missing. Had Charles Wright not had his heat 2 accident, things may well have been different but the important thing is that Tigers secured the win and got their first aggregate point of the season on the board.

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