Tigers Crash
(Posted 17/06/07)

Glasgow fans were brought down to earth with a bump this afternoon as the unbeaten home league record of the Tigers, stretching back to September 2005, fell to an impressive Somerset side.

Surprisingly it was Stefan Katt who made the gate in the opening heat but partner Zetterstrom came round the outside of Stancl and Katt into the lead. Stancl and McAllan seemed to get in each others road a little at the back but when Stancl pulled up on the second bend of lap 2 it was left to David to try and chase down the Rebels pairing but despite a determined last bend drive he was unsuccessful.

Walker was very lucky to be included in the re run of heat 2 after bringing Kessler down on the second bend. the re run saw Kessler 'gate and go' whilst Coles in second place fought hard to fend of the attentions of firstly an erratic Warwick and then Walker to hold on.

An impressive ride from Shane Parker in heat 3 saw him not only win the heat in style but get within 0.1 of the track record despite making it look effortless. The heat was shared with Frampton having managed to come inside Lee Dicken on the second bend for third place.

Once again Danny Warwick looked surprisingly out of control in heat 4 but Trent Leverington and guest Robbie Kessler took full advantage, just letting him go and cutting inside when he went far too wide on the second bend to claim a Tigers 5-1.

Magnus Zetterstrom took the outside line on the opening bends of heat 5 and that was enough for him to get his nose in front of Shane Parker. Although Shane tracked him all the way he was not able to trouble the Rebels captain. It was effectively two races in one with Katt and Dicken doing battle at the back, once again the Somerset rider coming out ahead.

David McAllan's afternoon was to come to an early end after two hefty falls in heat 6. In the first running, Hawkins presumably lost control or picked up drive as his wheel turned left and he clattered David very heavily into the fence. After a lengthy delay, david took his place in the re-run with Hawkins excluded. Stancl gated and pulled clear leaving David at the back trying to find a line round Walker. It was a very close fought battle until David was enticed into the error and the end of the third lap and crashed heavily against the fourth bend fence. With George already on the last lap, the race was awarded 3-2 and a battered and shaken David was withdrawn from the meeting.

Kramer won a spread out heat 7 from the gate, Trent claiming second.

It took three attempts to run heat 8. Firstly a tapes malfunction caused a delay and in the second running Warwick brought Coles off in a classic case of first bend bunching. the trip to the fence damaged Coles bike and with him being unable to repair it on time he came out on George's. His first attempt at a practice start saw him struggle to stay on the back so he was always going to be up against it in the race itself. As it was the Somerset pairing gated, Kessler split them coming out of the second bend and it was race over.

Parker and Dicken gated in heat 9 but Hawkins got by Lee on the backstraight of the opening lap. The heat however provided very little else to talk about, finishing well spread out.

Somerset dealt Glasgow another blow with a 1-5 in heat 10 courtesy of Kramer and Frampton. Kramer looked to have got a flier and won by a country mile with Frampton passing inside Stancl on the third bend of the opening lap to move into second. He pressed Kessler hard looking for an opening and finally got by with a move starting on the final bend of lap three with an inside drive. Kessler battled hard to try and thwart the move but a determined Frampton started to pull clear on the back straight of the final lap.

Heat 11 was from the gate, Leverington splitting the pairing of Zetterstrom and Kramer and being possibly the closest Tiger to actually challenging the Swede, especially at the end of the second lap. Shane Parker won heat 12 from the gate after a good couple of opening bends with Robbie Kessler holding off Walker for third place.

As expected, Zetterstrom shot from the gate in heat 13 and pulled well clear. Stancl and Leverington settled in to team ride to keep Hawkins at the back although neither really looked comfortable with the role. Just when it looked as if they may have managed it however, George drifted off his line coming out of the final bend allowing Hawkins to pass Trent and claim third spot.

Somerset secured the win courtesy of Frampton and Walker in heat 14 with Robbie Kessler being very unfortunate to suffer an engine failure. Walker had gated and was well clear but a good race ensued between Kessler Dicken and Frampton with all three holding second place at various points in the race. However, whilst in second on the backstraight of the third lap Kessler's bike went, Frampton came through into second and the meeting was won.

Although the heat was a formality, all eyes were on Zetterstrom to see if he could complete his maximum in heat 15 against Shane Parker and Trent Leverington. Zorro gated and that was that.

The final margin of defeat was 9 points. Somerset thoroughly deserved their win, they were hungrier and rode well as a unit. The younger riders in their camp have definitely improved considerably over the last season.

Glasgow once again failed to have 7 riders firing on all cylinders and the feeling on the terraces is now that something has to give. Shane did his usual job and Trent was the only rider to seriously mount a challenge on the unbeatable Zetterstrom. Losing David, especially after his performance last night, was a blow for the Tigers but it is scary to think just how bad things could have been points wise if it wasn't for the contribution by guest Robbie Kessler.