Well Done Shane and Wato
(Posted 29/06/07)

Shane Parker and Craig Watson did the Glasgow faithful proud down at Somerset this evening in the Premier League Pairs, far exceeding expectations by finishing runners up to Isle of Wight.

Before the meeting not many people gave the Tigers pair a chance of even qualifying for the semi-finals and their preparation was further thrown into chaos with Craig Watson being one of half a dozen riders held up in severe traffic congestion prior to the meeting, only arriving a short time before having to go out in the opening race against the pre-meeting favourites Somerset.

With Zetterstrom shooting from the gate as expected in that opening heat, Shane and Wato did the sensible thing and settled in to secure second and third place and the heat advantage.

Their second outing, against the Rye House pairing of Neath and Allen was similar. Neath came out of the second bend ahead, Shane and Wato then settled to team ride to secure the heat advantage. The third outing against Isle of Wight was handled exactly the same way, a second and third place with team riding to keep Bunyan at the back.

With Somerset's Emil Kramer suddenly finding the form that had deserted him in the home sides opening two heats, it became clear that the Tigers would probably need a heat win to ensure qualification and they duly obliged with a 7-2 from the gate against a very poor Sheffield pairing to secure their place in the semi-finals.

The semi-final saw them face Workington for whom last year's Tiger Kauko Nieminen had looked outstanding all night. In possibly the best race of the evening, Kauko indeed outgated the rest of the field and went on to win. However Shane showed exactly what pairs racing was all about, actually shepherding Wato round as the two of them worked extremely hard to prevent James Wright gaining the third spot the Comets needed.

Very few would have fancied Tigers to make the final and they were up against the other rider who had shone all evening, Chris Holder. Glasgow perhaps had the psychological advantage of having beaten the Islanders earlier in the meeting and the fans there went wild as Shane Parker hit the front from the gate with Craig Watson in third. The Islanders were however very determined and after prolonged pressure Holder got round Shane on the third lap. Bunyan was putting Watson under severe pressure at the back and unfortunately Craig was just unable to hold him off. Bunyan got by him on the final lap and despite a valiant attempt by Shane Parker to slow Bunyan down on the final bends to give Wato a chance to come back through, there was no going back and the Islanders were crowned champions.

Perhaps with hindsight, Shane making the gate hampered rather than helped the Tigers cause given their earlier team riding displays but on the night Islanders were worthy winners.

Shane and Craig did Glasgow proud and their runners up position was a superb result for the Glasgow pairing - well done Shane and Craig!

Many thanks to Paul for the information for this report.