Shane Stars but Tigers Lose
(Posted 24/05/07)

Glasgow came away from the first leg of the Premier Trophy semi-final with plaudits from the home fans for being by far the best visitors at the Norfolk Arena this season but the 16 point deficit will make it very hard for the Tigers in the return leg.

There was what has become an almost familiar story in the opening heat as the Tigers conceded a 5-1 more or less from the gate after an untidy start.

The racing started in heat 2. James Brundle made the gate closely followed by David McAllan. David made full advantage of his track knowledge and executed a perfectly timed outside swoop round Brundle into the lead on the final bend of the opening lap. Brundle remained on his tail however and challenged David persistently for the entire race but David rode well to claim the win. Lambert looked sluggish at the back and may have had bike problems, Lee Smethills comfortably claiming third place.

Shane Parker gave notice of what was to come in his first race in heat 3. He made the gate but Nermark used the fourth bend to his advantage and passed Glasgow's captain only for Shane to repeat the compliment a lap later and pulled clear. At the back, the action was almost carbon copy with Ksiezak passing Harding going into bend four of the opening lap but Harding returning the compliment a lap later and Ksiezak finishing off the pace.

Trent Leverington showed everyone a clean pair of heels from the gate in heat 4 and went on to win comfortably. David McAllan had gated ahead of the Stars pairing but seemed down on power and was soon passed by the home riders and the heat was shared.

For a brief time it looked as if Stancl and Dicken were going to make amends for the opening heat in style as both gated ahead of their Stars counterparts. However by the end of the opening lap Nermark had passed Lee and was hot on the tail of Stancl. George rode a good race and worked hard but at the start of the final lap Nermark pulled off an excellent inside pass on the first bend driving hard under the Glasgow man and there was no way back. To add to Tigers disappointment, Trevor Harding, who had been trailing Lee Dicken for the entire race, finally found a way through sweeping round the outside of Lee on the penultimate bend turning what had looked like a Tigers heat advantage into a 2-4.

Lee Smethills produced some good riding in heat 6 to hold off Mills and claim second place but could not get near the fast gating Tomas Topinka. It was followed by a win from the gate at a canter for Shane Parker in heat 7 with Robert Ksiezak again off the pace at the back.

Tigers were to lose a costly 5-1 in heat 8 with both home riders well clear of lee Dicken in third. David McAllan again seemed down on power and his bike finally gave up the ghost on the third lap. With heat 9 producing another comfortable 5-1 for the home side courtesy of a fast gating Trevor Harding and an outside pass by Nermark on Leverington at the end of the first lap, the Tigers side looked to be tiring and the interval probably came at the right time for them.

With track re grading in the interval having been very thorough, Shane Parker came out in heat 10 and equaled the fastest time of the season, winning the heat by a considerable margin. Many were surprised that Shane had not been a tactical ride in heat 10 but Glasgow instead chose to bring George Stancl out in the black and white in heat 11 instead, clearly keeping Shane back with a TS in mind later on in the meeting.

Once again, George and Lee outgated the Stars pairing but Paul lee was quickly passed Lee Dicken and bearing down on George. Stancl held the King's Lynn man off for a couple of laps but Lee then produced a superb swoop round the outside of George at the end of the third lap. In the race behind, Lee Dicken was passed by Brundle on the backstraight of the opening lap but reclaimed third towards the end of the lap, thereafter managing to hold him off comfortably for the remainder of the race.

Shane Parker was once again untouchable in heat 12 and won by an almost frightening distance, Smethills unfortunately was thwarted at the back in his attempts to get round Lambert.

Heat 13 provided some superb entertaining speedway but unfortunately the tigers came off worst in the final placings. George Stancl had made the gate and was working hard to hold off Lee and Topinka. Lee copied Nermark's heat 5 move on George by driving underneath him on the opening bend of the second lap. There then followed a close tussle between Nermark and Stancl for the remainder of the race, both riders allowing the other to race. The decisive move came at the start of the final lap however when Topinka managed to power round the outside of his fellow countryman into second place and George was unable to respond.

As expected, Glasgow then brought Shane Parker in as a tactical substitute off 15m in heat 14. Shane was quickly passed his team mate but James Brundle did a good job of holding him up until the start of lap 3. by this time Harding had powered well clear and Shane was only just unable to catch him before the chequered flag.

It was back to the old Stancl and Parker pairing in heat 15 and once again the Tigers riders outgated the opposition. George Stancl was quickly passed by the Stars pairing however before suffering an engine failure on the third lap. Shane however was once more untouchable and won the heat at a canter.

Glasgow certainly turned up with the right attitude and their efforts were appreciated by the King's Lynn fans. Shane possibly rode his best ever meeting in a Tigers race jacket and was without a doubt the best rider on show. After a promising first half of the meeting, the remaining Tigers riders seemed to tire however but on the whole their effort cannot be faulted. The 16 point deficit may be too much for the Tigers to claw back but they can at least say they gave it their best shot and unlike many visitors to the Norfolk Arena they competed.