Tigers Out of Shield
(Posted 07/10/07)

For the second time in as many weeks, Redcar came to Ashfield and beat the Tigers on their own turf, this time dumping them out of the Young Shield.

It was again a decent meeting and Redcar were worthy winners on the day and we wish them well in the next round.

Things had started positively for the Tigers after a heat advantage in the opening race. The start had been ragged, Havelock and McAllan both looked as if they had been rolling but the referee allowed it to go. watson hit the front coming out of bend two and was followed by David but an error by McAllan on lap two saw him go too wide on the second bend, Havelock taking full advantage.

Lee Dicken showed right from the start he was up for it, coming out on top in a good hard opening bends battle with Jack Hargreaves. Coles in third worked hard to hold off Dan Giffard at the back but Giffard timed his move well to pass outside Coles coming off the final bend to share the heat.

James Grieves won heat 3 comfortably from the gate. Both Tigers made a poor gate in heat 4 but Trent Leverington swept round everyone on the opening bends into an unassailable lead. Lee Dicken never gave up and it was he who was to take advantage of the drive off the final bend this time, passing Jack Hargreaves on the run to the line.

Heat 5 was uneventful, Lyons winning from the gate and Robert Ksiezak finishing at the back after being passed rather easily by Dan Giffard at the end of the opening lap.

We have been used to seeing some good team riding from the Tigers at Ashfield on occasion but this time it was Redcar's Chris Kerr who impressed as he marshaled Dan Giffard round for a 5-1 for the visitors in heat 6 despite David McAllan trying everything to get through in an entertaining race.

Grieves won his second heat from the gate in heat 7 and when he came out in heat 8 as the rider replacement ride it was no surprise to see him to the same again. This time however there was some good close racing for the minor placings. Lee Dicken rode a very good opening bend moving Hargreaves wide to make room for David McAllan to come through into second. David then returned the favour by allowing Lee back through. David and Jack had an excellent battle at the back, Hargreaves momentarily getting through on the second lap but David hit back immediately and held off his challenge for the rest of the race.

The first running of heat 9 resulted in what seemed a harsh exclusion for Chris Kerr. It looked as if Jason Lyons had locked slightly on bend 2, causing Chris Kerr to collide with his back wheel then career into Robert Ksiezak, sending him heavily into the fence. Dan Giffard did everything he possibly could to avoid the fallen Tiger but his bike caught him on the side of the head and Giffard was sent heavily into the final fence post at the pits entrance. However the referee obviously felt Kerr clipping Lyons was what caused him to lose shape and excluded the Redcar man rather harshly.

After a short delay, both Giffard and Ksiezak were able to take part in the rerun along with Jason Lyons, who won easily from the gate. Robert was caught sleeping at the end of the opening lap, allowing Dan Giffard to pass unchallenged on the outside line.

Grieves won heat 10 more or less unchallenged from the gate with Watson appearing to pull out of the second bend when challenging. The reason for this became clear later on in the afternoon when it was confirmed he had been riding with a broken shoulder.

Havelock and Kerr took control in heat 11, securing a 5-1 for the Bears more or less from the gate. James Grieves again looked impressive as he won heat 12, Jason Lyons giving chase but never seriously troubling him. Again there was a good battle at the back this time between Lee Dicken and Jack Hargreaves. Lee came round the outside of Hargreaves on the second bend and did well to hold position on the fourth bend after locking up slightly. The two were in close contention for the remainder of the race but Lee blocked all Hargreaves passing moves to claim third.

In a good heat 13, Kerr got the better of Trent in a tough opening bend but Trent squeezed through after a tight second bend one lap later. For the remainder of the heat the two were jostling for position barely inches apart with Trent showing his team mates how to block a rider making a driving challenge off the final bend to hold on to second.

With only pride now left for the Tigers to ride for, Lee Dicken, in as a reserve replacement for Robert Ksiezak, swept round the outside of both Redcar riders on the opening bend to go on and win an otherwise uneventful heat quite easily.

All the action in heat 15 was centred around the opening bends. Jason Lyons stopped the impressive Grieves getting a six ride maximum pulling ahead of him after a tight opening bend whilst simultaneously Havelock passed inside Leverington to claim third in what finished a pretty well spread out race.

Perhaps not as good as the previous encounter, it was still an entertaining meeting with the visitors deserved victors.

For Tigers, Lee and David stood out in particular for their effort with Trent also doing well. Craig has obviously been struggling with injury and Robert was struggling even before his accident.