Glasgow Beat Stars by 9
(Posted 02/09/07)

In what most expected to be the toughest home meting of the season, Tigers secured a 9 point victory against King's Lynn this afternoon despite being without the services of the injured David McAllan.

Right from the start Tigers fans were wondering if it was going to be one of those days with Lee Dicken - taking the rider replacement ride - crashing heavily on the first bend after some first bend bunching. It also highlighted the question asked by many before the meeting started - why did Glasgow not name a number 8.

Fortunately Lee is made of stern stuff however and after treatment refused a trip back to the pits in the ambulance, declaring himself fit for the re-run.

The second running of the heat only got marginally further than the first when Tomas Topinka engaged in tough opening bends with Craig Watson but misjudged the track and accidentally sent his opponent into the pits bend fence. it was however third time lucky, Wato making the gate but Chris Mills nipping neatly up the inside on bend two and going on to win the heat comfortably.

Stars James Brundle shot from the gate in heat 2. Coles challenged for two laps before he seemed to slow right up, Dicken going through into second. Compton was able to catch the slower Glasgow man and although Coles was able to hold off his challenge at the end of the third lap he then made an error on the first bend of the final lap. Compton seized his opportunity and slipped through the inside to claim third place.

Shane Parker's recent form continued in heat 3 with a comfortable win from the gate, Nermark only able to stay close for the opening lap. Meanwhile Robert Ksiezak totally missed the gate but passed Paul Lee on the opening bends into third and that was how it finished.

Heat 4 was won by Leverington from the gate with Lee Dicken in second ensuring the Tigers first 5-1 of the meeting.

Mills was rolling at the start of heat 5, resulting in a re-run. In a very hard opening bend, Shane Parker took Topinka wide, powered into the back straight and pulled clear. Ksiezak had again missed the gate but kept trying to make up ground and got his reward when Chris Mills made an error at the end of the third lap. Robert pulled level then forced his way through into third place on the opening bends of the final lap.

Harding and Brundle gave Glasgow a lesson in gating in heat 6 but Craig Watson showed those who think of him as purely a gater that they were wrong when he passed inside Harding coming into the back straight then repeated the move on Brundle on the third bend to lead the field. Michael Coles surprised Harding at the end of the third lap by finding some grip on the outside of the fourth bend and coasting easily past him.

Once again Glasgow were given a lesson in gating in heat 7, this time by Nermark and Lee. Leverington was close to lee the entire race, briefly getting the better of him on the backstraight of lap 2 when Harding lifted but Harding found drive round the outside of bend 4 to regain his second place. It looked certain to finish this way but Trent was determined and a drive off the final bend saw him pull level and on the run in to the line the Glasgow man came out on top to split the Stars pairing.

Mills comfortably won a shared heat 8 from the gate and this was followed by another heat from the gate when Parker and Ksiezak easily chalked up Tigers second 5-1 of the meeting.

Many expected King's Lynn to bring in a TR in heat 10 but they chose not to do so at this stage and that decision looked vindicated when the Tigers pairing gated. Nermark was quickly through into second place but was unable to overcome Watson who held off a late challenge on the run in to the line. Coles held on to third place until the pits bend of lap 4 when Lee passed inside after the Glasgow rider went too wide.

Heat 11 saw King's Lynn bring in Tomas Topinka in the black and white helmet and the spectators were treated to a very good race. A tough opening bend between Topinka and Leverington saw Trent come out on top. Although Topinka was quicker, Trent rode a clever tactical race to thwart his attempts to pass until the very final bend when a last ditch attempt by Topinka saw him pick up the grip he needed to just beat Trent on the run to the line.

Nermark came out of bend 2 slightly ahead of Parker in heat 12 but Shane rectified that by the third bend and went on to win the heat comfortably.

In heat 13, Watson turned a level gate to his advantage by moving the King's Lynn riders out on the opening bends to come out ahead although Leverington, who had missed the gate, was unable to take advantage of the gap up the inside. He did however pass inside reserve replacement Benji Compton shortly afterwards. Out front, Topinka was never far off Watson but Wato held, including blocking the outside line drive from Topinka off the final bend.

The Tigers pairing of Robert Ksiezak and Lee Dicken made sure of victory for the home side in heat 14. Ksiezak gated and quickly opened up a comfortable lead. brundle had been in second place but a determined excellent outside pass by Lee Dicken on the final bend of the opening lap relegated him to third. Dicken then held on to second place for the remainder of the race, giving Glasgow their third 5-1 of the meeting and securing the home win.

Heat 15 provided a suitable end to what had been an entertaining meeting although the heat result did not go Glasgow's way. Watson gated and as so often happens he pushed the opposition riders wide allowing Parker to come through the inside. However when the opposition are of the quality of Nermark and Topinka that is never the end of the matter. Nermark squeezed through a gap between the Glasgow pair that wasn't really there, muscling Watson out to the fence and making slight contact with Parker. Extremely hard riding but probably fair, although against riders of a lesser quality the consequences may have been different. It was enough however to propel Nermark through into first place, a position that he was to hold. Watson was the rider most affected by the move, slipping back to last place.

King's Lynn are many people's favourites for the league title and even although they had two riders under perform today it is easy to see why.

However Tigers were not overawed by this and pulled together to record the victory in what was an entertaining afternoons speedway. Lee Dicken understandably got a lot of plaudits at the end of the meeting, it is still hard to believe he was able to walk away from his horrendous heat 1 tumble never mind carry on riding, but once again it was a team effort. Robert looked sluggish to start with - as did Wato - but once again came good. Trent Leverington continues to ride well and was probably worth more than his points total suggests. Shane continues to be Shane!.