Tigers Go Down Fighting
(Posted 21/08/08)

The score did not reflect the effort from the Tigers at the Norfolk Arena but despite their efforts going down well with the home fans the bottom line was that the Stars were far too strong and ran out comfortable winners.

The meeting signaled the long awaited return of Shane Parker and he did not disappoint, riding and scoring well, but the Tigers received pretty well universal praise from the home side for being one of the very few sides to actually give it a go and make a meeting of it in Norfolk.

On a very slick surface, Robert Ksiezak was first out of the gate in the opening heat but Kevin Doolan got the better of him as they hit the back straight, pulling level then clear as they entered bend 3. With Lee in third, Tigers got the share of the spoils.

Heat 2 was not as enjoyable for the Tigers however as the home side recorded an easy 5-1. Both Mitchell Davey and Jerran Hart - as well as the home side's Kozza Smith it has to be said, had a few breath stopping moments as they struggled to come to terms with the surface.

The return of the Messiah came in heat three but he would have to settle for second place after Tomas Topinka got the better of the tight opening bends, both riders just leaving each other enough room to race.. Shane was all over the back of Tomas for all four laps but was just unable to find away through despite looking slightly quicker. Simon Lambert had missed the gate but was soon passed Anders Andersen who struggled badly and finished well off the pace.

Heat 4 was an excellent race with action from tapes to flag. Trent Leverington made the gate closely pursued by Kozza Smith and the two had an excellent battle with Trent thwarting the King's Lynn rider for three and a half laps before leaving just too much of a gap on the outside of the third bend of lap three. Smith took full advantage and went through into the lead. Harrison had been close behind the pair since the start and took his cue to challenge Trent but this time Trent held firm and despite a last gasp drive round the outside by Harrison, Trent held on to second. Jerran Hart again struggled with the track in this one, falling and remounting on the second bend.

The home side claimed another 5-1 in heat 5 with Robert Ksiezak perhaps suffering bike troubles as he seemed off the pace in this one. Lee Dicken did keep up the pressure on the Stars pair for most of the race but was unable to mount a realistic challenge.

Again heat 6 provided a 5-1 for the home side but although they did it mostly from the gate it was a very entertaining race thanks to the efforts of Trent Leverington who refused to give up. Coming into the final bend it looked as if Trent had slipped through into second place but it was not to be although Doolan and Tacey had to work very hard to block his attempts.

Glasgow elected to bring Shane Parker out in the black and white helmet in heat 7 and were rewarded with an easy and comprehensive win from the tapes. Once again, Anders struggled at the back though.

He may have had problems in his opening two rides with the surface but Tigers guest Jerran Hart showed he was a quick learner by winning the next race in style from the gate. Lee Dicken missed the gate and although he was all over Kozza Smith, particularly in the latter stages, he was unable to get through.

Trent once again made a superb gate to lead heat 9 in the early stages. However, Topinka was able to take advantage of an outside line on the third bend and passed him to take the lead. Trent was left to defend his second place from Simon Lambert and gave an excellent display of defensive riding to hold the youngster off.

The entertainment kept coming with Parker and Doolan serving up some good racing in heat 10. Shane however got to the front coming out of the opening bends and was not going to give it up.

Heat 11 was to provide a three way race for the front for almost the entire race. Although there was no passing it was not for lack of trying with Ksiezak all over the back of fast gating Oliver whilst at the same time having to be careful as Harrison was all over the back of him challenging for second place. In the end, they had to settle for their gating positions but it was certainly not for lack of trying.

There was perhaps a little controversy for the Tigers in heat 12. The referee somehow missed the blatant flyer from Kozza Smith, and it was blatant. Unusually it put Parker off his stride and some thought he may even have thought he saw a red light. However, there was no light, the referee let the very shabby start go and King's Lynn had a 5-1 although Shane certainly pointed out his opinion of the heat to referee Barbara Horley after it was complete.

Doolan won heat 13 from the gate but the racing in this one was for the minor placing's. Originally the home side were on a 5-1 but after a bit of cat and mouse in the early stages Robert passed Harrison to split the home pairing. Trent then took up the mantle and with a little help from some astute riding from Robert to unsettle Harrison, Trent was able to relegate Harrison to the back at the end of the third lap to ensure a share of the spoils.

The home side's 5-1 come in heat 14 though courtesy of Lambert and Oliver. There was surprise in the crowd when it was announced that Mitchell Davey would replace Anders Andersen as many seemed to expect Leverington to be brought in as a TS. However given that the meeting was already lost and that Trent is more than likely still feeling the effects of his crash in the Sheffield meeting, it is understandable that Glasgow chose not to go down that route. Hart did put in a good challenge on Oliver for most of the race until loosing control on the third lap but in the end the Stars had an easy win.

The entertainment was not over however, with Parker and Ksiezak facing Topinka and Doolan in heat 15. Doolan trapped but Shane was quickly all over him and looked to be reeling him in for his final lap pass when his bike packed up on the penultimate lap leaving Shane very frustrated to say the least. With Topinka having passed inside Robert on the third bend of the opening lap it meant the Stars finished the meeting with another 5-1, the final score line of 61-32 not really reflecting the part the Tigers had played in the meeting.

The home fans were quite clear that unlike many teams Glasgow had gone and given it a go and that it was very much appreciated by them.

In addition to the normal sources, many thanks to Stephen for his input in helping write this report.

 

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Glasgow Tigers speedway - posted on glasgow speedway dot com, an unofficial glasgow tigers speedway website.