Tigers Back to Winning Ways
(Posted 24/08/08)

What many had expected to be a close encounter turned out to be a bit of a one sided affair at Ashfield this afternoon but Glasgow, buoyed by the long awaited return of Shane Parker, went about the task professionally as they comfortably beat Stoke with both Shane and skipper Trent Leverington recording maximums in the process.

The track looked in good condition as the meeting got underway with Robert Ksiezak claiming first blood from the gate. Ryan Fisher guesting for Stoke was second with Lee Dicken pressing him in the early stages but unable to make any impression.

With Buzz Burrows off 15m after breaking the tapes in the first attempt to run heat 2, it was a level gate from the three riders at tapes with Klaus Jakobsen getting the better of Mitchell Davey coming out of bend 2. Josh locked up slightly on bend two and was very fortunate to remain on his bike when an out of control Burrows shot across at speed and clipped his rear wheel. The proper action was up front however with Mitchell and Klaus having a good close battle for the opening lap and a half before Mitchell made a sweet pass inside Jakobsen on the back straight and pulled clear to go on and win the race comfortably.

Shane's eagerly awaited comeback to racing at Ashfield came in heat 3 and he did not disappoint, winning the race by some distance from the gate. In a battle at the back for third place, Anders came past Ben Barker on the outside in the opening bends. Barker pulled level going into the fourth bend and the two rode virtually side by side until Barker got the better of Anders on the second bend of lap two, Anders being unable to come back from that meaning the heat was shared.

Andrew Moore may well have gated in heat 4 but Trent Leverington was quickly round the outside of him on bend two and went on to win what was a pretty uneventful heat. Josh also challenged Moore in the early stages but went too wide on the fourth bend, lost momentum and was never able to recover.

It was another easy win from the gate for Shane Parker in heat 5, the action again being with partner Anders Andersen in a battle at the back for third place. Anders had been stuck at the back but was all over Krister Jacobsen. It looked as if all was lost when he went too wide at the end of the third lap but he made up ground and coming out of the final bend of the race Anders found drive round the outside. In the race to the line, Anders looked as if he was going to make it when Jacobsen just found that little something extra and beat him to the line by the smallest of margins.

Ksiezak and Dicken won from the gate in heat 6, Lee making sure he came out of bend 2 in second after a hard opening bend with Andrew Moore. Buzz Burrows at the back again appeared to be having some difficulty with the track, especially on the third and fourth bends.

With Stoke now 10 points down they elected to bring Ben Barker out in the black and white helmet colour as a TR even though he had not looked particularly comfortable in his opening ride. Trent and Mitchell made the gate, Trent quickly pulling clear whilst Mitchell worked very hard to hold off Barker. At the end of the opening Barker pulled up right to Mitchell's back wheel after he went too wide and appeared to loose ground but Mitchell held firm. At the end of the second lap he kept it tight to the inside, once again thwarting Barker's efforts. Barker was undoubtedly quicker and finally managed to pass round the outside coming out of bend two lap three. Mitchell had done his job well however and Trent was so far clear there was no way he was going to be caught.

The Glasgow pairing of Dicken and Grajczonek recorded an easy 5-1 in heat 8 over Jakobsen and Jacobsen, the only moment of doubt being at the end of the race when Josh reared badly coming up to the line but somehow managed to bring the bike back down and stay on to finish. It was a heart stopping moment for the Glasgow fans and judging by his face when he came back to the pits to Josh himself!

Heat 9 was from the gate, Shane Parker once again winning in style. Burrows in third once again lost control on the apex of the third and fourth bends of the opening lap, baulking Anders Andersen who sensibly shut off a little to avoid him. The heat from there on in was well spread.

Jesper Kristiansen may well have outgated Robert Ksiezak in heat 10 but Robert swept round the outside into the lead coming out of bend 2, going on to win a shared heat easily.

Fisher Leverington and Davey contested tight opening bends in heat 11, Trent once more coming out on top. Fisher passed inside MItchell Davey into second place and gave chase, coming close on a few occasions especially on the final bend when he looked to have the edge on the faster outside line but Trent held on to claim the win.

Yet another Shane Parker win from the gate followed in heat 12 as Shane showed why he has been missed so much. Burrows did a bucking bronco routine at the start and did well to stay on. After chasing hard he caught up with a clearly not fully fit Josh Grajczonek on lap three but the Glasgow youngster worked hard to block his attempts to get through.

It looked as if the crowd were finally going to be treated to a good close race in heat 13 with Ksiezak Leverington and Fisher all in close contention going down the back straight. Unfortunately from a racing point of view Fisher inexplicably tried a very rash move coming out of bend three, basically going for a gap between the Glasgow pairing that was not there, having to shut off and ending up pirouetting and coming off in rather theatrical fashion. In fairness, he did get back on his feet and continued to trail round at the back whilst Robert and Trent recorded an easy 5-1. No doubt annoyed at himself and aware of the crowd reaction, Fisher took to gesticulating to the home straight crowd as he went by. It was however excellently dealt with by the referee who publicly thanked him after the race for waving to him during it - a far more effective way of dealing with it than the usual fine as could be seen from Fishers reaction as he went into the pits and full credit to the referee for doing so.

Stoke were to claim not only their only heat win of the afternoon but a 1-5 in heat 14. Klaus Jakobsen, who looks to be a very stylish prospect for the Potters, won by a country mile from the gate with Jesper Kristiansen dropping back to ensure the Tigers pairing never got near although in truth even Kristiansen was barely troubled after an opening lap challenge from Andersen and the only changes during the race were between the two Glasgow riders as they swapped positions a couple of times.

With Trent and Robert both showing great prowess from the gate all afternoon, Ben Barker initially tried to anticipate the gate in heat 15, the race correctly called back after his flier. The re run saw Trent hit the front and there was no way he was going to be caught as he powered to a full maximum. Partner Robert Ksiezak missed the gate but cut inside Ryan Fisher on the opening bends to claim third, Robert holding off Fishers late challenge to claim the point.

Overall it was a good day for the Tigers and no doubt a confidence boosting one but it has to be said Stoke were disappointing. Shane looks as if he has never been away but it is also clear that Josh, who gave it his all, is far from fit. You can only beat what is put in front of you however and the Tigers kept their concentration as they easily secured the points from this one.

 

 

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