Reading Get Revenge at Smallmead
(Posted 28/07/08)

On a hot and clammy evening at Smallmead, Glasgow went down to the home side by 51-43 but did not give up without a fight and could also feel they were on the receiving end of one or two slightly dubious refereeing calls.

The opening heat was shared from the tapes with Tom P Madsen winning thanks to an excellent gate.

Josh and Mitchell were competing on the circuit for the first time but certainly hit the ground running in their first outing in heat 2. They hit the front with Reading's Nicki Glanz not far behind. At the end of the opening lap, Glanz tried an ambitious overtaking maneouvre and hit the deck, causing the race to be stopped. The re-run saw the young Australians repeat their quick start and they went on to record a pretty comfortable 5-1 to give Glasgow the lead.

Glasgow were quickly brought back down to earth however with Ostergaard and Suchanek getting a 5-1 from the gate in heat 3 to level the scores with only a brief challenge from Ksiezak in the early stages.

Already the track was looking a little rough but it did not prevent Grajczonek from making the gate in heat 4. He was unable to hold off Mills in a tough opening bend however and although Josh never gave up the chase there was to be no way back through. Anders, also riding the track for the first time, struggled at the back.

Track grading at this point seemed to sort the circuit out and it was the home riders who took full advantage to record another 5-1 from the gate although Suchanek did look out of control at times and was lucky not to come off. the Tigers pairing were, it has to be said, well off the pace again however.

Glasgow definitely took a gamble in bringing Robert Ksiezak out in the black and white helmet in heat 7, given that both he and partner Trent Leverington had struggled badly in their opening ride. It was a move that should have paid of but for some bad luck. Ksiezak and Leverington gated in the first running and right from the off were looking very comfortable for an 8-1. However on the second lap, with the Tigers pair well clear, Jamie Smith came off on his own, resulting in the race being stopped. Smith injured his shoulder in the fall and we wish him well for a speedy recovery.

It meant that the Tigers had it all to do again however and when the tapes went up they did exactly that. Mills was however a bit closer this time and moved in on Trent at the start of the second lap. What happened then depends on what viewpoint you saw the incident from. Trent was ahead, in second place, and Mills came off. The referee elected to exclude Trent, presumably ruling that he had interfered with the rider coming up behind him. Many felt this was a poor decision, others felt that there had been contact and Trent had swung his rear wheel out. There is a photo of the incident on the Reading website here but it too can be interpreted either way.

The end result was however that the 8-1 the Tigers had twice been on was now no longer a possibility and to add insult to injury, Mills outgated Robert in the third running.

Lee Dicken and Josh Grajczonek outgated the opposition from the gate in heat 8 but an in form Tom P Madsen put plenty of pressure on Josh, passing him with a fine drive down the outside of the backstraight on lap 2. By this time however, Lee was well clear and claimed the victory.

Josh was back out again in heat 9 alongside Mitchell and once again the two youngsters gated well and hit the front against the impressive pairing of Ostergaard and Suchanek. Ostergaard was quickly passed Mitchell and put considerable pressure on Josh who to his credit held him off for two laps before succumbing. Unfortunately Mitchell slid off on the third lap and although he remounted he had to settle for last place.

Robert Ksiezak's bike problems once more came to a head and he had to come out on Anders bike in heat 10. Although he made a decent gate on it he was quickly relegated to the back. Trent held second place for the opening lap but Lemon easily swept round the outside of him on the final bend of the opening lap going on to record another relatively easy 5-1 for the home side with his partner Madsen.

Glasgow were not prepared to lie down however and Magnus Karlsson came out of a tight opening bend ahead and went on to win. Lee Dicken was at the back but spent the entire race pressing and trying every line imaginable to try and find a way past Nicki Glanz. His final attempt off the last bend saw him come off trying but it was an excellent effort that perhaps deserved more reward.

Bike problems were still a major issue for Robert and he missed the two minutes for heat 12 and was replaced by Grajczonek. Ostergaard comfortably won the heat from the gate with Josh and Mitchell filling the minor placings.

Magnus Karlsson won heat 13 from the gate and the Tigers were able to take full advantage of Mills sliding off on the opening bends with Anders claiming third place and the point which meant it was still technically possible for the Tigers to get a draw.

To do so, they had to bring Magnus Karlsson out as a TS in heat 14, Trent Leverington being the rider to make way for him. Unfortunately the nights exertions seemed to take their toll on Josh as he missed his only gate of the night. Full credit to both Glasgow riders for not giving up however and Magnus went through the field finally passing Suchanek on the run to the line off the final bend.

Heat 15 was now a formality and was won by the impressive Ulrich Ostergaard from the gate with Magnus Karlsson and Josh Grajczonek filling the minor places.

It was an excellent effort from the Tigers but with Trent and Anders struggling with the track and Robert having continued bike troubles it was just out of reach. They certainly did not disgrace themselves however and gave Reading a good run for their money.

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