Tigers Scare Islanders
(Posted 29/07/08)

A determined showing from the Tigers on the Island certainly won them a lot of admiration from the home fans but unfortunately no points despite giving the Islanders quite a scare.

It did not start well for the Tigers however when Lee Dicken and Magnus Karlsson were easily beaten by the Islanders pairing of Bunyan and Holder from the gate in the opening heat with the Tigers guest in particular well off the pace.

It was a Glasgow rider who was to win by a country mile in heat 2 however with Josh Grajczonek winning by an equally impressive margin. This race was not without competition however, albeit for third place, with Mitchell Davey and the hone side's Richard Sweetman doing battle at the back in a close race for the single point. Sweetman had the advantage of making the better gate and despite Mitchell's close attentions, the home rider came out on top.

Trent Leverington posted early warning of his ability round the Island circuit winning heat 3 comfortably from the gate. Again the only real action was at the back with Robert Ksiezak holding off Glen Phillips late challenge relatively easily.

After Josh's performance in heat 2, it was perhaps a surprise that Glasgow conceded a 5-1 in heat 4, again it was from the gate and Anders Andersen, on his first visit to the track, was struggling a bit at the back. It was followed by another 'from the tapes' heat with Phillips winning heat 5 but the points being shared thanks to the Tigers filling in the minor placings.

The first actual pass of the night came in heat 6 but it was to the Tigers detriment. Bunyan had gated behind the Glasgow pairing but was able to pass round outside on the third bend to slot into second place behind his team mate Holder and they went on to record a rather easy 5-1. To add to Tigers problems Mitchell Davey came off on the second bend on lap three, a bend which had caused a few riders problems earlier in the meeting.

At this stage there was very little indication of any real challenge from the visitors and the home fans seemed to sense another comfortable home victory was on the cards. However the mood was about to change with an inspired piece of riding from Glasgow's captain in heat 7.

Tigers elected to put Leverington out in the black and white helmet for double points and when he and partner Robert Ksiezak gated ahead of the home pairing it looked as if they could fully capitalise on the move. Stojanowski was not for giving up and tracked Robert Ksiezak all the way, before passing round the outside of him on the back straight of the final lap.

The result however seemed to spur the Tigers on and Lee Dicken shot from the gate in heat 8. He was pursued by Holder but looked in no real danger from him. However, Holder himself lost control at the end of the third lap and ended up hitting the deck. Josh Grajczonek in third took full advantage and came through to claim second place and the Tigers comeback was very much on.

Josh came out again in heat 9, replacing Mitchell Davey, but it was an uneventful shared heat from the gate, Tigers filling the minor placings behind fastest gater Paul Fry.

The initial running of heat 10 saw Trent once again make the gate with Bunyan in second and Robert in third. Trent quickly opened up a comfortable lead and looked odds on to win. However coming down the back straight of the second lap, James Holder at the back ran into the back of Robert Ksiezak, the Glasgow rider hitting the deck quite hard. Holder was excluded from the re-run which Robert took part in but looked to be suffering the after effects of the fall. To add insult to injury, Jason Bunyan won the re run from the gate and what could have been a heat advantage to the Tigers ended up a shared heat.

Tigers gated on a 5-1 in heat 11 courtesy of Dicken and Karlsson but Stojanowski managed to get by Karlsson at the start of the second lap although he had no answer to Lee. The heat advantage it gave the Tigers brought them back to within a point of the home side and the home side fans were getting very nervous.

As a result of heat 10's incident, Robert was unable to take his place in heat 12 and was replaced by the busy Josh Grajczonek for the first of what was to be three races in a row. Heat 12 was the most uneventful of them however, Islanders getting a heat advantage from the gate.

Heat 13 was perhaps to provide the pivotal moment of the meeting. Josh came in to replace Anders and shot from the gate. He rode a superb race holding off the Islanders pairing of Stojanowski and Bunyan well and just when it looked as if he would secure the heat win, an error on the final bend saw him drift off line and both Islanders took full advantage driving underneath him. All three riders gave it their all in the run to the line but it was not to be for Josh as the referee correctly called it a 5-1 for the home side albeit by the narrowest of margins.

In contrast the remaining two heats of the meeting were to be a bit of an anti-climax, once again being won from the gate. Lee and Josh filled the minor placings behind Paul Fry to share the spoils in heat 14 before the Islanders Bunyan and Stojanowski finished with a heat advantage over Leverington and Dicken who were 2nd and 4th respectively.

In the end, the score flattered the Islanders and the Tigers made a lot of friends for their efforts. Josh's name was the one on the lips of most of the home fans as they were impressed with the Aussie youngster but superb performances from Trent and Lee were also acknowledged.

 

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