Potters Claim Victory
(Posted 15/06/08)

After yet another poor start, Tigers managed to keep things close at Stoke last night in what was another entertaining meeting but yet again they came home pointless.

Perhaps things could have been a little different if referee Peter Clarke had not called it wrong in the opening heat, putting on the red lights for Buzz Burrows rolling at the start despite it being the Tigers pairing who had made the gate and were on a 5-1. Unfortunately in the re-run it was Karlsson who made the gate ahead of Topinka with Buzz Burrows coming out ahead of Lee Dicken in a very physical opening bend to claim third.

Jacobsen seemed to anticipate the tapes in the initial running of heat 2 but the referee let it go. The heat was not to last long however, Smith coming off on the third bend after he and Davey seemed to impede each other slightly. The race was stopped and Smith excluded from the re run.

As if to make amends, Mitchell made the gate in the re-run but Jacobsen had a slight coming together on the opening bend with Kristiansen which saw the latter end up on the deck. With most people expecting a first bend bunching decision, the home support were less than enamored when the referee excluded Kristiansen as the cause of the stoppage and ordered a re run with two riders only. The two man race was to be less than eventful after Davey unfortunately fluffed the gate and was well beaten.

It seemed as if controversy was set to show all the way through this meeting, Glasgow coming off very much the worst thanks to another strange decision in heat 3. Ben Barker made the gate with his partner Barrie Evans at the rear. However Barker locked up badly coming out of bend 2, baulking both Leverington and Andersen who had to shut off to avoid the Potter. Evans came through the inside and unbelievably the referee allowed the race to continue, leaving both Tigers riders rooted at the back.

All was calm however in heat 4, Moore winning from the gate with Ksiezak in second place although Smith at the rear did seem to have some problems with the fourth bend on the opening lap.

Topinka and Dicken gated in heat 5 but Barker found enough grip on the 3rd and 4th bends to pass Dicken although Topinka held him at bay. Barrie Evans then pressed Dicken for the remainder of the race but Lee did well to thwart his attempts and hold him off to give Tigers a heat advantage.

Robert Ksiezak gated in heat 6 but both Stoke riders passed him on the backstraight in a pincer movement. Still showing the determination he has found of late, Robert never gave up and tried hard to find a way through, finally managing to power past Burrows on the back straight of the final lap for a hard fought for second place.

Once more the referee annoyed the traveling support by calling back a heat for an unsatisfactory start in heat 7 with the Tigers pairing on a 5-1 although this time it looked justified. The re-run saw Trent hit the front but Moore was all over the back of him, finally managing to find a way through at the start of the third lap. Anders had gated ahead of Jacobsen and the two had a tough battle at the rear, Kristiansen getting the better of his countryman in the end to claim third spot.

Guest Kozza Smith looked very impressive as he won heat 8 from the gate. The main action in this heat was at the rear between Burrows and Dicken for third place. Although Lee had the advantage in the early stages, Burrows managed to muscle by him towards the end of the second lap and Lee was unable to get back.

Things looked to be improving for Tigers as Ksiezak and Davey gated in heat 9 but Ben Barker, very much in good form for the home side, swept round the outside of both of them on the opening lap, going on to win. Davey was only able to hold Burrows of for a short while longer before being relegated to the back.

Buzz Burrows earned himself an exclusion in heat 10, coming off after a tight opening bend. The rerun looked good for Tigers with Leverington and Andersen both outgating sole Potter Karlsson, helped by Andersen taking Karlsson very wide on the opening bends. At the start of the second lap however Karlsson got his revenge on the young Dane, passing outside him but Trent went on to win.

Glasgow elected to bring Tomas Topinka out as a TR in heat 11. Topinka gated and had a great race with Moore who was challenging him all the way. However he held on to secure 6 points for the Tigers although unfortunately partner Lee Dicken was rooted at the rear.

Ben Barker won heat 12 from the gate for the home side. In the early stages all the action was for second place, Andersen coming out on top of that battle by the start of the third lap. Kozza Smith at the rear then started to make up ground on Kristiansen and made a brave last gasp attempt to pass him on the final bend but came off in the attempt.

Stoke fans started to worry after heat 13 when Topinka and Ksiezak gated and destroyed the opposition as they recorded a 1-5 from the gate. Their panic was short lived however as Jacobsen made an electric gate and won the heat easily to ensure a win for the home side. Smith was comfortably in second place for the Tigers but the action in the heat was all for third. Leverington and Evans had gated side by side, Trent got the better of an extremely hard opening bends then thwarted all Evans attempts to get by to secure the point.

Although the meeting may have been decided, the entertainment wasn't over as heat 15 again produced 4 great laps of speedway, much of it down to a superb ride from the home side's Ben Barker. Ksiezak and Topinka gated but Barker worked his way from the back to the front over the four laps to claim the victory.

Overall it was an entertaining meeting but Tigers slow start and poor gating once again left them a mountain to climb.

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