Close Meeting Goes Glasgow's Way
(Posted 30/03/08)

The weather may have been changeable in the morning and deposited a bit of rain on the track but come 4pm the rain had gone and there was an afternoons entertaining speedway at Ashfield.

The track looked well before the meeting but it was quickly evident that there was a problem with a bump on the third bend. Some excellent remedial work by the track staff after heat 4 soon sorted that out though.

Ross Brady was making his 2008 home debut and started well with an electric gate in the opening heat - closely followed by Nermark. Shane Parker was relegated to the back when Smith passed inside him coming out of the second bend but quickly hit back returning the compliment on the third. At the same time, Nermark managed to squeeze through inside Brady who hit the third bend bump, something that can't have helped his shoulder. Shane took over the chase for Nermark on the third lap but the Comet was already well ahead. Brady was tiring at this stage and Smith was able to take advantage at the end of the third lap to pass inside Ross for third.

Grajczonek and Dicken easily outgated the competition in heat 2 and quickly opened up a good lead. However the third bend bump was to play its part, Josh having problems with it every lap. On the first he was so far ahead he was able to recover and retain position. Second time round however Haines was able to take advantage and come through into second. The third lap saw Branney take advantage slipping through into third and although Josh hit back passing outside Branney on the second bend of the final lap, he was once again thrown by the bump and Branney claimed third place.

Heat three provided good entertainment value and a remarkable piece of riding from Mitchell Davey in the initial running. Stonehewer gated and was followed by Leverington. Mitchell Davey and Charles Wright were locked in battle for third with Wright just getting the better of the Glasgow man at the end of the opening lap. Unfortunately Wright slid off on the opening bend of lap two, leaving Mitchell very little room to avoid him. Mitchell managed to squeeze round the outside of him, rode up the kickboards, onto the mesh fence, through an advertising banner before coming back down onto track. It was remarkable that he managed to do it and stay on his bike (see still photos here, click images to enlarge). The re-run was much less dramatic, Stonehewer missing a well spread out heat from the gate.

Lee Dicken and Robert Ksiezak were surprisingly outgated in heat 4 but Lee muscled his way into second place behind Nieminen on the opening bends. the heat developed into two separate races, Lee giving chase to Nieminen but unable to trouble him after the second lap whilst Robert was doing battle with Branney at the back. Robert claimed third spot with an inside pass on Branney at the end of the opening lap after Branney found the third bend bump.

The remedial work carried out at this stage made sure that there were no further problems with that area.

Once again it was the Workington pairing who gated in heat 5, Trent getting through inside Smith into second place coming out of bend 2. Although Smith challenged for the opening lap, the heat was soon well spread out, so much so that Smith in third was able to lock up quite badly at the start of the final lap and still retain third place.

A very tight opening bend saw Kauko Nieminen slide off in heat 6, the referee correctly calling it as first bend bunching and inviting all four riders back. Nieminen was more brutal - but fair - in his first bend in the re-run, cutting across Parker and hitting the front, going on to win the heat. At the rear, Ross Brady did well to hold off the attentions of young Joe Haines for the entire four laps for a well fought for third place.

Tigers finally got their first heat advantage in heat 7 with what must have been one of the most unexpected race results of the afternoon. Stonehewer gated but Josh was completely unphased by his reputation, found grip round the outside of the opening bends and came out of bend two ahead of the former Grand Prix rider. Josh then rode a flawless race holding off any challenge Stonehewer was able to make before actually pulling a bit clear of him on the final lap to take the flag. Robert Ksiezak's third place, despite a last gasp challenge from Wright, gave Glasgow the 4-2.

The Tigers resurgence continued in heat 8 with a determined ride from Ross Brady combined with some clever riding from Lee Dicken behind him earning Glasgow a 5-1 from the tapes.

After a ragged start, Nieminen hit the front in heat 9 followed by Trent but once again the racing was for the minor placings. Davey and Haines were having a good battle and Mitchell came very close to passing Haines at the end of the third lap but was thwarted. He dropped back slightly and it looked as if the chance had gone but Mitchell never gave up and with an excellent drive off the final bend he took third place on the line by the narrowest of margins.

Stonehewer won heat 10 from the gate although Shane Parker chased him all the way and came close on a few occasions. Surprisingly Stewart Dickson left Ross Brady in this one and despite Ross's best efforts he was unable to hold off Charles Wright who passed him towards the end of the opening lap. Ross never gave up trying to regain position but was obviously suffering with his collar bone.

A slightly strange refereeing decision in heat 11 saw the first running called back. Nermark was warned for moving but had missed the gate due to his shenanigans, Robert Ksiezak leading with Josh sweeping round the outside. The re-run gave Nermark another chance and he made no mistakes this time, winning a shared heat from the gate.

Heat 12 also saw a re-run, this time understandably. Leverington gated with Lee Dicken in second slightly ahead of Stonehewer. Lee took Stonehewer wide, perhaps a little too wide and the Comet was left with little option but to lay the bike down. As it happened on the first bend, the referee called all four back. Stonehewer however, rather bizarrely reacted by making gestures bordering on the obscene and was duly fined by the referee for his trouble. He came out and won the re-run from the gate but it didn't stop him continuing to act rather strangely in the pits after the race throwing things about and at one point throwing his race jacket to the floor.

A rather tame heat 13 was won from the gate by Nermark with Parker and Ksiezak slotting into second and third places ahead of a rather subdued looking Kauko Nieminen.

Lee Dicken was brought in to replace Mitchell Davey in heat 14 to partner Josh Grajczonek. Both Tigers gated and never looked back as they made their 5-1 look easy. It was obvious what it meant to both as they celebrated at the end of the race. Team mate Mitchell Davey jumped on the pit side fence to salute them as they came round only to discover that metal barrier type fencing is not as strong as he hoped! It was good to see such good team spirit in evidence though.

The heat 14 result meant that all Glasgow had to do to ensure victory was avoid a 1-5. Nermark and Stonehewer gated for the Comets but Parker quickly split them relegating Stonehewer to third. Trent followed suit a bend later, passing inside Stonehewer. Nermark out in front was untouchable, despite Shane trying everything he could muster and the heat was shared.

There were again a number of positives to take from the meeting and the over riding feeling from many of the crowd was that there had been a good afternoons entertainment. Once again Tigers pulled together as a team although Lee perhaps has to be singled out for another impressive home score. Josh continues to endear himself to the Tigers fans whilst Trent yet again provided solid back up. Robert still seems a little rusty but Shane is getting back to normal. Considering his recent injury, Ross rode well through the pain barrier and his heat 8 win was an important one. Mitchell is continuing to develop but understandably is finding it a bit tough in the main body of the team. His heat 3 avoiding manoevre and wall of death ride showed just how in control he is on the track.

Comets are a good side but somewhat top heavy. Glasgow tackled that well as despite only having 4 heat wins all afternoon they were deserved winners and they did so by packing in the minor placing's as much as possible and pulling out the results when needed and mostly when Workington's big three were not on track