Victory Against Berwick
(Posted 14/09/08)

The Tigers got back to winning ways this afternoon against a makeshift Berwick side at Ashfield this afternoon for whom guest Tomasz Piszcz was outstanding.

The Tigers pairing of Robert Ksiezak and Lee Dicken came out of the second bend ahead in the opening heat and if all the recent comments on forums about Ashfield being a gaters paradise are true we should have been set for an opening 5-1. Tomasz Piszcz however had other ideas. Taking a wide line towards the end of the opening lap he swept round the outside of Lee Dicken on bend four, cutting then to the inside line. On the third bend of the second lap he came inside Robert Ksiezak, moving him wide and coming through into the lead. Lee Dicken followed him through and gave chase but Piszcz was not going to be caught and the Tigers had to settle for a share of the spoils.

For the third home meeting in a row, Mitchell Davey made heat 2 his own, blasting from the gate and winning comfortably. Anders Andersen and Scott Smith had gated level behind Mitchell and there was no separating them until the third bend when Smith took advantage of an inside line to get ahead then pull clear for second. Bandits Franchetti was never far off Anders for the duration of the race but never really looked like threatening the Glasgow youngster either.

Shane Parker made the gate in heat 3 and won by a considerable distance with Michal Makovsky following him home. At the rear, Paul Clews got the better of rider replacement Adam McKinna on the third bend of lap 2and was able to hold McKinna off for the remainder of the race although McKinna never gave up.

Heat 4 saw Glasgow record their first 5-1 of the afternoon courtesy of Trent Leverington and Anders Andersen after Warwick had reared badly on the start line. The Glasgow pairing were never troubled and Warwick's race went from bad to worse when he fell and remounted at the start of the second lap.

Piszcz gated slightly ahead of Shane Parker in heat 5 and the two were side by side until bend 3 when Piszcz took advantage of the outside line to pull ahead of Parker. The entertaining Pole rode a flawless race to claim the win with Parker shadowing him for 3 laps looking for a chance but to no avail.

Once again Warwick reared badly at the start of heat 6, a heat that was well spread and saw Ksiezak and Dicken record a 5-1 from the gate. The only action in the heat was between the two Berwick riders, Warwick nearly wiping out team mate Franchetti on the second bend cutting across him in his eagerness to make up for his bad start and then Franchetti repeating the move on Warwick one lap later.

A good hard opening bend from Makovsky in heat 7 saw him move Trent Leverington wide, Makovsky going on to win the race quite comfortably with Mitchell Davey slotting in to third for a share of the spoils.

Heat 8 was an excellent one for Anders Andersen riding his first meeting in one of the reserve berths. He gated well and came out on top of a hard opening bend which unfortunately saw his partner Lee Dicken relegated to the rear following an inside pass by Makovsky. Anders however rode a good line for the remainder of the race and did well to hold off the challenges of Smith and Makovsky to claim an impressive heat victory.

Shane Parker once again won heat 9 from the tapes but the action was all for the minor placing's. Adam McKinna came out of bend 2 ahead of Franchetti for third and was not far off second place Danny Warwick. Although the placing's were not to change, McKinna rode a good race to thwart any attempt by Franchetti to regain third place whilst also pressuring Danny Warwick.

The Glasgow pairing of Dicken and Ksiezak both made good gates in heat 10, coming out of bend 2 ahead of their Berwick counterparts. The entertaining Makovsky did very well to stay on the bike after going a shade too wide on the third bend lap 2 but it seemed to spur him on and he executed a sweet - although perhaps a little cheap - inside pass on Robert Ksiezak lap three bend two. Lee Dicken was on the ball however and held on to secure the win.

Many had expected Berwick to bring Makovsky out as a TR in heat 10 but when that didn't happen it was inevitable that the impressive Piszcz would don the black and white helmet in heat 11. He made the gate and was never really troubled. Trent Leverington gave chase although he was hampered by Scott Smith nearly taking his wheel coming out of a hard bend 2, Trent letting the Berwick rider know of his displeasure after the race was over. Smith himself claimed third spot ahead of Davey who was unable to find a way through.

Anders Andersen completely missed the gate in heat 12 and although he never gave up he was unable to make up any ground. Shane Parker again shot from the tapes and won the heat comfortably.

Ksiezak and Leverington were shown a clean pair of heels out of the gate in heat 13 by Piszcz and Warwick but Robert quickly hit back passing inside Warwick coming out of bend two. Trent chased Warwick hard, passing on the inside coming of the opening bend of lap two, Warwick going far too wide and again coming off and remounting. Once again Piszcz won the heat comfortably.

Trent Leverington took the rider replacement ride in heat 14 and he and Mitchell Davey looked good out of the gate. Paul Clews however cut up the inside of bend two and passed both to take the lead. Immediately, Trent hit back passing inside Clews as they went into the third bend, pulling clear and going on to win. At the back, Scott Smith was very hard on Mitchell Davey taking him very wide on the third bend of the opening lap, something Mitchell was unable to recover from and he finished well off the pace at the back. The heat win from trent was enough to ensure the meeting was won however.

Bandits won the toss for heat 15 and perhaps a little surprisingly chose gates 2 and 4. Tomasz Piszcz made the gate and won in style to claim a thoroughly deserved maximum for the visitors. Trent passed inside Makovsky on the second bend to come through into second place but Shane Parker was left at the back. He pressurised Makovsky and it looked as if he was passing inside him at the end of the second lap when the Berwick riders engine blew anyhow, ensuring Shane claimed third spot.

In the end it was a comfortable win for the Tigers though it should perhaps have been by a little more. All riders played there part however against a Berwick side for whom Piszcz and Makovsky were excellent value and good entertainment.

 

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