Tigers Get Point at Brough
(Posted 14/04/09)

It was a case of oh so close for the Tigers last night as a spirited fight back took a very entertaining meeting to a last heat decider at Newcastle, Glasgow going down by 3 points and claiming one trophy point in doing so.

Locals were saying the track had been completely ripped up and re-laid since Newcastle's last meeting and Shane Parker certainly took full advantage of what looked a good surface in the opening heat, shooting from the tapes to win in style and once again just missing out on a track record by 0.1 seconds.

Heat 2 gave an indication of things to come, the final result being in doubt right until the last turn of the wheel. Branney had gated just ahead of Anders Andersen but a better line on the opening bends saw Anders edge just ahead. there was never much in it however and as they came to the chequered flag Anders held on by the slimmest of margins after a final bend blast by Branney. Mitchell Davey claimed third spot ahead of Wortmann to give the Tigers a heat advantage.

The home side gated in heat 3 but Josh Grajczonek immediately went for the dirt on the outside and found the drive to pass outside both riders on the back straight with an impressive move and went on to claim the win in what was a shared heat.

It was James Grieves who gated in heat 4 but King took advantage of the wide line this time to round him at the second attempt and into the lead. King pulled clear but Branney quickly caught up Grieves pressuring him hard from the start of the third lap. Just when it looked as if Grieves would hold, Branney found extra grip off the final bend and the two crossed the line together. It can't have been an easy call to make but the referee ruled in favour of Branney giving the home side a confidence boosting 5-1.

Andersen had been off the pace in heat 4 and it looked as if it was machinery problems so it was no surprise when Mitchell took the r/r again in heat 5. Mitchell gated in third place but Trent went round the outside of him towards the end of the opening lap. Mitchell tried to hit back but Trent held comfortably before putting some daylight between them. out front there was only ever one race winner as Parker had once again shot from the tapes and won in style.

Anders then came in for Mitchell in heat 6 and made the gate. Once again however the dirt coming off bend two allowed a rider through, this time Sneddon taking over the lead. Boxall then made an attempt to go round Anders also but the young Dane drifted wide to cut him off, James Grieves taking the opportunity to then slip through the inside line into third place behind his team mate.

Josh Grajczonek gated in heat 7 in what looked as if it was going to be a rare heat from the tapes after Josh built up a comfortable lead by the end of lap 2. Jason King had other ideas though and rode the wide line to gradually cut into Josh's lead before taking him by surprise with an outside swoop off the final bends to claim victory on the line.

Another nip and tuck battle followed in heat 8. Anders Andersen had gated level with Sneddon and the two of them fought a hard opening bend with Sneddon just coming out on top. At the rear Josh had outgated Branney but the latter was able to get round the outside of Josh at the end of the third lap and then gave chase on Anders, who had to work hard to hold off the challenge and hold on to second place.

Anders was back out in heat 9 and gated alongside James Grieves but a neat move by Trent Leverington saw him nip in between the two Tigers coming out of bend 2 and into the lead. Kenni Larsen was all over the back of Anders with Anders trying to cover every bit of the track to hold him off. Just when it looked as if he may be successful, Larsen found grip on the inside off the final bend and won the race to the line.

A rare heat with no passing followed, Josh splitting the Newcastle pairing of Boxall and Sneddon but the heat advantage to the home side meant Tigers were 10 points down for the first time in the meeting and unsurprisingly elected to bring Shane out on a TR in heat 11.

The initial running of the heat saw a very nasty looking accident. Wortmann and Parker had gated side by side and King went for the outside line to try and come round the outside. He misjudged it however and clipped the fence, flipping himself over the safety fence with the bike itself heading across the other three riders, Davey unable to avoid it coming down heavily. Thankfully all riders were able to walk back to the pits although Davey withdrew with a hand injury.

Quick and clever thinking by the Glasgow management saw Adam McKinna take Mitchell's place in the re-run - had they not done so, Glasgow would have had to ride one race with only one rider as Andersen had already had 5 outings.

The re-run itself saw Wortmann gate but he was quickly passed by Parker whose race win was never in any danger.

Leverington won from the gate in heat 12, surprisingly followed home by Peter Juul who had looked to be struggling in his previous outings. Branney claimed third place with a last lap pass on Andersen.

The strong heat 13 pairing for the Tigers is already reaping dividends this season and did so again with Parker and Grieves team riding almost from the gate to hold off a persistent Boxall.

Heat 14 was going to be crucial and many of the home fans felt Newcastle made a mistake in not bringing in Branney for Wortmann, who was to finish at the rear. However Larsen had made an electric gate for the Diamonds and Anders and Josh were unable to make any lea way, having to settle for a share of the spoils.

After heat 13, there was a belief that the Parker-Grieves partnership could perhaps pull off the 5-1 needed to give Glasgow the win but it was not to be. Larsen made the gate and despite Shane trying everything he could to get past for the entire race, Larsen held to claim victory for the Tigers and deprive Shane of a paid maximum on the night.

A few last bend passes may have cost Tigers the win but it was a very entertaining meeting with all riders playing their part and an excellent advert for speedway .

 

 

 

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