Tigers Suffer Away Defeat
(Posted 24/04/09)

Glasgow's chances of qualification to the Premier Trophy semi finals suffered a major blow last night as they went down by 13 points at Redcar.

The track was, surprisingly for Redcar, very much one line and gating was important. Havelock and Kessler showed just how important in the opening heat, making the gate ahead of Parker and Tigers no 8 McKinna. Shane was all over the back of Kessler for the entire race and looked quicker but was unable to find a way through.

Our reserve pairing continued their recent form with a win in heat 2, a heat that went all the way to the line. Mitchell had gated but Bugeja split the Glasgow pair. Anders was all over Bugeja and managed to find some grip at the end of the second lap which saw him come through into second place and bring the scores back level.

Wilson and Stonehewer have been a formidable pairing for the Bears so far this season and it was to prove so again as their fast gating and clever team riding secured another 5-1 for the home side despite Grajczonek trying every move possible to find a way through.

A level gate in heat 4 between Grieves and Proctor saw the home man just edge it coming out of the opening bend and with Mitchell gating in third place the heat was shared.

Once again the Stonehewer-Wilson combination hit the Tigers hard in heat 5, outgating the Tigers pairing of Parker and Andersen and rarely being troubled. Shane appeared to have bike problems and retired on lap 3.

The engine gremlins looked as if they were affecting James Grieves in heat 6, James surprisingly finishing at the rear with Kessler winning from the gate. The home side had gated on a 5-1 but Mitchell Davey found grip down the back straight of the opening lap to pass Havelock and then merely stayed on the line to keep the ex-World Champion behind him for the remainder of the race.

Suddenly the Tigers found themselves 10 points down and with Josh Grajczonek out in heat 7 it was no surprise that Stewart elected to send him out in the black and white helmet. All it did, however was minimise the damage as Proctor was quickest out of the gate, Josh finishing in second place with Davey stuck behind a quicker gating Compton.

Josh was back out again in heat 8 but after missing the gate had to work hard to get the better of Bugeja on lap 2. His partner, Anders Andersen, had gated in second and so the heat was shared.

Finally a Tiger managed to get the better of Wilson and Stonehewer in heat 9 when James Grieves made an excellent gate to win another shared heat from the gate.

A very tough opening bend in heat 10 saw Havelock and Kessler muscle their way into the first two placing's coming out of the opening bend ahead of Josh Grajczonek. Josh never gave up and was all over the rear of Kessler, getting the better of him in a dramatic dash to the line.

The heat advantage to the home side meant however that the Tigers now found themselves 12 points down so Shane Parker came out as a TR in heat 11. Shane made the gate, leading comfortably from start to finish although Davey was rooted at the rear.

Any hopes that this would spur on another late recovery from the Tigers were quickly dashed in heat 12 however when the Bears surprisingly claimed another 5-1 from the gate with reserve Arlo Bugeja taking the disappointingly easy win from Carl Stonehewer in second place.

With the respective teams line ups, heat 13 always promised to be the best race of the night and that was how it turned out. It was James Grieves and Ty Proctor who provided the entertainment, riding almost shoulder to shoulder in the early stages with James just edging ahead and holding on for the victory although Proctor never gave up trying and was always a danger.

Bears gated in heat 14 and Josh Grajczonek was surprisingly trapped at the rear. Although Ben Wilson put a little daylight in between himself and the other three, there was a good battle for second place, a battle that Anders Andersen won with a drive off the final bend giving him the speed to take second place on the line from Benji Compton.

With James Grieves having come onto a better meeting as the night went on and Josh Grajczonek being the pick of the Tigers riders on the night, they were the pairing chosen to face Ben Wilson and Carl Stonehewer in heat 15.

After a relatively level gate the riders settled out with Wilson ahead of the Glasgow pair and Stonehewer bringing up the rear. Grieves tailed Wilson for two laps before swooping round the third and fourth bends to pass him and go on to take the race win.

It was a strange night for the Tigers. James was very slow early on then came on to a decent meeting whilst Mitchell Davey started like a steam train but tired towards the end. Shane had a night to forget, other than the TR ride which he won when it mattered. Anders rode well enough and Josh was again the Tigers star man but somehow they were still well beaten by Redcar who thoroughly deserved their win.

Given that Redcar's track always tended to provide some good racing it was disappointing to see it so slick with virtually no opportunity to pass and the Tigers slower gating definitely played a part in their downfall.

 

 

 

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