Ashfield Classic Ends in Controversy
(Posted 17/08/09)

Glasgow had a break from the norm this weekend with no Premier League action but the staging of the Ashfield Classic although sadly the discussions after the meeting were not about Classic racing but rather inept refereeing.

You never really know what to expect with Individual meetings as riders tend to be a little less daring or want to test out equipment but in fairness to those in attendance yesterday that did not appear to be the case.

There were a number of races decided out of the second bend but these were interspersed with some competitive heats.

In the opening heat Glasgow’s James Grieves and William Lawson had both signaled their intentions with electric gates although it was third placed James Wright who would later emerge as one of the favourites for the title.  Schlein rode side by side with Ricky Ashworth for the opening lap in heat 2 before pulling ahead.  Ashworth held 2nd until a very hard inside pass by Fisher on bend 2 lap 4 relegated him to third place.  A ragged start was allowed to go in heat 3, Shane Parker using the inside line on bend two to win the heat.

James Wright won heat 5 easily from the gate, Josh passing outside David Howe off bend 2 to hold second place for half a lap before Howe cut inside him on bend 4 and pulled clear.  James Grieves attempt to anticipate the start left him on the line in heat 6 as the other riders approached the opening bend.  He did get going and after tracking Rajkowski for a couple of laps a nice cutback inside on lap 3 bend 2 saw him claim third spot.  Parker easily won heat 7 from the gate with Ashworth doing similar in heat 8.  Coventry’s Ricky Wells claimed third spot after finding grip on the inside of the 4th bend and passing Aarnio.

Although there was no passing, there was a decent tussle between Wright and Parker in heat 9, James getting the better of Shane after cleverly forcing him wide on the opening bends.  Grieves was not so lucky when he was taken to the fence by Fisher in heat 10 as, unlike Wright, Fisher didn’t leave him room to race, Grieves had to shut off and was left trailing at the back.

The inside line on bend 4 came into play again in heat 11, Berwick’s Paul Clews using it to perfection to pass Coventry’s Filip Sitera for 2nd place but Ricky Ashworth was untouchable out front and looking like a real challenger for the title.  Heat 12 was from the gate before another impressive ride from James Wright saw him easily defeat Rory Schlein from the gate in heat 13.

Grieves won from the gate in heat 14 but unintentionally impeded Shane Parker off the final bend as Parker went past Ashworth, having been all over the back of him for all four laps.  Shane had to shut off and Ashworth made a sterling attempt on the inside to hit back on the run to the line.  A close call, the referee gave the decision in favour of Ashworth.  Sitera and Rajkowski provided the entertainment for 2nd spot in a close battle in heat 15, the Edinburgh man doing enough to hold Sitera off.
A poor start from Lawson in heat 16 was quickly corrected with an excellent pass from 3rd to 1st off bend 2, Lawson going on to win comfortably.  James Wright was once again a class above as he won heat 17 easily from the gate, Schlein doing the same in heat 18.

Sitera finally made a gate in heat 19 but was passed simultaneously by Wethers on the outside and Wells on the inside with the heat quickly becoming processional.

Fisher gated in the final heat but Shane quickly swept round the outside of him into a comfortable lead.  Unfortunately Clews attempt to use the grip on the inside of bend 4 to challenge William Lawson saw him pick up more grip than expected and he collected Lawson, the two sliding heavily into the fence..  Clews excluded, the re run was relatively mundane, Parker winning from Fisher with the only thing of note being a heart stopping moment when Lawson nearly lost control on lap 2 bend 2 and only just managed to avoid the fence and stay on.

The heat results meant Wright and Schlein qualified straight through to the final with Parker, Ashworth, Fisher and Lawson fighting it out in the semi for the last two spots.  When it came down to it however the semi was a bit of a damp squib, Fisher and Ashworth winning comfortably from the gate with both Glasgow riders completely missing it and appearing to get in each others road a couple of times on the opening lap to basically finish off any chance they had of making up the ground.

It had the potential to be an excellent final but unfortunately many were left feeling robbed at the outcome, none more so surely than James Wright.  He had trapped well and looked fast and stylish out front. On the second lap, Fisher shot wildly across the second bend, impeding Ashworth slightly but completely taking leader James Wright out.  Only Wrights excellent reactions and riding skill prevented what could have been a very nasty accident and the minor contact between Fisher and Wright was probably all that kept Fisher on his bike.  The referee allowed the race to carry on much to the disgust of the vocal majority of the crowd and the disbelief of the rider himself.  Final placings in the record books will show Fisher won the Classic from Ashworth and Schlein.

Bad or poor refereeing is the scourge of many sports.  We are all human and we all make mistakes but sometimes you find yourself questioning if a referee was actually watching the same thing as everyone else or if he had joined in the ‘swally’ inadvertently advertised over the PA system thanks to radio interference from the pub next door prior to the running of the Final.

It is sad though that an individual event to commemorate the man who introduced speedway to Ashfield all those years ago ended with such bitterness.

 

 

 

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