Tigers Out of PT
(Posted 30/05/09)

It was a competitive meeting on a slightly dodgy track but the Tigers never really looked like getting the points they needed to qualify for the latter stages of the Premier Trophy.

The opening heat was a good race despite there being no passing. Fisher made an excellent gate for the home side and proceeded to cover ever line of the track for four laps to hold off the challenge of Shane Parker and claim the win.

Mitchell Davey had taken the rider replacement ride in heat 1 and had the advantage of knowing that the opening bends were riding tricky. When Stoddart made an error on them Mitchell was in the right place to nip through the inside into second place although Aaron Summers was already well clear. The track nearly caught Mitchell himself out however on the final lap causing him to lock up on bend two but he managed to hold on to second place.

Rajkowski flew from the tapes in heat 3, recording an easy victory but once again a home rider was caught out by the opening bends, Robin Tornqvist on his first visit to Armadale taking advantage to come through into second place. Robin then tried to emulate Fisher in the opening heat by covering every line of the track to hold off Tully's attempts to pass back through, something which obviously frustrated the Edinburgh rider. Coming into lap 4, Tully tried a rather reckless drive under Tornqvist. Robin had to shut off and did well to avoid a collision. Tully could not control his excessive speed and ended up colliding with the first bend fence, leaving Robin to claim the second place and Josh Grajczonek to come through and claim third.

The Monarchs pairing outgated Glasgow in heat 4 but McGowan reacted quickly, coming through between Wethers and Stoddart as they entered the back straight and Travis went on to record an easy win. ben Hopwood was caught out with the opening bends, falling but remounting.

Once again Rajkowski made an excellent gate in heat 5 but you just sensed he wasn't going to be able to hold Parker off. Shane shadowed him for a couple of laps before sweeping majestically round the outside of him on the second bend of lap 3 and going on to record a comfortable win.

Track conditions again played their part in heat 6 with Fisher being caught out on the second bend of lap two, Travis McGowan taking full advantage to slip through the inside into the lead, going on to win what was another shared heat.

Gamesmanship perhaps came into play in heat 7 but the referee was left with no choice but to exclude Josh Grajczonek. Josh had gated and was leading round the first lap with Tully chasing. On the final bend of the opening lap, Josh locked up and Tully headed on to the centre green. It seemed an over reaction from the Edinburgh rider who could easily have passed Josh on track - something that Stewart Dickson certainly seemed to agree with as he remonstrated with the referee. The referee could do nothing other than exclude Josh from the re run however as there was no doubt that his locking up had caused Tully to react the way he did. the re run saw Summers gate with Tornqvist in second place but Tully was able to sweep round the outside of Tornqvist lap 2 bend 2 to give the home side a 5-1.

Wethers won heat 8 from the gate with Grajczonek comfortably in second. All the action in this one was for the third place and again the track played its part. Mitchell Davey was the rider caught out on the opening bends, Stoddart going through into third place. Although Mitchell was all over the back of Stoddart for the remainder of the race and looked much quicker than the Edinburgh man with Stoddart slow in particular round the corners, Mitchell did not seem to have the confidence to pass and as a result the home side claimed another heat advantage.

With Glasgow now 10 points down, Stewart Dickson elected to bring Travis McGowan out on a TR in heat 9. Travis gated, Tully giving chase with Hopwood falling and remounting on the opening bends. Tully never gave up but did not realistically look as if he would catch McGowan and any challenge was brought to a premature end when the track once again played its part, Tully losing it on the opening bends of the final lap. The race was awarded.

The Edinburgh pairing gated in heat 10 but Josh and Robin were on their tail. Josh went round the outside of Robin and Matthew Wethers into second place at the end of the opening lap with Tobin just edging into third place. Wethers pressed however and claimed third spot back courtesy of an outside pass on lap 3 bend 4.

Shane Parker cut inside Ryan Fisher on the opening bends of heat 11 to slip into second place behind Aaron Summers. Shane gave chase reeling Summers in before passing down the outside of him on the final lap. Meantime Fisher had become victim to the track, coming off on the second bend on lap 2 with rider replacement and no 8 Adam McKinna deserving credit for quick reactions to miss him, almost coming to a stand still to do so. Fisher remounted and tried to catch McKinna but McKinna held for the point.

Heat 12 was an uneventful heat, won easily by the Edinburgh pairing from the gate.

After a tight opening couple of bends, Rajkowski came out of bend two ahead in heat 13 with McGowan just ahead of Parker and Fisher. At the end of the opening lap Fisher nipped passed Shane into third place and gave chase on McGowan but the Tigers guest held comfortably despite a bizarre unrealistic attempt by Fisher off the final bend that saw him end up in the safety fence on bend one after the chequered flag.

The tie was now beyond the Tigers. Heat 14 saw Rajkowski gate and win by a considerable margin over Mitchell Davey who was equally comfortable in second place.

Rajkowski's two wins in a row earned him a place in heat 15 alongside Aaron Summers to face Shane parker and Travis McGowan. once again it was gating that was to prove crucial, Rajkowski once again shooting from the gate. McGowan this time made him work hard, chasing him all the way and nearly catching him with a drive off the final bends but the Pole held on for the win.

With a somewhat makeshift side, Glasgow were not by any stretch of the imagination steamrollered by the Monarchs and they did play their part in what was a competitive meeting if somewhat affected by the track conditions.

McGowan was an excellent choice of guest and for his first time at Armadale Robin Tornqvist adapted well.

 

 

 

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