Tigers Lose Out at Stoke
(Posted 05/09/09)

In what was really a must win meeting for the Tigers at Loomer Road, Glasgow just missed out on a point to effectively if not mathematically put an end to any Young Shield hopes this season.

Still Tigers suffered from more than their fair share of bad luck during the meeting but Stoke were deserving winners on the night with newly demoted to reserve Jesper Kristiansen being the outstanding rider on the night.

Still not 100% fit, Shane Parker gave the Tigers a good start in the opening heat despite missing the gate. He muscled by Madsen on the opening bends and shadowed Bunyan in his usual style before making the move at the end of lap 3 which saw him pass outside the Stoke number one. Points were shared with Josh suffering an engine failure in the first half of the race when already off the pace.

Kristiansen gave notice of his intentions in heat2, winning easily from the gate with Craig Branney comfortably in second and the Tigers pairing well beaten.

Jakobsen led Lawson in heat 3 but the action was for third place. Mitchell had gated ahead of Lee Complin but Complin was all over the back of him and finally made it pay when he went wide going into the final bend of lap three then switched line mid bend to cut inside and into third place.

There was a cruel blow for James Grieves as his bike packed up in heat 4 whilst comfortably leading after two laps. It left the way clear for Kristiansen and Ksiezak to record a comfortable 5-1 with Dicken firmly rooted at the rear.

Tigers were already 10 points down and took the first opportunity to use the TR, bringing Shane Parker out in the black and white helmet in heat 5. The crowd were treated to four laps of fantastic speedway as the faster gating Jakobsen led out of the gate with the quicker Parker constantly trying different lines to find a way through. On the slicker than normal track however Jakobsen was able to defend every passing attempt but it was excellent speedway from both riders.

An excellent gate from the Tigers in heat 6 gave brief hope but the attempted team riding between Grieves and Davey was a bit clumsy, something that Bunyan was able to take advantage of firstly passing round Grieves at the end of lap two before getting the better of Mitchell shortly afterwards for a share of the spoils.

A terrible gate from lawson in heat 7 left him battling against the odds although Mitchell Davey had shot out of the trap and never looked in any danger of getting caught. Lawson easily passed Ksiezak on the opening bends and was quickly on Branney's back wheel. Again although he looked considerably quicker, Lawson was unable to find a passing line and Branney was able to hold on for second place.

Glasgow were brought down to earth with a bump with Stoke getting another 5-1 in heat 8 thanks to a good gate from Madsen and a swoop round the outside of an uncomfortable looking Grajczonek on the opening lap.

Grieves and Davey were again first out of the gate in heat 9 but this time rode their own races. Lee Complin was buzzing all over the back of Mitchell for over a lap before passing him on the 2nd bend of lap 3.. James was by this time well clear however and Glasgow recorded a heat advantage.

William Lawson's wide sweep round the opening bends in lap 10 halted what had the potential to be a 5-1 for the home team as he relegated Tom P Madsen to third place but the heat was quickly spread with Bunyan well clear out front and Lee Dicken struggling at the rear.

Shane and Josh made an impressive gate in heat 11 but were soon under pressure from Jesper Kristiansen who had been brought in as a reserve replacement for Robert Ksiezak. Kristiansen cut inside Parker towards the end of the opening lap and a lap later repeated the move on Josh Grajczonek to lead the race. Craig Branney meantime was causing the Glasgow pairing problems. Shane attempted to protect Josh but Branney managed to find a gap inside Shane to move into third. It took a lap but Shane swept round the outside of Branney a lap later to reclaim his third spot and Tigers got a share of the spoils. It was followed by a mundane win from the gate in heat 12 by William Lawson with Mitchell Davey riding well to ensure third place ahead of Klaus Jakobsen.

The fears of yet another last three heat collapse reared their head briefly as Stoke gated on a 5-1 in heat 13 but this time the Tigers pairing were determined not to give up without a fight and were rewarded for their efforts. Grieves passed Ksiezak on the backstraight of the opening lap and hunted down Bunyan A perfectly timed outside drive at the end of the second lap took him passed the Stoke rider and James went on to win the race, Bunyan only able to challenge for a short time. Meanwhile, Shane was doing battle with Robert for the minor placing's, more or less toying with him until the end of lap 3 when he cut underneath him to claim third spot.

The nerves were clearly showing with a couple of false starts in heat 14 before the Tigers pairing of Grajczonek and Davey made the gate. Stoke's Complin was quickly passed Davey on the backstraight of the opening lap and gave chase to Josh with Mitchell now being put under pressure from Branney. At the start of the second lap Branney took a tight inside line to come out of bend two in third place and Mitchell was unable to hit back. Meantime Complin was continuing to press Grajczonek and at the end of the third lap swept round the outside into the lead and went on to win the heat.

It meant that Tigers could now at the very best only go for a single point and they needed at least a 2-4 to get it. When the tapes went up, Tigers were in exactly that position with Grieves making the gate and Shane in third place. It was short lived however as Bunyan got by Shane at the end of the opening lap and the Stoke pairing then settled in to team ride to ensure that they got the shared heat they needed to ensure all three points would be staying at Loomer Road.

 

 

 

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