In the first couple of races the track was very slick and took a little while to settle with no passing lines but once it did settle the reward was one of the more entertaining derby clashes of recent years.
The opening heat was very much from the gate with Wethers outgating a clearly quicker Joe Screen who just could not find that elusive passing line despite trying every line he could. It was the Tigers pairing who made the gate in heat two with Nick Morris hitting the front and looking comfortable from start to finish. Michal Rajkowski was in second but an error on the second bend of lap 2 saw him go too wide and allow Ashley Morris to nip through up the inside. The Raj never gave up trying but could not hit back.
Christian Henry and James Grieves had a little bit of a misunderstanding in heat 3, the former accidentally baulking the latter leaving them trailing behind Cook and Tully who comfortably recorded the first 5-1 of the evening.
By now however the track had settled, passing lines were starting to appear and the racing became very competitive.
Josh Grajczonek and Michal Rajkowski came out of the second bend in heat 4 leading the Edinburgh pairing but Kalle Katajisto was determined they would not have it all their own way. Whilst Josh pulled clear, Michal was left to fend off the young Fin who spent all four laps testing him inside and out. Some good defensive riding from Michal - in particular on the final lap when Katajisto came close to coming through on the inside of bend two and then pushed all the way to the flag – saw Michal hold on to second spot to enable the Tigers to hit back with a 5-1 of their own.
It was Joe Screen who led heat 5 from start to finish, claiming the win easily, but the action in the heat was between Theo Pijper and Craig Cook. Theo passed inside Cook on the second bend of the opening lap into second spot but Cook went round the outside of him on bend four to reclaim it. Another inside move from Theo on lap 2 bend 2 brought Theo along side Cook for half a lap before Theo locked up slightly on bend 4 not only allowing Cook to pull ahead but leaving the gap for Andrew Tully to come through into third and relegating Theo to the rear. With the Edinburgh pair then team riding to keep Theo out, that was how the race was to finish.
Nick Morris and Josh Grajczonek made an excellent start in heat 6 but the referee saw something no one else appeared to and called the race back. Inevitably it did not happen that way in the re run. Wethers came out of bend 2 in the lead after taking the inside line and although Josh held second spot for most of the opening lap, Wolbert slipped inside Josh off bend 4 to join his team mate up front. Eager to chase. Josh and Nick appeared to hamper each other at the end of lap 2 leaving the Edinburgh pair to pull clear for an easy 5-1.
Heat 7 was a bit of an anti climax after the previous few heats, James Grieves winning a shared and spread heat from the gate.
Unfortunately the initial running of heat 8 came to a very abrupt halt and left Jay Herne facing a trip to Monklands Infirmary. It looked as if Rajkowski may have suffered a bike problem on the opening bend. He collected the unfortunate Jay Herne who was thrown heavily from his bike and knocked unconscious for a short while. With Rajkowski out of the re run and Ashley Morris in for Herne, Theo was facing a difficult task but he and Matthew Wethers produced one of the most entertaining battles of the night. Wethers gated, Theo attempted to cut up the inside of him on bend 2 but Edinburgh’s captain held. Theo was testing lines inside and out and pressing Wethers all the way finally managing to edge ahead up the inside of bend two on lap 3. Wethers however was not for giving it up easily and kept it wound on round the outside, managing to re claim the lead on bend 4 despite a tremendous effort from Theo to hold him off and that was how it was to finish.
Tully used the outside line on the opening bends to come into the back straight ahead in heat 9 just ahead if Josh. On the third bend, Josh cut up the inside of Tully to come through into first place, taking the home side by surprise. Josh looked quite comfortable until he locked on the second bend of lap 3 allowing Tully the opportunity to nip back through into the lead. Josh was now faced with trying to hold off Craig Cook who started to press hard but Josh made an error on the final bends of the race whilst under severe pressure which not only allowed Cook to come through into 2nd but allowed team mate Nick Morris to come through into third.
With Glasgow now 10 points behind, Glasgow brought James Grieves out on a TR of the favourable gate one in heat 10. A decent start from James saw him lead out of the opening bends but Wolbert and Wethers were pressing him all hard. James had to be very smart to thwart an outside pass attempt from Wolbert on the third bend of lap 2 but the German used his momentum to switch lines and come up the inside, cleverly coming through on the opening bend of lap three and forcing James off his preferred line to claim the lead. The heat then became spread and that was how it was to finish.
Heat 11 saw some good team work from Joe Screen and Theo Pijper. Joe gated but Theo came round the outside of the opening bends to join him up front, Theo taking over at the front on bend 4. Joe then settled back and slowed the race down, allowing theo to put some daylight between him and the rest of the field whilst the Screen Machine frustrated every attempt by Katajisto to pass and Glasgow had another heat maximum.
The initial running of heat 12 was correctly called as all four back after Tully clipped Nick Morris's front wheel sending Nick into his namesake Ashley, both youngsters hitting the deck and needing a little attention before the re run. In the re run Tully led from start to finish but in the early stages of the race there was a good cat and mouse battle between Nick and Ashley Morris, Ashley coming out bend two ahead but Nick hitting straight back then holding off a strong challenge on bend 4. Things spread out a little in the middle section of the race but Nick tracked down Tully and made up the ground to try an outside blast off the final bend but the Edinburgh rider held on for the win.
Usually heat 13 is one of the more entertaining heats in a meeting but this one was one of the quieter ones, Joe claiming victory after battling it out with Wolbert for the lead out of bend 2.
There was another good display of gating from James Grieves and Nick Morris in heat 14 and although they appeared to get in each others road a little on bend 2 both held position. Craig Cook was pressing hard on Nick's tail for the home side coming very close on a few occasions both inside and outside but Nick held on for a couple of laps before Cook squeezed through on the outside of bend 4 lap 2. Nick tried to hit straight back on the inside line lap 3 bend 2 but Cook just held. Coming off the final bend of lap 3, Ashley Morris went to wide, hit the fence and was sent across the track, landing heavily on track just past the starting gate. The referee was shockingly late in noticing the rider down in front of him and the riders were almost back round before the red lights came on and credit should go to the flag marshals for alerting the remaining riders to the danger. The race was awarded with the heat advantage to the Tigers giving them a slim chance of claiming a draw.
An excellent start from Screen and Grieves made the draw look a very real possibility although Wolbert was all over the back of James Grieves, who had to work very hard to hold him off in the early stages. Tully joined the assault on Grieves on lap 3 to add to the pressure but it looked as if James would hold. Coming off the final bend Wolbert tried a drive up the inside with James on the outside line. from our vantage it looked as if James Grieves held but it is not always reliable from the first bend. However Scott Wilson immediately called it from the centre green as second place for Wolbert and after the final score was posted on the screen, the referee called the result that way too. Unfortunately unlike the previous heats there was no replay on the big screen to convince many of the Tigers faithful that the call was correct.
Overall Tigers must surely be the happier of the two teams from last night. Despite not having had match practice the signs for Glasgow are very promising. Joe was oozing class and Nick continues to grow meeting by meeting. After his first race, James quickly found his form and although Theo started slowly his final two rides showed just why he could be a trump card for the Tigers on his average. Christian may have struggled a bit but after a long time out injured that's hardly surprising and track time should help him out. Josh still has the Armadale hoodoo over him but perhaps rode better than his points tally suggests. It was a difficult night for Michal but given the circumstances it was hardly surprising and again track time should make all the difference.
It may well be into the summer before the second leg of the Trophy is played but Tigers are odds on now to ensure the return of (the) Spring.
Finally, its never good to see riders hurt and Jay Herne was just an unlucky victim of circumstance last night. We wish him a speedy recovery
