Joe Screen may have had machinery problems at Berwick but they seemed well behind him as he stormed from the gate in the opening heat and was quickly well clear.  Theo rode a good line on bend 2 to block Alden and came out the opening bends in second place behind his team mate.  Although Alden never gave up,  there was no real danger as Tigers opened with a 5-1.

Michal Rajkowski used the outside line to come out of bend 2 in the lead in heat 2 but unfortunately Nick Morris was at the rear after missing the gate. He was quickly all over the back of third place Jade Mudgway and passed inside him on bend four. Nick then tried to close the gap on Mitchell Davey in second spot and although he did make up a little ground he was never close enough to mount a serious challenge.

Josef Franc was to win heat 3 from the gate but the action was all for the minor placing's.  Christian went round the outside of Smith out of bend 2.  Smith tried to hit back but to no avail and was soon under pressure himself from Richard Sweetman.  However despite a late drive from Richard off the final bends, Smith held to give the visitors a heat advantage.

Rajkowski and Grieves were quickest to react when the tapes went up in heat 4 but whilst James was able to come out of the opening bends in the lead, Michal was relegated to third place after Complin swept by him out of bend 2.  James and Lee had a good battle out front with Lee trying desperately to pass and James working hard to hold off his challenge.  Complin tried the inside lines of bend 2 in laps 2 and 3 before a pacy outside swoop off bend 4 of lap 3 which James only just managed to block as they headed down the home straight. Complin tried the same move on the final bend but James reacted quickly and shut the door very firmly to ensure the win

Christian Henry rode a good line after a level gate in heat 5 but it was partner Richard Sweetman who took the lead after going wide round the outside on the opening bends. Richard quickly pulled clear.  Lindgren was all over the back of Henry, finally passing him on the inside at the end of lap 2. It looked as if that was how the race would finish but a lapse of concentration from Christian saw him surrender the point for third place when Sebastian Alden went round the outside of him off the final bend of the race to beat him on the run to the line.

Heat 6 was to be a fairly well spread heat, Joe Screen winning easily from the gate with Complin in second after getting the better of Theo Pijper up the inside of bend 2 on the opening lap.

It was the referee who seemed to have a lapse of concentration in heat 7 when he somehow managed to miss one of the most obvious fliers seen at Ashfield by Kozza Smith  - any earlier and he would have been in heat 6. However, it was not called back, the Berwick pair to their credit took full advantage whilst it seemed to affect the Glasgow pair who were slow to get going.  Franc took over the lead from his partner and won by a fair stretch. James Grieves tried hard to get back into it and finally managed to pass inside Smith lap 3 bend 2 only for Smith to keep it wound on in the outside line and pass outside Grieves two bends later.

The outside line again helped Michal get the edge in heat 8, this time to beat Ludvig Lindgren out of bend 2.  Lindgren tried hard to pass on the inside on bend 4 but Michal was smart to it and held.  With Jade Mudgway already having retired, Lindgren suffered a puncture on lap 3 bend 2. He managed to coast round to cross the finish line just before being lapped and then jumped off his bike and attempted to push the three quarters of a lap remaining for a point.  Unfortunately despite the encouragement from both sets of fans and his mechanic, pushing a bike with a puncture was too much and he ran out of time just exiting the fourth bend.  Tigers gained a 5-0 but you had to applaud Lindgren's effort on one of the hottest days of the year.

Heat 9 saw the Tigers make the gate and Richard Sweetman looked very quick as he pulled clear on the inside line to go on and win the heat.  Again all eyes were on a battle for the minor placing's with Lee Complin all over the back of Christian Henry. Christian is often known more for his gating than tactical riding but for four laps he worked hard covering inside and outside, anticipating Complin's next move.  Complin came very close to squeezing by on the outside at the end of lap 3 but Christian firmly shut the door and when Complin tried the same again on the final run to the line again Christian was equal to it and claimed the hard worked for two points.

Josef Franc was very slow in coming to tapes under the start marshall's guidance for heat 10, much to his annoyance.  When the tapes went up it was his partner Kozza Smith who made a good gate only to be beaten out of bend two by an excellent pincer movement from the Tigers pairing with Joe Screen sweeping outside him whilst Theo Pijper nipped sweetly through the inside.  Joe was again untouchable and the action was centered around the minor placing's with Smith trying hard to catch up on Theo.  Smith tried an outside drive off the final bend of lap 3 which Theo did well to block then on the final bend of the heat Smith cut inside, looking for drive in a race to the flag.  Again Theo was very aware and although it was very close, Theo held second spot on the line by half a wheel.

The referee missed another flier in heat 11, this time from James Grieves who went on to win the heat.  The battle for second was between reserve replacement Michal Rajkowski and Seb Alden.  Michal came through into second using that outside line off bend two but Alden was all over his back wheel. He tried a cutback off bend 4 to come inside Michal but the Raj held. There was no let up however with Alden trying different moves at almost every bend and finally getting the better of Michal lap 4 bend two on the outside.  Michal tried to hit back but Alden made sure he was stuck on the inside line and Glasgow had to settle for a 4-2.

Heat 12 was to be pretty well spread, another excellent gate from Kozza Smith ensuring he won the heat with the Glasgow pairing filling in the minor placing's and the previously unbeaten Franc surprisingly off the pace at the rear.

Lee Complin had major bike problems whilst under 2 minutes for heat 13 but team mate Lindgren brought a bike out for him to enable him to take his place in the race.  The first running of the heat was called back for an unsatisfactory start by Complin with the Tigers on a 5-1 but it was not to matter in the long run.  Complin made the gate in the  re run but Joe edged him out on bend 2 to come through and leave a big gap for James Grieves to come up the inside into second.  COmplin hit back going down the back straight, passing James but James came inside him on the final bend of the opening lap to move once more into second.  The two were locked in a decent battle for a couple of laps before James started to pull clear on the final lap to give Tigers another 5-1.

There’s no doubt Berwick had their gating shoes on and it was Josef Franc who showed how it was done in heat 14, winning comfortably from the tapes. Nick Morris in second place was pressed hard by Jade Mudgway in the early stages but Mudgway himself was being pressed by Sweetman. AT the end of the opening lap Richard nearly came through on the inside but Mudgway reacted just in time to block him.  The following lap however Richard made sure, powering up the inside of the Berwick reserve into third spot.

With the result long since decided, Glasgow went for the pairing of Theo Pijper and James Grieves in heat 15.  The placing's were decided by the end of the opening lap in this one, Franc again gating well and never looking troubled out front.  Theo Pijper had gone to the back on bend 2 after being accidentally blocked by his team mate but he passed inside Kozza Smith on the third bend only for Smith to power back outside him on bend 4 and from then on the heat became processional.

Overall it was a very comfortable win for the Tigers and to be honest the Bandits were disappointing and did not provide the stiff test expected.

Joe continues to be untouchable round Ashfield and James is still in excellent form.  It was good to see Richard Sweetman get a couple of confidence boosting heat wins and Michal continues to be almost an unsung hero for the Tigers. Christian has to be disappointed with his second race but was excellent in holding off Lee Complin in heat 9.  Theo again scored well and perhaps surprisingly it was Nick Morris who had the off day but his team mates more than covered for him.

Prior to the meeting many had worried about Lee Complin and how well he already knows and rides Ashfield but Glasgow had the advantage of an insight in what he was likely to do and countered him well leaving Lee on a surprisingly low points tally of 6.  Josef Franc was undoubtedly the Bandits star man but too many of their riders had an off day for them to put in a realistic challenge

 

Glasgow Tigers Speedway Unofficial Website Glasgow Tigers Speedway Ashfield Stadium Glasgow Tigers Speedway Joe Screen Michal Rajkowski Josh Grajczonek Theo Pijper Christian Henry Nick Morris James Grieves