The track staff had done a tremendous job to get the meeting on after a few days of heavy rain but they must have wished they hadn't as Glasgow set about taming the Lions.
From the start, the signs were there. An excellent gate from Joe Screen followed by his usual looking out for his partner saw him encourage Darkin wide, leaving a gap for Theo to come through into second spot. Darkin continued on the wide line and dropped off the pace on the 3rd bend. The home side's Graversen had followed him through and did challenge Theo briefly on the opening lap but the Tigers duo were quickly well clear after that.
Again it was excellent gating from the Tigers in heat 2 with Michal and Nick both looking sharp from the tapes. Oliver worked hard to press Rajkowski but going into lap 3 made a rash outside drive on the pits bend which caused him to come to grief, falling heavily and although he finished the meeting it was confirmed late that he had broken his scaphoid in the fall.
James Grieves was to win heat 3 from the tapes and it was already becoming clear that 'from the tapes' was going to become a familiar phrase on the night, especially if the Tigers kept up their gating. Theo had to settle for third spot however after Richard Hall got the better of him on a tough opening bend.
Heat 4, Masters gated and Sweetman managed to edge out Rajkowski on the opening bends to split the Tigers pairing before some closer action, albeit with no passing in heat 5. Bondarenko made the gate and had Joe Screen all over his back wheel looking for a way through for the entire race. Joe in turn had to watch very carefully as Richard Hall was trying hard to find a way past him. Some decent nip and tuck speedway btu they finished as they started and Leicester had their first heat advantage of the meeting.
It was back to Tigers domination in heat 6, Masters and Morris easily scoring a maximum over a poor Darkin after Graversen had been excluded for falling in the initial running.
Not surprisingly, Leicester went for a Tactical in heat 7, Richard Sweetman wearing the black and white. When the tapes went up there was never any doubt about the winner, James grieves again looking superb from the gate. Full credit has to be given to Michal Rajkowski however for his important second place despite Sweetman trying very hard to find a way through. Michal rode a clever race to ensure that Glasgow pulled even further ahead and Leicester's first tactical was fruitless.
The result in heat 8 was to come as a surprise but it was one of the few races that provided real entertainment. Graversen basically gated and was gone for the home side with Michal Rajkowski and Theo Pijper settling in behind in the minor placing's. Charles Wright was trying tirelessly to get back into the race and got his reward for never giving up when a superb move off the final bend saw him find the grip needed to power between the Tigers and claim second spot on the line from Michal.
Any hopes the home side had of a fight back were quickly dispelled however in heat 9. Although Bondarenko gated, the Tigers held the minor placing's with Sam Masters settling in behind Nick Morris. home captain Richard Hall made a daring move to pass Sam Masters on the third lap, powering past going down the home straight but he was going too quick and could not turn the bike enough to negotiate the opening bends, coming off going into bend 2 causing the race to be awarded.
Rajkowski and Grieves won easily from the gate in heat 10, followed by a heat 11 that saw a small mistake from Theo Pijper, locking up slightly, deny Tigers the chance of another 5-1, having to settle for a share of the spoils instead with Joe winning easily.
If anyone had any worries about Nick Morris being back in the saddle too soon, he put them to bed in heat 12. Bondarenko, by far Leicester's fastest gater, came out as Leicester's final tactical of the night. When the tapes went up Nick and Bondarenko gated side by side, the Russian trying to put pressure on Nick to yield. As ever, Nick was not for giving an inch and held his ground well. This seemed to put the Russian off and he spun round, clipped Michal Rajkowski and both hit the deck. Bondarenko was rightly excluded and in the rerun Nick won from the gate with Michal Rajkowski tucking in behind him to thwart the early attentions of Charles Wright.
Obviously it was now a case of not whether Tigers would win but by how many and heat 13 saw a comfortable win from the gate for guest Sam Masters and captain Joe Screen. Richard Hall offered up a little resistance in the early stages of heat 14 but James grieves was never really in any danger as he followed partner Michal Rajkowski home for the 8the Tigers 5-1 of the night.
There was never any questions of Tigers slowing up. Heat 15 Masters gated and it looked briefly as if James Grieves maximum might be in doubt when he was slow out of the traps. Moving into third on the opening bends, James lined up Bondarenko from the third bend, passing him as if he wasn't there coming into lap two and James claimed the first visiting paid maximum on the new Leicester track along with the record away win for the Tigers.
From start to finish, Glasgow shone. Theo's bike sounded a little sick for most of the meeting but that is the only downside that you could grasp at on an excellent night for Glasgow. Stewart Dickson cleverly limited Nick's rides in his first meeting back whilst Michal Rajkowski answered the attempts from the East to unsettle in perfect style with an excellent display. Whilst everyone played their part however the plaudits really have to go to James Grieves for a flawless and stylish display.
