Obviously the Somerset management had watched the meeting against scunthorpe and knew that Tigers were firing on all cylinders and that reflected in their decision to put Henning Bager out as rider replacement in the opening heat of the meeting. A ragged start in the opening heat with Summers getting a flier was allowed to go and Joe Screen came out of bend 2 in the lead. Aaron Summers went past him however down the back straight. The heat was split in two with Joe trying to challenge Aaron up front whilst Michal was working hard to hold off Henning Bager at the rear but there was to be no further passing.
Bizarrely, Alex Davies slid off as he made his way round for the start of heat 2, hurting himself in the process and needing an ambulance trip back to the pits. He was withdrawn from the meeting leaving James Holder the Rebels only representative in heat 2. Both Tigers gated well, Theo leading David out of bend 2 and they were quickly well clear, heading home for another easy 5-1.
After a level gate in heat 3, Nick was very hard on Cory Gathercole, pushing him right out to the fence. As a result it allowed Richard Sweetman to come through on the inside line to settle into second place behind Nick. Again the Glasgow pairing were dominant and relatively unchallenged as another 5-1 was added to the scorecard.
James Wright made the gate in heat 4 but reared, James Grieves and Theo Pijper took full advantage to pass outside and inside respectively to put the Tigers on another 5-1 Wright did chase Theo Pijper hard in the early stages but by the time Theo pulled clear of him on lap 3 Tigers fans were beginning to look at when the title would come rather than 'if'.
After the meeting, one of the major talking points of the day was an horrific looking accident at the start of heat 5 involving Richard Sweetman and Aaron Summers. Aaron may have clipped Nicks back wheel in classic first bend bunching, it straightened him slightly and put him into Richard Sweetman. The momentum pushed both riders to the fence, Summers hitting the deck and being extremely lucky that his bike, which must have been a good 10 feet in the air, just missed him as it came back down. For Richard, he would have had little if any warning, his bike went into the safety fence and the momentum carried it up the fence a little then threw him off his bike and over the safety fence onto the riders access road into the pits. There was a stunned silence in the stadium but remarkably after treatment both riders were able to get back to their feet, walk back to the pits and take their place in the re run.
With Aaron on a tactical ride, he was doubly determined to make the re run but when the tapes went up it looked as if he wasn't quite ready and he was left stood still at the start. Richard Sweetman on the other hand had made a first rate gate and with Nick Morris passing outside James Holder on the opening bends to slot into second spot the Tigers were quickly well clear for yet another 5-1.
James Wright was left to face Joe Screen and Michal Rajkowski on his own in heat 6, Alex Davies having been withdrawn from the meeting. The Rebel made a good start but Joe got the drive on the outside line to lead out of bend 2. Michal came very close to making it a double on the inside line of bend 2 but James Wright managed to just hold. The heat was quickly mundane although James Wright never stopped trying to make up ground on Joe.
The Tigers pair gated well but Gathercole hit the front for the visitors out of bend 2. Down the backstraight, James Grieves passed him on the outside to take over at the front and there were a few bike lengths in between each rider at the start of lap 2 when Gathercole slid off on his own leaving Glasgow on yet another 5-1 with Bager well at the rear. Fair play to Gathercole for being sporting and quickly clearing the track, allowing the race to continue.
It was starting to get a bit predictable and despite Gathercole being on a tactical ride it was the Tigers pairing who both made excellent gates to lead down the back straight with Theo in second spot making sure there was no way through for Gathercole. James Holder retired on the opening lap, Michal and theo put a comfortable distance between them and Cory Gathercole and Tigers had yet another comfortable 5-1.
James Wright had to face the Tigers on his own again in heat 9, Nick Morris and Richard Sweetman being the riders in question.. Richard completely missed the gate but Nick gated well and rode hard on the opening bends to hold off Wright. Again Wright never gave up trying but Nick had the measure of him and claimed the win.
Glasgow were now in the situation that only 2 points were needed from heat 10 to cement the title and it seemed fitting that it was Joe who came to the tapes with Michal. When the tapes went up, Joe edged it after a level gate with Michal looking as if he was about to sit in behind him out of bend 2. He appeared however to get an extra bit of grip on the pits bend and it sent him hurtling at speed into the safety fence. It was a sickening thump into the fence and definitely put a major dampener on what should have been a celebratory heat. As always, the medical staff at Ashfield were superb, took their time to ensure Michal was as comfortable as possible - having to call in his dad to translate as Michal naturally reverted to his native tongue. Michal was transferred into the 999 ambulance that was called out and transferred to hospital where the news later was positive with Michal himself confirming there were no broken bones, he was just a bit sore with possible internal bleeding and would be having an overnight stay in hospital under observation to be on the safe side.
After a lengthy delay, the riders came out for the re run. Joe made a good gate and showed his determination to win the league in style by clamping Bager to the inside on the opening bends and quickly pulling well clear, riding a flawless race from then on in and our captain secured the points in style to bring the title to Glasgow and spark the celebrations on the terraces.
It may have been all over from a title point of view but Glasgow were still out to show exactly why they were league champions. A phenomenal gate from David Bellego in heat 11 followed by a flawless ride saw him annihilate the opposition and get the heat win. James had gated in third and after trying a very wide line on lap 2 bend 2 which ended up slowing him up was unable to make any impression on Aaron Summers in second.
There was rather a lot of movement at the tapes at the start of heat 12 but the referee allowed it to go again. Bager came out of the opening bend ahead but a determined Theo Pijper muscled past him down the back straight. Nick Morris tried hard to press Bager right to the line but Bager had it well covered and Tigers had to settle for a heat advantage.
Joe and James powered to the front in heat 13 and despite James Wright making a very good effort to press for all four laps, the Tigers team rode home for another 5-1 with Joe slowing to give James Grieves the win on the line.
After a level gate in heat 14, Holder got the better of David Bellego out of the opening bends with Theo getting the better of Gathercole for third. David was not for giving up however. He tried a wide line lap 2 bend 2, staying very wide into bends 3 and 4 and coming very close out of bend 4. Lap 3 he again flew round the outside on bend 2 and in a superb move had the crowd on the feet as he squeezed passed Holder into the lead, going on to win the heat by a good distance.
David and Theo teamed up again for heat 15, facing Bager and Wright. Wright got a flier, Bager joined him out of the opening bends and the two Rebels pulled clear recording the only 1-5 of the afternoon.
It was a superb performance from all seven Tigers. They knew what was at stake and went out and showed exactly why they are top of the league. Celebrations were perhaps a little low key after the injury to Michal but next week should be a celebration for the riders, promotion and fans. It wasn't that Somerset were that bad, although losing Alex Davies certainly made it very difficult for them. It was just that Tigers were SO good.
Joe Screen, Theo Pijper, Christian Henry, James Grieves, Josh Grajczonek, Nick Morris, Michal Rajkowski, Richard Sweetman and David Bellego - Glasgow Tigers Premier League Champions 2011 and each and every one of them deserve it. It must have been a bitter sweet day for Stewart Dickson who was unwell and not able to be there in person but he and Alan Dick have steered the ship well this season from spending a fortune on the track changes to the day to day running of the club.
.
.
