Glasgow guest Magnus Karlsson was ready to go well ahead of time but as the meeting was about to start he suffered bike problems and failed to make the two minutes, David Bellego being brought in as a late replacement to team up with fellow reserve Theo Pijper who was taking the rider replacement ride. There was then an unsatisfactory start with Theo and Charlie Gjedde both warned for moving before the race got underway proper with the Wasps pairing making the gate and quickly pulling clear. Lap 2 saw Theo make up a lot of ground out of bend 2 and he very nearly sneaked through inside Aspegren on the third bend. After that however there was no way back and the visitors started the second meeting with a maximum.
Theo Pijper cleverly moved the Newport pairing out on the opening bends of heat 2 to come out in the lead although David was at the rear. Going round bends 3 and 4 David took the wide line and passed outside Mark Jones off the 4th bend. He rode wide for the entire lap before repeating the move on Todd Kurtz at the end of lap 2 and Tigers had leveled the scores.
Wasps were determined at this stage to be spoilers and Aspegren and Mellgren shot from the gate in heat 3. Although Nick Morris made a determined effort to catch them, looking for extra grip out wide in particular, he was unable to make any real impression and the Wasps won relatively comfortably.
Newport had certainly found their gating shoes for the second meeting and it was Leigh Lanham who was to react first in heat 4 although is partner Kurtz reared and was left at the back. James Grieves and Theo Pijper were however quickly on Lanham's case. Lanham tried to counter and to take James Grieves wide but James held to go round the outside of him into the back straight. Theo Pijper took full advantage to cut up the inside to slot into second place behind James. Lanham never gave up trying but was unable to make any real impression and Glasgow had their second heat maximum of the afternoon.
The swapping of 5-1's was to continue in heat 5 with Sweetman and Morris left behind at the tapes by the Newport pair. Again Nick tried very hard to make up the lost ground and press Mellgren who lay in second spot but to no avail.
The trade was to stop when heat 6 was shared. the Tigers pairing had been outgated again but Magnus Karlsson went outside Mark Jones lap 1 bend 2. David Bellego absolutely flew high and wide round bends 3 and 4 to pass Jones as if he was standing still. Lanham already had too much of a lead for the Tigers to make up ground.
Mellgren led for the visitors going into the back straight of the opening lap of heat 7 but James was pressing him hard, particularly at the end of the opening lap. On the final bends of lap 2 James came very hard inside Mellgren to take over the lead and from then on in the heat became spread.
Heat 8 again saw sluggish gates from the home pairing but they muscled their way through to 2nd and 3rd coming out of bend 2. Nick Morris was quickly on leader Charlie Gjedde's exhaust pipe and pressed him hard for a couple of laps before Gjedde pulled clear.
Nick was out again in heat 9 and was publicly warned for moving at the start and causing a re run. When the race got underway, it looked as if Lanham had got a flier but it was allowed to continue. Nick battled his way to the front out of bend 2 and quickly pulled clear, going on to win the race. However team mate Richard Sweetman was again stuck at the rear and although he came close to an inside pass lap 4 bend 2, Todd Kurtz held for the visitors and the heat was shared.
The Newport pairing looked as if they had edged it into the opening bends of heat 10 but Magnus Karlsson went round the outside whilst Theo Pijper nipped up the inside and the Tigers came out of the opening bends on a 5-1. They were quickly well clear, both Newport riders making errors when already well down that saw them almost clip the fence, Aspegren on the opening bends of lap 2 and Mellgren on lap 3 bend 2. Remarkable the 5-1 meant that the Tigers took the lead in this meeting for the first time.
Leigh Lanham edged ahead of James Grieves to lead in heat 11. David Bellego had gated last but turned on the all action style round bends 3 and 4 to storm past Gjedde and team mate James Grieves into second. he tried the fence scraping again at the end of lap 3 to try and challenge Lanham but the experienced man held comfortably.
Nick Morris and Theo Pijper teamed up to really turn the pressure on in heat 12. Theo rode bravely on the opening bends with Aspegren trying to push him wide. He kept it wound on to come into the backstraight in the lead. Nick used the inside line on bend 3 to push Aspegren further down the field and come through into second place. The Tigers pairing opened up a nice gap over the Newport pairing, claiming the victory with Theo punching the air in delight as he crossed the line.
Heat 13 saw the Tigers pair gate well but Leigh Lanham passed outside Magnus Karlsson out of the opening bends into second spot. James Grieves led from start to finish however to give the Tigers a heat advantage.
Theo Pijper came in as reserve replacement for the struggling Richard Sweetman in heat 14 to team up with his reserve partner David Bellego. Anders Mellgren was first to react when the tapes went up with the Tigers filling in the minor placing's. theo used the cut back off bend two to slip through into the lead. David was turning on the speed in third and went wide from the end of the opening lap all the way round the boards to pass Mellgren as they crossed the line into lap 3 - such an entertaining piece of riding you cant really do it justice in words and a move that will surely be in the Tigers (bumper) highlights video this year. You cant forget Theo who was still out front and showed is delight at the 5-1 as he crossed the finish line and the Tigers were now 12 points up ensuring that they would finish the season having scored the maximum number of points possible from their home meetings.
Our excellent guest for the day, Magnus Karlsson, lined up with Scotland's no 1 James Grieves in heat 15 to finish the racing part of the day off in style. Magnus worked his way through to the front to be followed by James who somehow managed to find a gap that didn't look as if it existed to pass between the Newport pairing into second place. Lanham never gave up for the Wasps but Glasgow were always comfortable and finished the day's racing in style.
For the last league meeting of the season, Theo was on fire although he was perhaps overshadowed a little by the display of fellow reserve and good friend David Bellego. The young Frenchman may not have been riding speedway long but what a talent he is on a bike and although hairy to watch at times his all action entertaining style has fast made him very popular among the Tigers support. James Grieves was captain for the day and did a good captains job, holding things together and scoring vital points in the early stages when Newport looked as if they might threaten. Magnus did an excellent job for us as a guest while Nick Morris worked hard and once the early bike problems which made his gating seem sluggish were sorted out there was no stopping him.
Strange to say as the score looks closer but for the purist the second meeting wasn't as entertaining as the first but that didn't stop the Tigers riders and fans enjoying it and after such a great season for the Tigers I don't fancy Brian Logan's job at First Bend Action Videos of sorting out what makes the cut and what doesn't in the Season highlights DVD(s)!
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