It was another poor meeting however, very one sided as Tigers dominance showed, and although there were a few bright spots in some good riding and passing from Tigers riders there was a major down with Jason Lyons suffering a very nasty leg break in heat 5 of the meeting.  More on that later but we wish Jason all the very best for a speedy recovery.

After a level gate, Joe Screen edged ahead of Jason Lyons out of the opening bends in heat 1 and quickly pulled clear.  Despite appearing to go a little wide on the pits bend of the final lap, Joe went on to win the well spread race at a canter, something that was to be the pattern of the day.  Jade Mudgway pulled up on the opening bends with bike problems.

Theo and Tigers guest Ritchie Hawkins gated well in heat 2 although Branford came round the outside of Hawkins on the opening bends to split the Tigers pair.  A tenacious ride from Hawkins saw him close down on Branford, coming very close to getting round him on lap 3 bend 3 before executing a perfect inside pass on him lap 4 bend 2 to collect a well deserved second place – Theo winning by a considerable distance.  Jade Mudgway again was not having much luck, this time falling and remounting on the opening bends.

It was Nick’s first appearance in the main body of the team for Glasgow and he made it clear he intended to continue to dominate with an excellent gate in heat3 that was to see him win the race comfortably. Richard Sweetman had been in second but Havelock cut inside him lap 1 bend 2 to lead down the back straight.  Richard just kept focused and easily powered round Havelock on the outside of bend 4, quickly pulling clear and finishing the race quarter of a lap ahead of Havelock.

It looked as if the Redcar pair were first to react to the tapes in heat 4 but James Grieves was in front by the time they came out of the opening bend and yet again was quickly well clear.   Aaron Summers was in second but Theo Pijper was pressing him hard  - too hard unfortunately at the start of the second lap as his attempt to pass inside Summers saw him make contact with the Redcar rider, causing Summers to come off.  Theo was excluded and in the re run, James won another well spread heat from the gate.

Redcar were to bring Jason Lyons out as a TR in heat 5 but Nick Morris again made the gate and led going down the back straight.  Lyons was trying very hard to catch up on him and it looked as if there might be a good race in prospect.  As they entered the second lap, Lyons appeared to be carrying too much speed and when he attempted a tight inside line, comments afterwards indicate that he hit a bump on the track which left him unable to regain control.  Whatever the reason, Jason went straight on and into the fence resulting in what has now been confirmed as a broken leg with various different reports on the degree of seriousness.  Again plaudits should go to the first aid team who obviously took their time to make sure Jason was as comfortable as possible before the 999 ambulance arrived to take him to hospital.

The re run was a dull affair, Nick quick out of the gate and well clear, Richard rounding Peter Juul on the opening bends and pulling well clear of him, the heat being spread over almost the entire track.

After the Glasgow pairing gated, Michal Rajkowski drifted wide on bend 2 and Aaron Summers took full advantage to cut inside into second spot.  The Raj kept it wound on and went outside Summers on bend 3 but a clever nudge from Summers saw Michal again drifting wide and Aaron coming through on the inside to reclaim second spot on bend 4.  From then on in, the race became another well spread one with Joe winning by a country mile.

Ritchie Hawkins came to grief in the initial running of heat 7, clipping the inside of the track on bend 3 and coming off whilst in second, James Grieves leading.  The Redcar pair both did very well to avoid him and although Ritchie attempted to clear the track, the referee had quickly put the red lights on. The re run saw James Grieves win another well spread heat from the gate.

Aaron Summers came out in the black and white helmet in heat 8 and also had to jump on a strange bike, after his own bike failing at the pits gate he jumped on Gary Havelock's. It did not affect him adversely however as Aaron made an excellent gate and although Theo made a determined effort to challenge him throughout the race, Aaron held to record what was to be Redcar’s only heat win of the day.

Another easy 5-1 followed in heat 9, Nick again excellent from the gate, Richard Sweetman going outside Aaron Summers on the opening bends and following his team mate home and it was followed by another 5-1 in heat 10, Joe winning easily from the gate this time with Michal in second spot holding off a slight challenge from Gary Havelock mid race before finishing comfortably in second spot.

The meeting had never really got started as a contest and two more easy 5-1’s followed for the Tigers in heats 11 and 12, Theo taking the win in heat 12 meaning that Nick could no longer get a full maximum, only a paid one.  At this stage no fewer than four Tigers riders were in with a shout of a maximum of one sort or another, such was their dominance.

The only rider who had really tested the Tigers all afternoon was Aaron Summers and he was up against Joe Screen and James Grieves in heat 13 along with young Rob Branford who never gave up trying. When the tapes went up, Joe again gated although James missed the gate and found himself at the rear, electing to cut back on the apex of the opening bends to try for the inside pass up bend 2.  Both Redcar riders seemed aware of this and came very tight to the inside line to prevent it.  Somehow, James squeezed through a gap that didn’t appear to be there to come through into third spot but Aaron Summers very firmly shut the door to prevent him coming through into second.  James tried hard to close on Summers for the remainder of the race but the Redcar rider had opened up too much of a gap after his excellent block and was to comfortably hold second.  Joe completed his flawless maximum with a very comfortable win.

Gary Havelock rolled badly at the start of heat 14 but with Sweetman out in front and Havelock at the rear many referees would have allowed it to go.  However it was called back and it looked like both Redcar riders anticipated the start in the re run but this time it was allowed to go with the visitors on a 1-5.  There was an audible pop from Ritchie Hawkins bike on the opening bends leaving Richard Sweetman to do battle on his own.  Yet again Sweets treated us to some excellent speedway, going wide on bends 3 and 4 to squeeze past Havelock on the wide outside line, keeping it wound on and going outside Branford lap 2 bend 2 and going on to win the race in style.

With the Morris-Sweetman combination looking so good, Stewart elected to put them out again in heat 15, up against Aaron Summers and Rob Branford. The Redcar pairing made the gate but Nick came through into the lead out of the opening bends and yet again quickly put a fair bit of daylight in between him and the opposition.  Richard was at the back but the new confident Richard Sweetman doesn’t stay there for long and bends 3 and 4 of the opening lap saw him sweep round Branford into 3rd.  Richard was then on Aaron Summers tail and a lap later was in the process of executing the same pass on him when Summers bike packed up.  Tigers were now looking good on a 5-1 when Nick’s bike frustratingly packed up going down the back straight of lap 3. Briefly Nick started to push but quickly realized there was no way he would complete the lap before the two remaining riders came round and pulled off track.  Richard comfortably sailed home as heat winner for his first paid maximum in Glasgow colours whilst never say die Rob Branford collected the 2 points for second.

Right from the opening heat, this meeting was a one sided mis match with the home side streets ahead of the visitors.  It was an easy home win for the Tigers as is highlighted by the large pay cheque's Alan will be writing this week and the fact that Redcar only provided one heat win all afternoon.  It’s good to get the points and take another step towards the title but it wasn’t a great viewing spectacle other than from the win point of view.  Aaron Summers was the only one who provided any real opposition although Rob Branford never gave up. 

Tigers were on fire, and what little entertainment there was came from the Stripes with Richard Sweetman’s fourth bends starting to become legendary . It would be wrong to not also give a mention to Ritchie Hawkins who also did an excellent job for the Tigers as our guest yesterday.  As Michael said at the end of the meeting, next week against Somerset should be a totally different matter but meantime Tigers march on with all six riders looking deserving champions elect

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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