It was by no means easy but yet again the Glasgow Tigers pulled together as a team. Sheffield meantime were missing Ricky Ashworth - as had been expected - and although Shane Parker and Josh Auty were both value for money, they didn’t really have the back up to stop Glasgow .

The meeting certainly got off to a good start for the home side, Joe and Michal gating well and edging into the lead off bend 2.  Joe quickly pulled clear but Michal had to work hard to hold off the challenge of Shane Parker, particularly in the later stages of the heat.  On the final bends Shane tried to gain power from the outside line on bend three cutting sharply to the inside on bend four but Michal was equal to it and held.

David Bellego was a bit too keen at the start of heat 2 and had to go off 15m after breaking the tapes.  It looked worrying for Glasgow when the Sheffield pair gated but Theo Pijper swept outside Ashley Birks down the backstraight to move into second spot.  Birks retired at the end of the opening lap with engine problems.  Theo meantime challenged Lambert out front briefly but the Sheffield reserve held firm and Glasgow had to settle for a share of the spoils.

It was a battle of age v experience in heat 3 with Shane Parker taking the rider replacement to line up alongside Nick Morris.  A close gate and some determined riding form Nick on the opening bends saw him edge out Shane on bend 2 to lead. For three laps Shane was on Nicks tail, looking inside and out with Nick covering every move.  Come lap 4, Nick managed to open up a slight lead and claimed the win.

There was a delay to the start of heat 4 after the tapes failed to go up on the stand side.  When the race got underway, the Glasgow pair led out of bend 2 but Josh Auty was buzzing all over the back of them.  Lap 2 bend 2 Theo made the mistake of electing for the outside line, Josh Auty nipping up the inside of him into second spot and then very nearly got through on the inside of James at the end of lap 2 but James held.  Not to be outdone, Theo tried hard to go outside Auty lap 3 bends 3 and 4 but again ended up dropping back.  With Auty pressing James all the way to the finish, James rode a perfect final bend to prevent Auty coming up the inside.

Heat 5 was relatively well spread and processional, Shane Parker winning by a country mile after swooping outside the faster gating Nick Morris on the opening bends of the race.

Joe and Michal were out again in heat 6 and gated well, blocking a very good attempt by Josh Auty to come inside off the opening bends.  Joe was quickly clear whilst Michal again worked very hard to hold off Auty who was trying every line he could, Michal managing to block although on the final lap the Sheffield rider came very  close to getting through  on the inside of bend 2 and it then took a clever block by Michal on the inside off the final bend to keep him at bay and ensure Glasgow had another 5-1.

It took a while for the referee to persuade Emiliano Sanchez that he should be out of gate 2 in heat 7 and it didn’t get any better for the former Tiger when the tapes went up. Hugh Skidmore made the gate for the visitors, James in second spot accidentally baulked David Bellego on bend 2 leaving him to battle at the back with Sanchez. Emiliano just edged ahead on bend 3 but locked, his rear wheel collecting David’s front one.  Sanchez went down although somehow David managed to stay on his bike.  The referee had no choice but to stop the race and exclude Sanchez although for some reason Emiliano took umbrage at this, remonstrating with David back at the pits gate and throwing a few things in the pits area afterwards.  Come the re run, Skidmore again gated well though James was quickly on his tail and tracked him for a couple of laps before trying to power round the bend 4 line at the end of lap 2.  Skidmore noticed at the last minute and managed a  hard but fair block on James as they crossed the line into lap 3 and although James never stopped trying it was enough to ensure the win for the Sheffield rider.

Michal Rajkowski may have reared slightly off the start on heat 8 but was quickly in control, holding off the challenge of Lambert on the opening bends.  Theo was in third spot and whilst Michal pulled clear Theo tracked down Lambert, coming very close to passing inside him on the final lap down the back straight but Lambert held for second spot.

It was no surprise that Sheffield elected to bring Josh Auty out as a tactical ride in heat 9 but in the initial running it looked as if it may back fire on them when Theo Pijper and Nick Morris gated on a 5-1.  Going down the back straight however, Nick and Theo came to grief.  Opinion seems divided on how it happened, there is the possibility that Nick’s chain went and with Theo so close they could not avoid each other or it could just have been an accidental coming together with them both riding a very wide line but it was a hefty fall for Theo in particular and both ended up in the ambulance for treatment with Theo excluded from the re run.

Typically, after missing the gate in the initial running it was Auty who hit the front out of the gate in heat 10 but Nick swept round the outside of the opening bends to take over the lead.  Auty made Nick work hard to hold him off for a couple of laps before his bike appeared to lose power as they entered lap 3.  Although Auty got his bike going again very quickly, Nick was well clear and claimed the win.

Auty was out again in heat 10 and involved in a decent early battle with Michal Rajkowski.  The Tigers pairing of the Raj and Joe Screen had gated well, Auty briefly passed inside Michal on bend 2 but Michal hit straight back on the wide line down the back straight. Lap 2 bend 2 saw Auty slip through on the inside however and with Joe already well clear, the heat quickly became well spread.

Again the action was all early stage in heat 11, Shane Parker moving James Grieves over on the opening bends to allow Skidmore through the inside off bend 2 with Parker leading.  James hit back round the outside of Skidmore down the back straight to claim second and the race quickly became spread out and finished in that order.

A good drive from Nick Morris into the opening bend saw him take the lead in heat 12 and although Emiliano Sanchez attempted to use the wide line to go outside him off bend 2, Nick held. Sanchez came close again round he outside of the final bend of the opening lap but then Nick started to pull clear, Theo comfortably in third spot to ensure a heat advantage.

The best race of the night was undoubtedly heat 13.  Initially Josh Auty was very lucky not to touch the tapes jumping the start but when the re run got underway Joe and James made a decent gate.  Shane Parker tried to come through on the inside line with Joe and James both going wide and managed to split the Tigers pairing with James out front. The crowd were then treated to 4 laps of excellent speedway with all three challenging right to the flag and barely a bike length between them at the chequered flag.  Joe looked as if he might have edged back into second down the back straight only for Shane to pull that little bit ahead on bend 3, lap 2 bend 3 Joe made a good effort up the inside and all three looked almost level but James held and Shane still claimed second.  Shane was pressing James all the way whilst Joe was pressing Shane and it was the proverbial throw a sheet over the three of them from start to finish.  It was James who held to claim an impressive win with Shane half a wheel behind and Joe a further half wheel down in third and the Glasgow crowd were buzzing.

Now 12 points down, Sheffield went for the last throw of the dice with Sanchez as rider replacement on a tactical ride in heat 14 although they were probably regretting using their bigger hitters earlier. This heat however belonged to one man – David Bellego. From the gate, David took the lead and he held of a determined challenge from Ashley Birks down the back straight.  From then on, David rode an excellent race to win comfortably much to the delight of the youngster himself, the Tigers fans and his fellow riders and the promotion who came out to the pits gate to welcome him back to the pits.  David’s first heat win ensured victory for the Tigers, Ashley Birks moving over clipping the fence to allow Sanchez through into second spot off the final bend with Sweetman at the rear.

Obviously there was still the matter of how many League points Glasgow would get for the win going into heat 15 and with the line up a repeat of heat 13 Tigers knew they would have to be sharp.  When the tapes went up it was James and Joe who reacted quickest to lead out of the opening bends although Shane Parker was right on their tail.  The Glasgow pair then team rode to hold off Parker for all four laps, try as he might Shane just could not find a way through and Glasgow had the comprehensive victory that brings the League title almost to Joe’s fingertips.

Enough has been said about the bitter shenanigans of Mr Machin and Sheffield over the past few months, Glasgow last night did their talking where it mattered – ON the track – and showed in their riding and attitude exactly why Glasgow Tigers are 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