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04 Apr 2008: Edinburgh (57) Glasgow (36) |
| Match Report Friday 4th April 2008 Premier Trophy Edinburgh 'Scotwaste' Monarchs - (53)
Glasgow 'Buildbase' Tigers - (34)
Tigers travelled back through to Armadale, on official business this time in the Premier Trophy, and the weather was kinder this time with a drier surface giving the racers a better chance and Tigers looking to improve on their season opener showing although there was a smaller than normal turnout of Stripes fans. Tigers were at full strength but Monarchs, looking to consolidate their position at the top of the mini league, had to employ Rider Replacement for new recruit Thomas Jonasson following his reported bout of lumbago. The makeup of the Monarchs' team this year should have been able to cope with every team member being eligible for a ride. Gate pattern A in use. Heat 1 Shane Parker got away fast but Ryan Fisher nipped ahead of Ross Brady into the turn and the Scot clipped his back wheel, sliding off into the fence as Fisher came down after the impact. The Monarchs' man was up on his feet quickly, but Ross, already a late starter to the season through his collarbone injury, was attended to for some time. Although he walked back to the pits under his own steam, he was ruled out of the rest of the meeting and Lee Dicken took his place in the rerun. Derek Sneddon was fastest away but Shane powered around his favoured outside line and even Fisher, taking up the chase down the back straight, couldn't live with the Aussie on this form. Lee kept it tight with Sneddon but the Monarchs' skip pulled away in the latter stages. Parker, Fisher, Sneddon, Dicken, Brady (non starter) (3-3) (3-3) - 57.1 Heat 2 Josh Grajczonek and Lee hit the turn first. Aaron Summers showed that he has quickly worked out the intricacies of the tricky turns at Armadale by executing a neat cutback on turn 2 to head the Tigers pair. Andrew Tully moved through under Josh but undid it when he slipped off on turn 1 second time around and Josh gratefully took the point. Summers, Dicken, Grajczonek, Tully(F.Rmtd) (3-3) (6-6) - 58.2 Heat 3 Sneddon came in for the Rider Replacement Ride. The Monarchs' pair gated and Trent Leverington and Mitchell Davey were never in the hunt as the Blue and Yellow brigade took the lead. Sneddon, Lawson, Leverington, Davey (5-1) (11-7) - 57.5 Heat 4 Matthew Wethers gated but his partner Summers fell at the first turn. Lee tried manfully to catch the ex Tiger but he and Robert Ksiezak had to settle for a share of the spoils. Wethers, Dicken, Ksiezak, Summers(F.Rmtd) (3-3) (14-10) - 58.4 Heat 5 Josh came in to replace Ross and Fisher came in as Lawson's Rider Replacement partner. Shane made another excellent start with Josh alongside him. Unfortunately, the Monarchs' pair mugged the youngster on the second turn going either side with Fisher cutting across the back straight to stop any comeback. It was too late for them to do anything to stop Tigers' main man finishing in the second fastest time so far this season. Parker, Lawson, Fisher, Grajczonek (3-3) (17-13) - 56.8 Heat 6 Sneddon and Fisher got the drop at the start but Robert tried an outside run off turn 2 before Fisher, rapidly getting the hang of the inside to outside line, ruthlessly shut the door on the former Monarch. Sneddon, Fisher, Ksiezak, Grajczonek (5-1) (22-14) - 58.5 Heat 7 Trent and Wethers gated but Trent was left chasing the Monarch whilst Mitchell lost out to Tully. The young Scot had the bit between his teeth and drove hard inside Trent off the inside of turn 2 lap 2. He shot ahead of 'Showbag' into turn 3 but had had gone in too hard to turn and ended up in a heap. He remounted but Mitchell had taken advantage for another split heat. Wethers, Leverington, Davey, Tully(F.Rmtd) (3-3) (25-17) - 58.7 Heat 8 Josh came in to replace Ross. Lee gated with the Monarchs trying either side of him. Summers made it but Sneddon had to wait for an outside route to open up on turn 3 before he joined his team mate and the Monarchs stretched their lead. Sneddon, Summers, Dicken, Grajczonek (5-1) (30-18) - 58.8 Heat 9 Wethers came in for the Rider Replacement ride. Robert got the drop but Lawson got the better line on the inside of turn 2 as Wethers tried outside. Robert held his ground and went for a blast round the outside on turn 3 but hit the fence and came off. Although he remounted, he retired on the next lap before Josh, all on his own, came off on the last bend. He dusted himself off and remounted for the point. Lawson, Wethers, Grajczonek(F.Rmtd), Kseizak(Ret) (5-1) (35-19) - 57.3 Heat 10 Trent made a better start and went for the dirt line to good effect leaving Fisher eating his dust. The American kept up the chase with some tight turns and this finally paid off as a good drive off the inside of turn 4 lap 3 nudged him ahead going into the final lap and he'd got his first heat win of the night. Fisher, Leverington, Sneddon, Davey (4-2) (39-21) - 58.3 Heat 11 Lee Dicken came in to take Ross' final ride and Shane was designated for a double point Tactical Ride. Shane rocketed away and Wethers' try for the inside line fizzled out. Lee and Tully had a good tussle which the big Tyke had the best of until he locked on turn 4 lap 3, letting the Scot through. Parker(TR), Wethers, Tully, Dicken (3-6) (42-27) - 57.8 Heat 12 Lee came in for a reserve switch and Lawson took the final Rider Replacement ride. Trent and Lawson hit the front with Trent again trying the wide run, but Lawson edged ahead down the back straight for another win. Lawson, Leverington, Dicken, Summers (3-3) (45-30) - 57.6 Heat 13 Shane kept up his run of gating and Fisher lifted coming out of the gate, giving Robert an opportunity. Robert tried to push Wethers on turn 4 but this left a gap for Fisher to exploit, which the Yank promptly did and this left Robert trailing. Parker, Wethers, Fisher, Ksiezak (3-3) (48-33) - 57.6 Heat 14 Lawson was away but Lee, on his seventh race of the night, was holding Tully until a tight second turn on lap 3 saw the youngster through. Lawson, Tully, Dicken, Davey (5-1) (53-34) - 58.1 Heat 15 Shane looked to be heading for his maximum after a great race with Lawson until the man from Auchterader pulled off a drive from the inside on the last turn to take it by inches. Lawson, Parker, Wethers, Leverington (4-2) (57-36) - 57.0 What a delight to see Shane back at his best, although he had only minor support from Lee and latterly Trent. Monarchs, on the other hand, gave good support to flying Lawson and Rider Replacement proved lucrative with Jonasson's replacements only dropping one point, and they look to be on their way to the semi-final of the Trophy. We can only hope Ross has not set his recovery back and we can only hope Tigers can repeat last year's league win later in the year. Report by : John Sloss |
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