Glasgow Tigers v Edinburgh Monarchs

REPORT Sunday 11th August 2013, 10:00pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

We held a 28-point lead in the Spring Trophy from the first leg a long time ago, but the riders went there determined to score as many as possible and maintain their dominance of Scottish affairs. This they achieved in style.

Craig wasted no time racing from gate four to win the opening race in the fastest time of the day. Max was in third down the back straight, but he had Joe Screen behind him, and had to give way when Joe came through powerfully.

We held the advantage in heat two as well, with Derek in front, but Mitchell lost third to Joey Ringwood. Better lay ahead for our Aussie reserve though.

Again we were on a 4-2 in heat 3 and couldn’t hold it! Theo was the race winner from the tapes, but Jozsef lost third due apparently to clutch problems.

We made the breakthrough in heat 4 won by Claus Vissing, when James Grieves misjudged a passing move on Derek Sneddon and brought him off at the start of the final lap. We were awarded the 5-1.

Heat 5 was something else, and we were hit by a torrent of Jim McGregor decisions. At the first running, we were on a 5-1 but it was stopped as Cook allegedly ‘jumped’.

At the second time, the same thing happened, and Craig was ruled to have jumped again. He is adamant that he didn’t, Joe Screen agreed and that seems to be the balance of opinion from the terraces too. However we had to accept the decision, as Craig eventually agreed, and he had no qualms about taking the 15 metre option.

Next, Max earned an exclusion for a 2-minute offence, and this was hard to take as none of the riders appeared to be ready. Granted, there are some riders who do take too long preparing their grids but Max didn’t seem to be the worst offender.

So now Derek came in, he gated, and Craig produced a magnificent ride to pick off both Bager and Thomsen and take the 5-1 anyway!

Heat 6 deserves a special mention for a fine ride by Mitchell Davey to take second spot. Claus Vissing had to work hard to get the better of Dakota North but he did to share the heat. Great stuff Mitch!

James Grieves went through the tapes in heat 7, which was a surprise result with Joey Ringwood nipping out for the win. At least it didn’t permit a TR ride for Tigers, but that wasn’t tactical!

Heat 8 was another of the highlights of the day even though Derek lost concentration as there had been a conversation with the pits going on. Ringwood gated again but a fighting ride by Max Fricke saw him burst through on the inside for the three points.

To some extent it seemed the perceived injustices of heat 5 made Craig and Max even more focussed to succeed.

Claus won heat 9 and every point he was getting was admirable after the pileup he suffered on Friday. Mitchell was in third spot but rode a bit tight, allowing Thomsen round the outside.

Heat 10 proved to be the only heat advantage to Glasgow, a 4-2, so we led 33-27 at that stage.

James Grieves proved he can still do it by heading Cook in a thrilling heat 11, with Craig piling on the pressure. Max took third even though he had lost his steel shoe.

A little reluctantly in view of his improvement, we took Mitchell out of heat 12, and took a 4-2 through Theo and Derek.

Craig Cook blazed his way home in heat 13 though Claus unfortunately pulled out with a broken seat bracket. He had done his job earlier but wasn’t happy!

Glasgow now needed two 5-1s to draw but it was Monarchs who took 5-1 from heat 14, an excellent combination ride by Derek and Jozsef. Deek had finished with a marvellous 12+1, a great show.

The final heat was another cracker, with Joe Screen leading all the way but Craig Cook right on his tail. On the final turn, Joe made the smallest of errors and Craig needed no second bidding to slip through for a superb narrow in. Meanwhile Theo had been at the back but slipped past james grieves at the end of lap one to complete a good day for the Dutchman.

Great stuff from everyone against what should have been a much strengthened Glasgow side compared to our earlier victories.

Full Result Details