Desperate Glasgow Tigers management have sent an urgent SOS to Edinburgh Monarchs track supremo Alan Bridgett to sort out problems with the Ashfield track ahead of this Sunday's crunch Premier National Trophy match.
Monarchs are due to make their first visit to Ashfield and need at least a draw to be sure of qualifying for the Semi-Final of the Premier National Trophy as best runner-up.
Alan Bridgett was involved in the original laying of the track which was much praised for its smoothness in the first few matches. Bridgett left instructions on how the track was to be looked after. Recently, the track has cut up badly in particular a large rut in the third bend. It is common for new tracks to take some time to settle down an compact.
The Ashfield track has been dogged by serious injuries. In the first meeting Scott Courtney crashed coming out of the second bend when leading heat 2, injuring his back. He has not raced since. One week later, Berwick riders, Wesley Waite and David Meldrum were involved in a horror crash on the third bend. While Meldrum was out for a week, Waite had a lengthy spell in hospital and has not raced since. It should be pointed out that neither of these accidents could be attributed to the track.
Then last Sunday, Marc Norris of Reading crashed into Paul Bentley. Norris sustained a broken arm while Benley went to hospital with a broken ankle and neck injuries. Both are expected to be out for six weeks or more.
After this crash, Referee Jim McGregor abandoned the cup tie between Glasgow and Berwick with one heat remaining. The match tie had been settled much earlier anyway. McGregor commented:
"I am pretty sure that Paul's accident arrived as a direct result of a large rut in the third bend. I couldn't allow racing to continue after that."
Alan Bridgett confirmed that he had agreed to inspect the track to indentify what improvements were needed.
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