Glasgow Tigers 45: Edinburgh Monarchs 44
Premier National Trophy
Saracen Park, Ashfield
Sunday 30th April 2000
Edinburgh missed out following a last heat decider after leading from the start. Edinburgh went into the last heat with a one-point advantage but James Grieves and Les Collins took a 4-2 off Peter Carr and Robert Eriksson.
It was a match that Monarchs should have won. Five of the Edinburgh team won races amounting to ten out of fifteen heats. A number of points were thrown away with Kevin Little blowing an engine when second and Christian Henry suffering two engine failures in heats where he should have scored. It was two late tape offenses that probably cost Edinburgh the match. Peter Carr was penalized in heat 13 and was replaced by Christian Henry. This possibly cost Edinburgh a 5-1. Then in heat 14, Christian Henry touched the tapes and had to go from 15m back and ran last behind Aidan Collins who he had already beaten twice.
As in the previous encounter the meeting was notable for a lot of 3-3 tied heats generally won by an Edinburgh rider.
Edinburgh were unchanged while Glasgow put in former Sheffield rider James Birkinshaw for in the injured Scott Courtney.
Monarchs' captain Peter Carr lost the toss. Gate position A was in used with Glasgow off 1 and 3 for the first heat.
Heat 1: Robert Eriksson, James Grieves, Blair Scott [60.6]
James Grieves gated but was pressured by Robert Eriksson. Both Sean Courtney and Blair Scott developed problems. Sean retired but Blair limped round to finish. Grieves held out Eriksson for a couple of laps until Robert produced a great inside pass to win in a very fast time.
(2-4) (2-4)
Heat 2: Christian Henry, Aidan Collins, James Birkinshaw, Brian Turner [62.5]
Brian Turner lifted at the start but Christian Henry stormed ahead to win in impressive style from Aidan Collins.
(3-3) (5-7)
Heat 3: Kevin Little, Emiliano Sanchez, Richard Juul, Ross Brady [61.1]
Kevin Little made the start and held off Sanchez without any real problems. Ross Brady struggled along at the back with an engine sounding like a tractor.
(3-3) (8-10)
Heat 4: Les Collins, Peter Carr, Christian Henry, James Birkinshaw [60.5]
Les Collins got the drop on Peter Carr to secure a heat win for Glasgow but Christian Henry took an easy third place.
(3-3) (11-13)
Heat 5: Robert Eriksson, Emiliano Sanchez, Richard Juul, Blair Scott [61.3]
Eriksson made the start ahead of Sanchez and Scott. Sanchez nearly lost things on the fourth bend. He made a brilliant recovery but balked Juul and Scott. The Dane came off best and secured third place.
(3-3) (14-16)
Heat 6: Peter Carr, James Grieves, Sean Courtney, Brian Turner [60.1]
Peter Carr won from James Grieves in a time only 0.1 seconds outside the track record. Sean Courtney beat Brian Turner.
(3-3) (17-19)
Heat 7: Kevin Little, Les Collins, Aidan Collins, Ross Brady [61.2]
Kevin Little continued his fine form with a win over Les Collins from the gate. Ross Brady made a good start but soon faded and dropped to last with a decidedly agricultural sounding motor.
(3-3) (20-22)
Heat 8: Blair Scott, Aidan Collins, Sean Courtney [62.5]
Aidan Collins replaced James Birkinshaw as a reserve change. Blair Scott and Christian Henry made the start but Henry stopped with engine problems. Blair Scott held on to win without difficulty.
(3-3) (23-25)
Heat 9: Peter Carr, Richard Juul [Awarded]
Peter Carr gated ahead of Juul and Sanchez. Brian Turner stopped as Sanchez took up the chase. Emiliano overdid things and hit the second bend fence causing the heat to be awarded.
(2-3) (25-28)
Heat 10: James Grieves, Christian Henry, Aidan Collins [61.5]
Edinburgh brought in Christian Henry to replace Ross Brady while Aidan Collins replaced Sean Courtney. James Grieves rounded Kevin Little on the second bend to lead with Henry third. Kevin was still in contention when his engine blew up.
(4-2) (29-30)
Heat 11: Robert Eriksson, Les Collins, Blair Scott, James Birkinshaw [61.4]
James Birkinshaw replaced Aidan Collins to complete his three rides. Les Collins made the start but Eriksson produced a tremendous outside pass to maintain his 100% record.
(2-4) (31-34)
Heat 12: Richard Juul, Kevin Little, Aidan Collins [62.4]
Edinburgh brought in Christian Henry for Brian Turner as a reserve change while Glasgow put in Aidan Collins for Birkinshaw. Christian Henry suffered an engine failure on the start line. Kevin Little was outgated by Juul to come second.
(4-2) (35-36)
Heat 13: Robert Eriksson, James Grieves, Christian Henry, Les Collins [61.9]
Peter Carr was excluded for tape touching with Monarchs opting to replace him with Christian Henry. Les Collins made the start and led from Robert Eriksson and James Grieves. Les suffered a puncture leaving Eriksson and Grieves to battle it out. Grieves seemed to have got ahead coming off the last bend but Eriksson on the wider line had enough grip to win. Christian Henry was never far behind and took third ahead of Collins who limped home.
(2-4) (37-40)
Heat 14: Emiliano Sanchez, Ross Brady, Aidan Collins, Christian Henry [62.3]
Christian Henry fell foul of the tape touching rue but remained in the heat penalized by 15 metres. Ross Brady made the gate but was eventually overhauled by Sanchez. Christian Henry made up some ground on Collins but couldn't quite get in touch
(4-2) (41-42)
Heat 15: James Grieves, Peter Carr, Les Collins, Robert Eriksson [61.2]
Glasgow won the toss for gate position. Grieves made the start ahead of Carr with Collins third. This remained with the track now rather dusty and passing less likely.
(4-2) (45-44)
|
Glasgow Tigers |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
James Grieves |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
|
|
12 |
|
Sean Courtney |
R |
1* |
1* |
|
|
|
|
2+2 |
|
Richard Juul |
1* |
1* |
2 |
3 |
|
|
|
7+2 |
|
Emiliano Sanchez |
2 |
2 |
X |
3 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
Les Collins |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
8 |
|
Aidan Collins |
2 |
1* |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
8+1 |
|
James Birkinshaw |
1* |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
1+1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edinburgh Monarchs |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Robert Eriksson |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
12 |
|
Blair Scott |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
Kevin Little |
3 |
3 |
R |
2 |
|
|
8 |
|
|
Ross Brady |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
Peter Carr |
2 |
3 |
3 |
T |
2 |
|
|
10 |
|
Brian Turner |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
Christian Henry |
3 |
1* |
R |
2 |
R |
1 |
0 |
7+1 |
Edinburgh, or at least five riders, performed well despite the loss. Eriksson looked unbeatable until he ran last in the deciding heat 15. Robert also produced most of the passing on a track which offered less encouragement than usual. Carr was also strong but dropped points after a tape exclusion. Kevin Little was ingreat form until blowing his engine. Christian Henry and Blair Scott also recored heat wins. Christian did miss out through two engine failures and a tape penalty in heat 14. He can be pleased with his after noon after beating Aidan Collins twice on the track although losing to him when penalized 15 metres.
Ross Brady had a poor afternoon and seemed to be suffering engine problems. He ran last twice and was replaced in his third ride before coming back with a second place in heat 14. Brian Turner never looked like scoring on a track where until recently he was joint track record holder.
Glasgow produced points across the board apart from Sean Courtney and James Birkinshaw. While they lacked the power to win heats they genrally picked up the minor points to stay in contention when Edinburgh gifted them the match with the two tape touchings.
Man of the match: James Grieves
Most exciting rider: Robert Eriksson
Next meeting: v Glasgow, Premier National Trophy, Armadale on Friday 5th May 2000
John Lowe