Just over 12 months ago the Somerset ‘Sharp’ Rebels left Ashfield with the points in the bank, and following the previous evenings narrow defeat at Derwent Park, they were looking for a repeat performance.
Saturday’s top scorer, Stephan Katt was missing from the line up, as he was contesting the FIM European Grasstrack Semi-Final at Melsungen in Germany. Buxton’s Ben Taylor got the call up to cover Katt, and Matthias Kröger returned to the side after his enforced absence the previous evening. Glasgow tracked Carl Stonehewer in the top spot, as cover for the almost fit Shane Parker.
The Rebels started with a bang in Heat 1, when Jason Doyle and Matthias Kröger bolted from the gate to lead in a tight first turn. From there on they were not troubled as Carl Stonehewer and Lee Dicken never got in the hunt, and they ran out easy winners to take a maximum start.
Heat 2 was shared as Josh Grajczonek came from behind to beat the experienced Brent Werner. Werner trapped quickly to lead early on, with the Tigers pair packing the places. Mitchell Davey was challenged by Ben Taylor on the second turn, but held off the young Yorkshireman, until falling on the same bend next time round. Werner looked comfortable in the lead, especially when Grajczonek got out of shape on the back straight. On the third lap the Tigers’ young starlet picked up the pace, and closed down Werner, coming underneath him off the final turn of the lap. Once in front he was gone, and the heat was all square.
The Tigers hit back straight away with Robert Ksiezak and Trent Leverington leading all the way, to take a full house in Heat 3. Emil Kramer’s chance was gone when he caught a big lift of the start line, and Ben Taylor, taking the rider replacement brought up the rear. The Rebels restored the 4-point cushion with their second maximum of the afternoon in Heat 4. Brent Werner replaced Ben Taylor, and trapped alongside his partner, Jordan Frampton. Anders Andersen challenged the pair on the second bend, but he was clamped down, and his run was over. Josh Grajczonek came late up the inside of the last bend of lap 3, but he couldn’t repeat his second heat pass on Werner, and the Rebels took the full quota.
The Rebels could have further increased their lead in Heat 5, as the maximum men, Doyle and Kroger, represented them in this race. Unfortunately Matthias Kröger was just too eager, and went early, touching the tapes. He went off 15 meters in the re-start, but apart from a brief challenge to Robert Ksiezak late on, he could make no real impression. The race went to Jason Doyle, who trapped quickly to lead all the way from Trent Leverington to share the points.
Heat 6 saw the Tigers’ square the match again, with their second maximum. Carl Stonehewer and Lee Dicken flashed out of the gate to lead early. Jordan Frampton came storming round the outside, but got out of shape running into the second turn, leaving the home pair to pull away. Brent Werner took third after Frampton’s error.
The match went into the halfway stage with the scores tied and with more shared points in Heat 7. Josh Grajczonek replaced Anders Andersen, and bolted to an all the way win from the inside gate. Jordan Frampton came in as rider replacement and took second place, in front of team mate Emil Kramer. Mitchell Davey failed to complete for the second time as he fell on the third bend of Lap 2.
At the halfway point it was the Tigers who eased ahead, when taking Heat 8 by a margin of 4-2. Brent Werner came in for Ben Taylor, and bolted from the gate alongside Josh Grajczonek, with the young Queenslander getting the better of the early turns. Matthias Kröger had his run stopped on the second bend as he came to challenge. With his momentum curtailed he fell behind Lee Dicken, but was soon on his tail, charging hard. He came up the inside of Dicken on the second bend of Lap 2, but couldn’t find a line by. For the next two laps he was all over the back wheel of Dicken, but once more couldn’t find the drive to make the pass.
Glasgow pulled two more points ahead in Heat 9 when they took another 4-2 advantage, courtesy of Ksiezak and Leverington. They led from the tapes, but as Ksiezak went clear, Leverington had no answer to a rampant Jordan Frampton down the back straight. Leverington came back to challenge early in the final lap, but Frampton held him easily. Ben Taylor took his final ride of the afternoon, and once again had done well in the hot house that is the Premier League.
With the home side 4-points to the good the Rebels were looking to stem the flow, and looked to Emil Kramer and Brent Werner to put the brakes on the Tigers. As the tapes rose in Heat 10 the visitors hope were high that they could peg back some points. Carl Stonehewer and Kramer broke level. Unfortunately for the Rebels it was Stonehewer who just edged the lead at the second bend. Werner had settled into third spot, but was under pressure from Dicken. The Hull born rider moved out into the dirt, and closed the gap, almost getting on terms and passing on the wide outside on the fourth bend. He set off after Kramer, and flew around the dirt line. He got on chance to go by, as he caught Kramer on the final bend of Lap 3, but Kramer passed the test and held him off to the line. The Rebels relieved the pressure slightly in Heat 11 as they nullified the previous heat score by replying with a 4-2 of their own. Jason Doyle led on the first turn, and Matthias Kröger went passed Mitchell Davey on the back straight to take the advantage. Kröger had caught Anders Andersen by the fourth bend, and a 5-1 looked on the cards, but try as he might he could not find away passed the Tigers ‘Number Five’ . Kröger was all over the back of Andersen for all 4 laps but Andersen soaked up the pressure to prevent a Rebels full house.
In Heat 12 disaster struck the Rebels at a crucial stage of the match, as the Tigers hammered home a big 5-1 advantage. It was part of the Tigers Australian contingent that did the damage, when Robert Ksiezak and Josh Grajczonek led from the moments the tapes rose. Things got worse for the visitors on the second lap as Emil Kramer, trying to make ground, got out of shape, falling and smashing into the fence on the third bend. He was quickly on his feet, but clearly in severe discomfort, appearing to have aggravated his recent injury. He only got halfway across the track before he went down in a lot of pain. It was a long time before he rose to walk, heavily aided, into the back of the ambulance that had been called to attend him. The re-run was a formality after the Tigers pair gate first again, leaving Brent Werner to chase. He was close up to Grajczonek, and threw down the gauntlet on the second bend, but the Tigers man had him covered, and pulled away.
On the previous evening, Jason Doyle and Jordan Frampton had put the Rebels right back in the match with a stunning 5-1, and were hoping for a repeat in today’s Heat 13. The omens were not good as Frampton’s machine stopped on the line, and had to be restarted. With the tapes up, Doyle bolted for the lead to go clear on the first turn. As Jordan Frampton delivered his challenge in the middle of the opening turns, his machine expired, and he ground to a halt. Doyle stormed away, but with his partner grounded the Rebels were bang in trouble.
This season Doyle has been sensational as a tactical substitute, winning three off 15 meters, the latest of which was just the night before. So it was no surprise when he appeared in the ‘Black and White’ for Heat 14 in place of Ben Taylor. Matthias Kröger took the rider replacement ride, and Glasgow pulled Mitchell Davey in favour of Josh Grajczonek. Grajczonek, and Trent Leverington broke in front of Kröger, but the German racer was soon challenging up his favoured inside line as they exited the second turn. It was tight, and he was just squeezed out, leaving the home pair clear.
Doyle came storming through, but it was fully two laps before he passed his partner. Once in third he set off after Leverington, and was upsides with just over a lap to run. Leverington held him off, but Doyle redoubled his effort, and entering the last two bends, looked to have the measure of the Brisbane man, but as he challenged, Leverington tried to shut the door, with what can only be politely described as an extremely hard move, forcing Doyle against the fence. A lesser man would have gone down, but Doyle to his credit remained upright, and almost stole second on the line, despite having to negotiate the last bend fencing.
With the tigers now 48-36 up the mathematical chance of a win for the Rebels had disappeared, and it was pride that was at stake in the nominated heat. Unsurprisingly the home side sent out Josh Grajczonek and Robert Ksiezak, with the Rebels tracking Jason Doyle and Jordan Frampton. The match may have gone, but the Rebels were still eager to take the heat, so much so that Jason Doyle was just a bit too quick for the liking of Tony Steele, who called them all back to try again. Doyle made no mistake this time round, and powered off the line to lead away from the rest. Jordan Frampton was at the rear, but came storming round the outside of the final bend, and was almost beside Grajczonek, when he was forced even wider as the young Australian ride across him, and stopped his run. As a race that was it, over, and the order remained the same to the line, giving victory to the Tigers by 51-39.
For the home side the stand out performance came fro Josh Grajczonek, with 16+2 to add to his already growing tally of double figure scores. In him the Tigers have unearthed a diamond in the raw, as he will undoubtedly go on to bigger and better things. Robert Ksiezak, Trent Leverington, and guest Carl Stonehewer ably backed him up.
The Rebels had battled away all day, but in the end came away from the two matches with no points, but with a host of plaudits from the opposing fans. Jason Doyle had once more shown his worth, with a 16-point haul, going unbeaten in all his expected rides, and only dropping points in his tactical substitute ride. Although he only scored 7-points here, Jordan Frampton had emerged as a genuine future heat leader, with some tough uncompromising racing. He is another heading for a bright future, before too long. Brent Werner again provided a host of important points, with some gritty determined action. Emil Kramer still appeared to be suffering from his previous evenings woes before he took his fall. He was up and about later, and hopefully will not be suffering too much of a reaction, as the Rebels go into an important period of their season. It isn’t known how much longer Simon Walker will be out, so the Rebels need all their remaining riders fit and well for the fray. Matthias Kröger, although not scoring too many points today, rode well throughout, and was unlucky not to add to his total. Next weekend sees the Rebels tackle a mixture of League and Cup action, with Premier League matches on Friday against Redcar, and Sunday they take on Reading at Smallmead. Sandwiched in between will be the first leg of their Knock Out Cup Semi-Final, against the Rye House Rockets at Hoddesdon.
Glasgow Tigers - 51
1. Carl Stonehewer (G) - 0, 3, 3, 2 = 8
2. Lee Dicken - 1, 2*, 1, 1 = 5+1
3. Robert Ksiezak - 2*, 1*, 3, 3, 2 = 11+2
4. Trent Leverington - 3, 2, 1, 2* = 8+1
5. Anders Andersen - 0, 2, 1* = 3+1
6. Mitchell Davey - fl, fl, 0 = 0 (3)
7. Josh Grajczonek - 3, 1, 3, 3, 2*, 3, 1* = 16+2
Somerset Rebels - 39
1. Jason Doyle - 3, 3, 3, 3, 1^, 3 = 16
2. Matthias Kroger - 2*, 0T, 0, 1, 0 = 3+1
3. Emil Kramer - 1, 1*, 2, flx = 4+1
4. Simon Walker – R/R
5. Jordan Frampton - 3, 0, 2, 2, ef, 0 = 7
6. Brent Werner - 2, 2*, 1, 2, 0, 1 = 8+1
7. Ben Taylor (G) - 1*, 0, 0 = 1+1
