Sheffield Speedway Match Reports 2007

The Sheffield Window Centre Tigers claimed their first trophy of the season with a comfortable victory over the Fen Tigers. The visitors won the toss and sped into the lead in the first heat. Joel rounded Shaun Tacey on the second turn to lead, but it took Ricky three laps before he found his way through the flying shale and around Mario Jirout. Birko was left at the start in heat 2 and although Paul easily outpaced Mark Thompson he couldn't match Jason King's pace. James Cockle made a blistering start to heat 3 but went too wide letting Kyle Legault an open invitation to take the lead. André swept around the outside on turn 2 and his momentum carried him past Kyle and into the lead on turn 3. Mark Thompson achieved what we never saw him do last year, he gated to lead heat 4! Paul didn't lose any ground, but he never looked like challenging either. Ben passed Tom P. Madsen on the second turn but then seemed content to follow Paul home. André sped into the lead in heat 5 while Mario Jirout kept the pressure up on James Cockle for third place, eventually finding his way through on the third turn of the last lap, leaving the South Yorkshire Tigers defending a 2 point lead.

Ricky led heat 6 but everyone was watching the battle for second place. Tom P. Madsen pulled alongside Joel down the back straight and took second place entering turn three. Joel executed a lovely switchback to re-take the position on the inside of the pits turn and then rode an excellent line to deny Tom any second attempt. Birko made a flying start to lead heat 7 with Ben tucked in behind. Kyle never stopped trying using every inch of the track, but to no avail. Shaun Tacey made the gate and led heat 8 with Joel passing Paul on the first lap. Joel was making up ground on Shaun when his chain went and locked up his rear wheel at the end of the third lap. André breezed into the lead in heat 9 while interest was centred on James C. and Tom P. at the back of the field. Tom sliced under James on the third turn on the second lap, but James found good drive out wide and regained the place exiting the pits turn. Tom executed the same pass on the third lap but this time held the position. Ricky and Joel took another 5-1 in heat ten with Kyle working very hard but only rewarded with the solitary point. Sheffield now lead by 12 points.

Shaun Tacey is nominated in heat 11, but it's his team mate Mario who flies from the tapes. Ben's wide line takes him into the lead exiting turn two while Birko starts reeling Mario in. Birko's tries too hard and nearly loses control wide on the second turn of lap three, but he just manages to recover in time to hold position and makes no mistake on the last lap. André leads heat 12 from Kyle and Jason King with Paul trailing the field. Kyle grinds to a halt on the second turn of lap 3 and then Jason's engine seizes on the last lap depositing him in the fence on the third turn. He drags the bike from under the fence, clutch full of muddy shale and back wheel bent and locked solid and proceeds to half drag, half carry it all the way to the finish line encouraged by fans, rack staff and team mates alike, before collapsing exhausted on the track. Ricky blasts to the front in heat 13 with Ben rounding Mario on the first turn of the second lap. Ben cheekily catches Ricky napping on the last turn and sneaks up the inside to steal the win. Birko leads heat 14 from Jamie Smith and James C passes Mark on the second turn, lap 2 to extend the home Tigers lead. Ben gets the nomination and joins his skipper in heat 15 which they win from Mario and Shaun for the sixth 5-1 of the evening.

Only James Cockle failed to win a heat for the Tigers, although Paul's paid win was the result of both Mildenhall riders breaking down when he was well beaten! Both of them need to up their pace a bit. Birko trapped well to claim two wins and Joel would have been paid 11 but for a breakdown. Ben looked uncomfortable on the greasy surface early on, but improved as the night wore on, and Ricky soon made amends for a poor first heat. As for André, well twenty starts and twenty wins including last nights victory in the Alan Hunt Memorial Trophy on the opening night at Birmingham.

Next week will be a sterner test as we meet the King's Lynn Stars home and away in the first of out Premier Trophy matches.

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