“BRING on those Monarchs.”
That was the message from Danny Ayres after a man-of-the-match performance as Glasgow came within one point of matching Elite League side Coventry Bees in a 46-45 defeat.
It was only bad luck that saw the Tigers lose the meeting, as the top-flight visitors to the Peugeot Ashfeld Stadium needed a tactical ride to pull themselves back from 10 points behind.
Ayres and Ben Barker then both crashed out in heat 12, before Nike Lunna’s engine conked out on the last bend of heat 14 as he raced round James Sarjeant for a win.
Despite his side’s misfortune, Ayres was thrilled with the performance – as he won heat two and then produced the pass of the day on Liam Carr in the eighth race for a total haul of five.
He’s now gunning for reigning Premier League champions Edinburgh, who visit Glasgow next Sunday in the first League Cup fixture of the season.
Reserve Ayres – in just his second season in the sport – said: “I’m absolutely buzzing. The feeling going through my body right now is unbelievable.
“All I wanted to do was just get that heat one win. I got that and I started to settle, but this is just the start.
“I feel blessed to ride for such a mighty team and with such great riders. I want this so bad that I’m not going to stop until I succeed.
“We’ve pushed an Elite League side. You’ve got Krzysztof Kasprzak, a former Grand Prix rider; you’ve got Chris Harris who’s gone the hardest way to get into the Grand Prix. You’ve got Sarjeant who’s been here last year, so it’s amazing.
“All I’ve got to do is relax myself and bring myself on and let the good times roll. Like I say, I can’t describe how much I want this and I want to give thanks to the Facennas, the fans, Stewart Dickson and Alan Dick and everyone that’s making this possible for me. I’m not going to let them down.”
Ayres took a tumble in his last heat as he challenged GB World Cup star Danny King on the second bend, but walked away unscathed.
He admitted: “I think I just got a little bit excited. With knowledge I should’ve cut back, but I was in there and I was fully committed. I thought it would be an absolutely awesome buzz to go round Danny King – sadly it didn’t happen.
“But we walk away from it very happy and bring on next week, when we’re going to do this Edinburgh lot.”
Remarkably, Glasgow didn’t have a last place until heat 12 when Ayres and Baker hit the deck. The only others came during a masterclass heat 13 from Harris and Kasprzak, who rode in tandem for four laps for a 5-1, and when Lunna’s bike let him down in heat 14. The result will give the Tigers plenty of optimism given this was their first time on track since October.
Tigers scorers: Richie Worrall 9+2, Richard Lawson 9, Aaron Summers 8, Ben Barker 6, Coty Garcia 5+1, Danny Ayres 5, Nike Lunna 3.