With many Glasgow supporters heading for Saturday’s British GP in Cardiff, this weekend will have an usual feel as all roads back North lead to a rare Monday night speedway occasion at Ashfield Stadium.
With the club now looking to retrofit several fixtures, previously rained-off earlier this season, we have set-up an appetising Premier League clash against a strong looking Scunthorpe Scorpions side who are currently vying for second place in the league table.
Tigers will, thankfully, be able to stand down the rider replacement facility as we welcome back Christian Henry to the side to face the Scorpions. Former Tiger Mason Campton will again line-up at No.7 for the home side as we look to get straight back into winning ways following last Sunday’s last heat loss to an all-conquering Edinburgh side.
The Monday night date will allow more track preparation time this weekend, and it is expected that the cooler early evening conditions will itself make for a more consistent track. Stewart Dickson has continued to pile on the dirt as requested by the home side, and more full throttle spectacular racing is guaranteed given the quality of riders in both teams.
The Scorpions are forced into a team change on Monday with Danish No.1 Nicolai Klindt unavailable, his place will be taken by the now popular Ashfield guest Max Fricke who makes his third Glasgow appearance in successive weeks.
Full line-ups for Monday:
GLASGOW
1 Kevin Wölbert 2 Christian Henry 3 Anders Thomsen 4 Theo Pijper (C) 5 Rusty Harrison 6 Kasper Lykke Nielsen 7 Mason Campton (G)
SCUNTHORPE
1 Max Fricke (G) 2 David Howe 3 Ashley Birks (C) 4 Josh Auty 5 Ryan Douglas 6 Matt Williamson 7 Thomas Jørgensen
With Scunthorpe currently performing very well – their recent humiliation at Newcastle excepted – and with so many riders who have heat winning potential based on strong Ashfield records, this meeting will again prove a stern test for the Allied Vehicles Tigers as the visitors look to improve on their draw in 2013.
However, having performed so resiliently against the Monarchs last week, and with Christian stepping back into the side, the home camp will be quietly confident of being able to eke out a winning score – it could well go right down to the wire!
Tapes-up on Monday will be 7:15pm, with gates open from 6:15pm.
As always we will operate our snack bar/bar facilities should this prove a more convenient way of seeking some well deserved sustenance at the end of your work day.
Say “bonjour” to Dimitri
Our young French star is in Scotland!
Dimitri has travelled back to work on his bikes with a view to having them in tip-top race ready condition once again prior to his fully expected track return in a fortnight’s time (27th July Vs Berwick).
We expect Dimitri to be at Ashfield on Monday evening and plan to interview him and welcome him back into the Tigers family.
Cardiff Carnival
We wish all our supporters who are making the trip South, to Somerset and Cardiff, a wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable weekend – look forward to you returning to Ashfield in good voice come Monday night.
Best wishes too to each of Tigers fans Kirsty Caffrey, Chris Caffrey, Michael Brady and Jean Barr who will ‘Ride with Tai’ this afternoon – remember that you can still make a donation to their efforts, and in doing so support Tai’s Great Ormand Street appeal. To see how our supporters fund raising stands, and to give it a timely boost, please look here (for Kirsty, Chris & Michael) and here for Jean.
Food Bank – thanks
A massive “thank you” once again to all generous Tigers fans who have made donations in recent weeks to the Evening Times food bank campaign.
We have been overwhelmed by the amount of donations collected to date, and will shortly arrange to forward these to the families/people who need these most.
We will keep our collection point open for each meeting during July. Thank you very much.
End of Season Dance
We weren’t quite in a position to announce details of this last Sunday, however do expect to be able to this on Monday night – October will come around quicker than any of us would like!
Listen out for details on Monday night – see you there!