This afternoon I went to see the Glasgow Tigers speedway
team.
Speedway takes place on a short dirt track often, as is the
case today, round a football (soccer) pitch. Four riders, two from each team, race
over four laps. Each heat lasts less than a minute. There are 15 heats with
points being awarded 3-2-1-0. It is a team sport with the riders' points being
added together to give a team score. The bikes are 500cc singles with a single
gear and no brakes.
Today's opponents were the Rye House Rockets. It
was a close contest with the visitors edging it 47 points to 43. The crowd very
sportingly applauded the Rockets on their victory.
The Tigers race at Ashfield Stadium in the Possilpark area
of north Glasgow.
In this sequence the Tiger's rider Henning Bager overdoes it in the last corner of the race.
I last saw the Tigers when they were at Shawfield Stadium in Rutherglen, Glasgow. As first time visitors my friend and I stood far too near the track and were covered in gravel on the first pass :)
ReplyDeleteI did the same the only other time I went to speedway at Love St, Paisley in the mid '70's. I though "why is no one standing at the corner - it seems a good place to see the action". And there was less protection for the crowd back them.
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