REPORT: Poole Pirates v Glasgow Tigers

27/05/26

Pirates claimed another two SGB Cab Direct Championship points with a solid win over the Glasgow Tigers

Two battling riders went shoulder to shoulder round the first bend - Richard Lawson and Chris Harris locked together in combat, but the current Poole man prevailed when they switched to a straight line and the opening heat was converted into a Poole advantage as Kyle Newman went unchallenged by a struggling Sam Hagon. First fighting his front wheel, Cooper Rushen did exceptionally well to get his bike under control and then navigate it around a terrific line to assume the lead, with William Cairns backing him up in second. The pair were obliged to do it all again in a re-start though, as Jack Smith tumbled on the second lap. In fairness to the Tiger he showed willing to try and clear the track, but his body wasn't having it and the race was stopped. The only thing that changed in the re-run was the order of finish, with Cairns taking the flag, the 5-1 never in doubt. Not much room to work with for Lewi Kerr in heat three but he managed to get by Leon Flint. Trying a different way, Kyle Newman's inside attempt didn't come off and as the race progressed he found himself having to watch his rear as Tigers Luke Harrison was o on the prowl. Zach Cook raced clear in heat four leaving Cairns to fight his own battles and the youngster did himself proud for, persistently. Kyle Howarth was trying to line up moves that might have promoted him into second. Chris Harris provided Glasgow with their first race winner by heading off Kerr in heat five, but Poole's early twelve point advantage never came under threat as Hagon was tailing off. (21-9)

Rushen was quick , and keen,. to leave Lawson to do the hard work behind him by holding out Howarth and things were looking really good for Poole, until on lap three Rushen suffered engine failure - later diagnosed as a spark plug poping out - and a sure 5-1 went begging, being turned into a shared heat. Cairns largely replicated Rushen's previous heat passing move and was followed closely home by skipper Cook as Poole's grip on the meeting strengthened and it was similar outcome in heat as Kerr and Rushen completed another 5-1. Glasgow's turn to dominate came in heat ten as Harris (Tactical Substitute) and Howarth both held of Newman at turn 2 on the first lap. Kerr then moved into third but was a little too far adrift to make any impact. Were we about to witness a Glasgow revival? Harrison made Lawson work on the first lap but once the Poole man had found a way by he then went in search of leader Flint who proved equally, but more, stubborn, defying Lawson's excellent cut-back. (37-23)

Heat eleven provided great speedway action in the opening exchanges as Cook went on the outside and Cairns took the inside route to pass Harris. But, if any rider is spurred on by being passed it is the 'Bomber' and boy did he come back fighting. Cook had enough pace to make some headway but Cairns stuck at the task of trying to re-pass Harris, alas though for the youngster, it was to no avail. Poole fans, and general speedway enthusiasts, were treated to a great ride by Rushen in heat twelve, whilst Kerr put up a defiant ride as he had Flint all over him. From the outside, Cook raced off in heat thirteen and won by distance, missing the action as Harris kept Lawson hunting for second. The 4-2 took the Pirates to the fifty mark, but they weren't able to add to their tally of ten race winners, for Harrison produced an impressive ride to win heat fourteen for the Tigers, Cairns , to his credit, not being too far behind. Then in the final heat, Lawson went through a gap that Cook couldn't manage, having been left by Flint, but this battle was being played out whilst Harris was signing off with a decent margin win, giving the Tigers a closing heat advantage.

POOLE 55
Richard Lawson 3,3,2,1,2=11 (5)
Rider Replacement
Lewis Kerr 3,2,3,1,2'=11+1 (5)
Kyle Newman 1,1,1',0,1'=4+2 (5)
Zach Cook 3,2',3,3,0=11+1 (5)
William Cairns 3,3,0,1,2=9 (5)
Cooper Rushen 2',2',R,2',3=9+3 (5)

GLASGOW 35
Chris Harris 2,3,3,2,2,3=15 (6)
Sam Hagon 0,0,0,0=0 (4)
Leon Flint 2,0,3,1,1=7 (5)
Luke Harrison 0,1,1,3=5 (4)
Kyle Howarth 1,2,2',0=5+1 (4)
Jack Smith FD,1',TS,0=1+1 (3)
Freddy Hodder 1,0,1, ,0=2 (4)

Ht 1: R.Lawson, C.Harris, K.Newman, S.Hagon 4-2 4-2 [59.97]
Ht 2: W.Cairns, C.Rushen, F.Hodder, J.Smith [fell exc] 5-1 9-3 [60.26]
Ht 3: L.Kerr, L.Flint, K.Newman, L.Harrison 4-2 13-5 [59.9]
Ht 4: Z.Cook, C.Rushen, K.Howarth, F.Hodder 5-1 18-6 [59.55]
Ht 5: C.Harris, L.Kerr, K.Newman, S.Hagon 3-3 21-9 [59.7]
Ht 6: R.Lawson, K.Howarth, J.Smith, C.Rushen [rtd] 3-3 24-12 [61.1]
Ht 7: W.Cairns, Z.Cook, L.Harrison, L.Flint 5-1 29-13 [61.17]
Ht 8: L.Kerr, C.Rushen, F.Hodder, S.Hagon 5-1 34-14 [60.77]
Ht 9: C.Harris, K.Howarth, L.Kerr, K.Newman, J.Smith 1-5 35-19 [60.92]
Ht 10: L.Flint, R.Lawson, L.Harrison, W.Cairns 2-4 37-23 [61.11]
Ht 11: Z.Cook, C.Harris, W.Cairns, S.Hagon 4-2 41-25 [61.98]
Ht 12: C.Rushen, L.Kerr, L.Flint, J.Smith 5-1 46-26 [62.02]
Ht 13: Z.Cook, C.Harris, R.Lawson, K.Howarth 4-2 50-28 [61.66]
Ht 14: L.Harrison, W.Cairns, K.Newman, F.Hodder 3-3 53-31 [62.98]
Ht 15: C.Harris, R.Lawson, L.Flint, Z.Cook 2-4 55-35 [61.93]

SCB Referee Ms Christina Turnbull