Scunthorpe Scorpions vs Glasgow Tigers preview
FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, are looking to win their third successive home meeting at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday (7.30pm). But they will face a massive test, when they entertain an all-powerful Glasgow Tigers team, on a night when an electric atmosphere is almost guaranteed.
Glasgow have been taken over by brothers Gerry & Michael Facenna this season, and the duo have spent over a million pounds on improvements to the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, as well as assembling a very strong side led by former Scorpion Nick Morris, Richard Lawson and Aaron Summers.
Friday’s clash could almost be described as David vs Goliath, except for the fact that there is a ‘David’ riding for the Tigers!
The David in question is David Howe, Scunthorpe’s all-time leading points’ scorer, and the man who started the 2015 season wearing the Scunthorpe No 1 race-jacket. He has been signed by Glasgow to replace Kozza Smith, who has returned to Australia with a broken leg, and, ironically, Howe makes his debut for the Tigers at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday.
Howe’s inclusion in the Glasgow side is bound to create plenty of talk on the terraces. His last appearance for Scunthorpe came at Newcastle on April 19, when he scored paid 2 (1+1). He subsequently ruled himself out of action for the Scorpions, after informing the promotion that he had suffered an injury within his home, and in a recent interview in Speedway Star magazine, he said he was taking a break from speedway.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey prefers to largely keep his silence over Howe, simply stating: “It’s not ideal that David Howe makes his debut for Glasgow on Friday racing against us. But the decision has been made and we move on.
“We’re not riding against just one man on Friday; we’re riding against a complete team.
“Looking at the two teams, we are the underdogs, make no mistake about that. But we rode very well last week against Workington. We will come out fighting, looking to pull a miracle out of the bag, because we really don’t want to lose another home match.
“The lads are going to need every last bit of support. We need the fans to come along and really get behind the boys, because this is an important meeting in context to our season.”
In a meeting that is bound to have plenty of spice, Rye House’s Nikolaj B. Jakobsen is the guest for Josh Auty, and Godfrey reckons the Scorpions have pulled an ace of the hat.
“There’s quite a story regarding the guest for Friday”, Godfrey reveals. “We wanted Ben Barker, but he was already booked to guest for Lakeside. So we booked Ashley Birks, because we could have used him as a guest again, as long as we used him at No 1 rather than No 3.
“Lakeside then reintroduced Ash to their side. On Monday afternoon, we agreed with Lakeside to release Ash from his guest booking, as long as we could use Ben Barker, and they agreed.
“But then Ben suffered a horrible crash at the British Final on Monday. We wish him all the best, and a speedy recovery from his injuries. He has been brilliant in his guest performances for us this year, putting in maximum effort and helping out the rest of the side as well.
“It meant we had to re-think the guest, and I think we’ve pulled a rabbit out of the hat with Nikolaj B. Jakobsen. He came here with Rye House a month ago, having never seen the place before, and he was fantastic. He’s got a never-say-die attitude, which we like, but plus now got a bit of track knowledge as well.”
Glasgow have strengthened their side, by bringing guest Nico Covatti, enjoying a fine season for Ipswich, in place of James Sarjeant, who is riding for Elite League Coventry.
The Scorpions have won their last two home meetings, against Newcastle (53-37) and Workington (54-38).
There are 24 heats of action in total on Friday, with a nine-race second half comprising of a six-heat Midland Development League match between Scunthorpe & Long Eaton and three 250cc Youth races.
Admission prices for Friday:
Adult: £15.00
Student/OAP: £13.00
Child (10 – 17): £5.00
Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult)
Family Ticket £35 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-17)
Match Programme: £1.00
Expected teams for Friday:
FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance: 1. Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen (guest for Josh Auty), 2. Theo Pijper, 3. Rider replacement for Ryan Douglas, 4. Carl Wilkinson, 5. Alex Davies, 6. Ben Wilson, 7. Nike Lunna.
Glasgow Tigers: 1. Nick Morris, 2. David Howe, 3. Aaron Summers, 4. Nico Covatti (guest for James Sarjeant), 5. Richard Lawson, 6. Victor Palovaara, 7. Dimitri Berge.
Midland Development League teams:
Scunthorpe Stags: 1. Jamie Halder, 2. Stephen Whitehouse, 3. John Gaskell, 4. Luke Whitehead.
Long Eaton Invaders: 1. Layne Cupitt, 2. Lee Geary, 3. Harvie Banks, 4. Sam Darroch.
Glasgow Tigers at EWR
Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Best Performance
Dimitri Berge DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR
David Howe PL 111 501 1056 72 8.43 9.01 16 + 2 from 6 rides (2009)
Richard Lawson PL 13 56 91 9 6.50 7.14 13 + 1 from 5 rides (2014)
Nick Morris PL 20 101 189 14 7.49 8.04 15 from 6 rides (2012)
Victor Palovaara DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR
Aaron Summers PL 17 80 115 8 5.75 6.15 15 from 6 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (2014))
GUEST RIDER
Nicolas Covatti PL 1 3 4 0 5.33 5.33 4 from 3 rides (2014)
Other Notes
Dimitri Berge
2012 World Longtrack Champion (250cc)
Has ridden in 1 World Cup meeting for his country.
Made his Premier League debut for Glasgow in 2014.
David Howe
Currently Scunthorpe’s All-time record points scorer (2120 to date) and Premier League Winner in 2012.
2000 British Under-21 Champion.
Member of Peterborough’s three Championship Winning Teams in three consecutive years (1997, 1998 and 1999).
Member of Peterborough’s Craven Shield Winning Team in 1999.
Member of Peterborough’s KO Cup Winning Teams in 1999 and 2001.
Member of Wolverhampton’s Elite League Championship Winning Team in 2002.
Has ridden in 3 Grand Prix.
Richard Lawson
Member of Workington’s Premier League Fours Winning Team in 2009.
Member of Workington’s Young Shield Winning Team in 2010.
Named as a ‘doubling-up’ rider with Lakeside for the 2015 Elite League Season.
Nick Morris
Former Scunthorpe Scorpion and a member of the 2012 Premier League Championship Winning Team.
Made his World Cup debut this season.
Twice Queensland Under-16 Champion in 2008/09 and 2009/10.
New South Wales Under-16 Champion in 2009/10.
Member of Buxton’s National League Championship Winning Team in 2010.
Member of Glasgow’s Premier League Championship Winning Team in 2011.
Member of Swindon’s Elite League Championship Winning Team in 2012.
Member of Somerset’s Premier League Championship and KO Cup Winning Teams in 2013.
Member of Somerset’s Premier Shield and Premier League Fours Winning Teams in 2014.
Named as a ‘doubling-up’ rider with Swindon for the 2015 Elite League season.
Victor Palovaara
Made his Premier League debut for Glasgow in 2014 and riding in his first full British League season.
Aaron Summers
Australian Under-16 Champion in 2004.
Member of Edinburgh’s Premier League Championship and Premier Trophy Winning Teams in 2008.
Member of Edinburgh’s Premier League Play-Off Winning Teams in 2008 and 2009.
Member of Coventry’s Elite League Winning Team in 2010.
Member of Birmingham’s Premier League Four-Team Championship Winning Team in 2010.
GUEST – Nicolas Covatti
Twice Argentinean Open Champion (2008 and 2013)
2013 Italian Champion
Has ridden in 2 Grand Prix and 5 World Cup meetings.
Made his British League debut for Birmingham in 2012.
Glasgow Tigers’ Results at EWR
25 August 2008 PL L Scunthorpe 54 Glasgow 39
21 August 2009 PL L Scunthorpe 50 Glasgow 40
03 September 2010 PL L Scunthorpe 62 Glasgow 30
29 July 2011 PL L Scunthorpe 54 Glasgow 36
30 September 2011 PL(Ph 2) L Scunthorpe 57 Glasgow 38
11 May 2012 LC L Scunthorpe 40 Glasgow 34
21 September 2012 PL L Scunthorpe 54 Glasgow 37
28 June 2013 PL L Scunthorpe 59 Glasgow 35
16 May 2014 PL L Scunthorpe 57 Glasgow 36
