Unlucky chain of events derails Berwick Bandits in match against Glasgow Tigers
Berwick were left ruing two costly chain failures as Glasgow recorded their eighth win in nine visits to Shielfield Park, winning 47-43.
Drew Kemp was unbeaten by an opponent in four races but in his head-to-head with top Tiger Kyle Howarth, the Suffolk flyer shed a back chain and ground to a halt.
Team-mate Peter Kildemand had suffered the same fate, leaving him at the start of heat six after winning his opening ride.
Kildemand, who linked up with Kemp for a heat 10 5-1 which raised hopes of a home comeback, also suffered a back spasm during heat 13 which saw a potential maximum win turned into a shared heat.
Despite only managing six race wins – three from the impressive Howarth – it was Glasgow who opened their BSN Series account, reserve Max Perry proving their trump card with eight points.
Despite the loss, Berwick showed their battling qualities and ended the night strongly with Craig Cook shaking off early ride rustiness to win his final two races including a 5-1 in heat 15 with Kemp over Howarth and Chris Harris.
Kildemand, in his first outing since suffering nerve damage in a racing crash, endeared himself to Bandits’ fans by beating Harris in heat one, Australian Dayle Wood also winning his debut race in Berwick colours.
But with Bastian Borke still short of full fitness and Sam Hagon, dropped by his Premiership club Leicester the previous day, making a slow start, the visitors took advantage of Berwick’s misfortune to open up a six point lead.
Kemp and Harris had clashed in controversial circumstances in last year’s league match, but the former British GP winner didn’t get anywhere near the Suffolk flyer this time, his winning time of 63.5 just eight-tenths of a second off Dan Bewley’s track record.
Hagon found his gating gloves to win eight in style but Hume was tailed off at the back.
Berwick did sign off in style as Cook roared home in front of Kemp before setting off on a series of victory laps which suggested he was rather enjoying the moment.
Bandits fans will hope that they have used up their allocation of misfortune as Edinburgh Monarchs visit Shielfield Park on Saturday night, tapes up at 7pm.
Berwick team manager Stewart Dickson said: “You never want to lose but I think there are massive positives to take from our performance.
“One or two of our riders were lacking race time and you could see how they improved as the meeting progressed.
“We now have to use the BSN to make sure that everything is set up to perform for the Knockout Cup and league.
“Edinburgh will be a tough test but I think we showed we have the ability to open our BSN account.”