Workington Comets turned the tables on Glasgow Tigers and beat the reigning Championship champions 49-41 at Northside.
They had lost by four points at Ashfield last week but did enough in the return to win the match and also take the aggregate point.
It was yet another cracking meeting, with some close, exciting racing and it was all down to the last heat as to whether Comets took the bonus point.
There was the prospect of a golden heat decider when they lined-up for the final race with Workington four points clear and a 3-3 would have kept the sides level on aggregate.
Any form of Tigers advantage would have earned the aggregate point but instead it was Troy Batchelor and his skipper Craig Cook who blasted to a 5-1 and took all the points on offer.
Batchelor finished as the Comets top scorer with 14 points and he was only headed in his first race, beaten by Worrall in one of only three 4-2’s fashioned by the visitors all afternoon.
Two 5-1s for the Comets made the difference on the day with Tate Zischke and Cook, as well as Cook and Batchelor in the last, dominating their Tigers rivals.
Indeed in should have been four 5-1s but in heat nine with Antti Vuolas and Claus Vissing clear the two Tigers seemed to have a coming together in arrears and Jack Smith came off. He was excluded but in the rerun Worrall got away best and held off the Comets pair for a share of the spoils.
Then in heat 13 it was textbook stuff from Cook and Batchelor on a 5-1 against Harris and Worrall when the skipper’s bike packed-up and they had to settle for a 3-3.
It was a good tonic for the Comets ahead of their southern trip when they race at Plymouth on Tuesday and then at Poole on Wednesday before being back at Northside nexty Saturday for the visit of Edinburgh.
Workington Comets 49
Craig Cook 10 + 1; Tate Zischke 8; Antti Vuolas 6 + 1; Claus Vissing 9; Troy Batchelor 14; Celina Liebmann 2; Sam McGurk 0.
Glasgow Tigers 41
Chris Harris 10 + 1; Paul Starke 3 + 1; Leon Flint 5; James Pearson 4 + 3; Steve Worrall 10; Jack Smith 4; Ace Pijper 5 + 1.
After the meeting, Cumbria Crack’s John Walsh spoke to Comets skipper Craig Cook. You can listen below:
