ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL Scunthorpe Scorpions have given themselves every chance of reaching their first play-off final for 14 years, after they defeated Glasgow Tigers by 53-37 in the first leg of their Cab Direct Championship play-off semi-final at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday).

The second leg takes place in Scotland in a fortnight on September 25. In the meantime, Scorpions will know their potential opponents by then, with legs in the other semi-final at Poole (September 16) and Edinburgh (September 18).

For much of yesterday evening, Scunthorpe did not have quite the advantage they would have liked. Scorpions led by only four points after eight races and by eight points following Heat 12, with just three races remaining.

But, inspired by brilliant skipper Josh Pickering – who completed a full 15-point maximum – Scorpions staged a grandstand finish with a 5-1 from Pickering and teenager Luke Harrison in Heat 13, followed by two 4-2s.

Scunthorpe took the lead with a 5-1 from reserves Connor Mountain and Ryan Ingram in Heat 2. But Glasgow quickly levelled the scores with a 5-1 of their own in Heat 3.

Scorpions took the lead once more with a 4-2 in Heat 4, after a second win with Mountain, while Harrison finished third after a battle royal for the minor placings with Chris Harris and Anze Grmek. Scunthorpe gradually increased the lead with further 4-2s in Heats 5, 9 and 11.

Glasgow’s Kevin Juhl Pedersen was twice involved in an incident where a Scorpion fell on the third bend. The Dane was excluded from Heat 7, after Ryan Ingram came down, but the verdict went his way when Nathan Ablitt tumbled in Heat 10. The latter decision – an exclusion for Ablitt – did not go down well with the home supporters.

Both teams battled for every point and there was excellent racing on display. 16-year-old Ingram took a notable third place in Heat 11, after overtaking Glasgow No 1 Leon Flint.

Harrison fought off Harris for second place in Heat 13, and joined Pickering for a 5-1. Michael Palm Toft and Mountain looked like they would take another maximum in Heat 14, but Grmek fell at the rear, allowing Juhl Pedersen to take second ahead of Mountain in the re-run. Palm Toft overtook Juhl Pedersen to win his third successive race for a 4-2.

In the concluding Heat 15, Flint was the early leader, but soon overtaken by the peerless Pickering. Glasgow guest Tate Zischke moved into second place, while Palm Toft overtook Flint for third place on the second lap, as Scorpions took a concluding 4-2.

Pickering’s 15-point full house was well supported by 11 points from Palm Toft, 10+1 from reserve by Mountain and 8+1 from Harrison. But there was 100 per cent from the whole Scunthorpe side, including guest Jordan Jenkins – who was guesting for the injured Jacob Hook for a third successive meeting.

For Glasgow, their two guests Zischke and Grmek ended top of their score-chart, with Zischke only being beaten by Pickering and, by far, their best rider. There were disappointing four-point returns from both Harris and Flint.

Scunthorpe skipper and maximum man Josh Pickering said: “Earlier in the season, we beat Glasgow by eight points at home, but then we lost by 10 points up there last week. This time around, we’ve got 16 points to take up there, which is a much better situation for us. It’s going to be tough for Glasgow – I feel it’s now ours to lose.

“For much of the meeting, when we only four or six points ahead, we knew we were playing into their hands for the second leg. But now we’ve got 16 points on them, I don’t think Glasgow will be confident at all. I think Glasgow will be tearing out their hair a little after this result, and rightly so, because we’ve done a good job.

“I told the boys tonight that, first of all, we needed to make sure we never went behind and then we needed to pull ahead. After Heat 11 onwards, I was telling them that we now really needed to turn the screws on Glasgow and that’s exactly what we did. The boys all stepped up when they had to, and I’m very pleased with our performance and the rest of our team should be too because all they contributed.

“We’ll make it as hard as possible for Glasgow to pull back the deficit in the second leg. Every time we get a 3-3 or better, that’s another race when they don’t get any points back on us. I’m very confident that we should be back for another meeting Scunthorpe in the final.

“Things are going well with me at the moment. The bikes are working well and my mechanics always backing me up and giving me confidence. I’m looking forward to the meeting at Sheffield tomorrow and it would be good to win that as a Scunthorpe rider.”

Pickering – the best rider in the Cab Direct Championship – starts as pre-meeting favourite to win the Championship League Riders’ Championship (CLRC) at Sheffield this evening (Saturday at 7pm). He previously won the meeting in 2024, representing Edinburgh. A Scunthorpe representative has never won a Riders’ Championship at this level.

SCUNTHORPE 53: Josh Pickering 15, Michael Palm Toft 11, Connor Mountain 10+1, Luke Harrison 8+1, Ryan Ingram 4+2, Jordan Jenkins 4, Nathan Ablitt 1+1.

GLASGOW 37: Tate Zischke 13, Anze Grmek 6, Kevin Juhl Pedersen 5+2, Chris Harris 4+1, Leon Flint 4, Freddy Hodder 4, Sam Hagon 1+1.

* THE second leg of the Cab Direct Championship play-off semi-final takes place at Glasgow on Friday, September 25, with the aggregate winners progressing to the final to face either Poole or Edinburgh. If Scorpions progress, the next and last home meeting of the season for the Ellie Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions at Scunthorpe’s Eddie Wright Raceway will be the play-off Grand Final. Please keep an eye on the club’s social media and the official website at https://www.scunthorpe-speedway.co.uk/

Image Credits: Ian Rispin

Report: Rob Peasley