Ace effort fails to stop Tigers falling to defeat

EVEN a blistering 17-point haul from Ace Pijper could not prevent Middlesbrough going down 46-43 to Belle Vue Colts at the National Speedway Stadium in Manchester.

- By KEITH McGHIE

The Heat Floors Tigers were hamstrung by a spectacular crash involving Tom Spencer the previous evening at Plymouth.

Former Redcar Bear Spencer, who had just signed for the Devon side, was catapulted over the safety air fence and lucky to walk away with just bruising to his shoulder and rib cage but the accident ruled out any chance of him racing for the Teessiders' National Development League team.

So team manager Brian Turner was forced to operate rider replacement, where each of his teammates took one of his programmed rides.

And only 18-year old Pijper son of Dutch international long and grasstrack star Theo managed to get any points from those four outings.