Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

No-one needed to leave Armadale disappointed after our first home team match, in which there was some very enjoyable racing on a track which was much better than we had any right to expect. This was the reward for an afternoon of hard work to repair the damage done by lots of Good Friday rain.

The Border Roofing Monarchs won the trophy but the Tigers did well enough to think that with Lawson, Morris and Sarjeant in their side they can give Monarchs a real fight on future visits.

Their main successes were Aaron Summers and reserve Victor Palovaara, the latter clearly set to be a high scoring reserve (though Rob Branford finished with a 3-2 record against him).

The Edinburgh pair seemed to make the gate in heat 1 but they didn’t get the second bend right, and Kenneth Hansen took advantage. Craig Cook gave chase, piling on the pressure and eventually slipping past off the fourth turn as Hansen made a slight mistake. Sedgmen made up ground too but was just short at the finish.

Palovaara smoothly made the start in heat 2 and won easily, while Rob Branford and Max Clegg comfortably held off newcomer Ellis Perks.

There was an interesting first turn in heat 3 as Erik Riss swung across the turn, and the Tigers went clear. Kevin Wolbert rode with determination to pass Smith but not Summers, and that levelled the scores.

Sam Masters had his first victory stroll in heat 4 with Rob Branford at one point going round Stevie Worrall into third. Worrall pushed his way back though and the race was shared.

Hansen won heat 5 in which Riss rode steadily to pick up his first point ahead of Berge. The scores stood at 15-15 at this stage.

Sedgmen and Cook took a comfortable 5-1 over Worrall in heat 7, and Masters’ second victory stroll over Smith and Summers shared heat 7, with Clegg not far away.

Justin Sedgmen comfortably won heat 8 but all eyes were on battling Rob Branford who fought his way into second and stayed there to double Monarchs’ advantage.

After riding well in earlier heats hopes were high that Kevin Wolbert would get a win in heat 9, but it turned out to be his poorest ride as he trailed Palovaara and Worrall, giving the aggregate lead back to the Tigers.

Sedgmen was away again in heat 10 but Cook was behind Summers for a couple of laps, before producing another great burst to race past at the start of lap three. Monarchs back in front on aggregate.

We were on another 5-1 in heat 11 with Masters leading from Clegg, who was ahead of Hansen. Unfortunately Max made a big error at the end of lap two and dropped behind both Tigers. He had a lot of ground to make up but chased hard and eventually passed Perks for a worthwhile point.

That made the gap ten though and we waited to see whether the recent principle of no TRs in aggregate contests would be adhered to. Surprise, surprise it wasn’t and Aaron Summers came out in black and white to take six points from heat 12.

Rob Branford did well to beat Palovaara again and after another poor start, Wolbert also passed the Swede to limit the damage. We were now a point up with heat 13 coming up, in which Sam and Craig duly and comfortably took a 5-1.

Rob Branford came in for Riss in heat 14, but the Tigers gated on a 5-1. Clegg (inside) and Branford (outside) both seemed to be lining up passing moves on Palovaara, but Max was adjudged to hae brought him off by clipping his front wheel and he earned an exclusion. Branford did well again to take second in the rerun.

That meant we were 9 up on aggregate and had to avoid a 5-1 in the last heat. Sam was away while Craig (trying out a different engine) tried once again to come from the back. He pulled off an extraordinary wide passing move at the end of lap one but carried too much speed into the next bend, and eventually pulled off the track. He probably won’t use that engine at Armadale any more!

No problems for Sam though and we had won our first trophy of the season.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

The new season kicks off with the second leg of the traditional Spring Trophy encounter between Monarchs and Tigers – with a difference! It's contested by two completely rebuilt sides.

After a 2014 campaign that could hardly be bettered, Monarchs were forced to dismantle their most successful side ever, retaining only three of last year's heroes. Glasgow's transformation is even more drastic. They've axed virtually their whole team, choosing to retain only two of their 2014 riders.

Still up front at No.1 is Monarchs new talismanic captain, Craig Cook, who is looking to use 2015 as a stepping stone to a higher level in the sport. The one-time Workington ace lines up opposite a current Comet, Kenneth Hansen from Denmark who is guesting for yet another former Comet, Richard Lawson.

Justin Sedgmen is also back at No.2 after a magnificent season last year when he formed a fantastic opening pairing with Craig. He's another who has it in him to be a No.1. His opposite number is Dimitri Berge, the highly promising 19-year-old French rider retained by the Tigers for a second season.

'The Kaiser', Kevin Wolbert at No.3 could prove to be a really shrewd re-signing after a three year absence and a below par 2014 season in Glasgow's colours. He's thrown straight in at the deep end against former Monarchs teammate, Aaron Summers, one of the big money signings of the new Tigers promotion.

Speedway rookie, Erik Riss is Kevin's German partner at No.4, which hopefully will prove beneficial for both of them. Don't expect instant miracles from Erik though. He faces a fired-up and hard charging former King's Lynn and Berwick rider, Kozza Smith who is out to make a big impact.

Monarchs fans will be delighted that they managed to retain Smilin' Sam Masters after his fabulous first season in the blue and gold. By a strange quirk of fate, at No.5 he faces one of his teammates from last year, Steve Worrall, now with Newcastle and guesting for Nick Morris.

When we get to the reserves, we really enter unknown territory. Monarchs started with Justin Sedgmen and Steve Worrall at 6 and 7 last year. This year's No.6 is Cradley's rising star, Max Clegg who faces the promising young Swedish rider retained by Glasgow, Victor Palovaara.

At No.7, Monarchs have obviously spotted untapped potential in Australian Rob Branford, now in his fifth UK season, who made an initial eye-catching splash with Buxton. His opposite number is a third Glasgow guest, Ellis Perks from Worcester who rides this year with Scunthorpe.

Glasgow bring a six-point lead to Armadale from the rain-affected opening fixture at the newly refurbished Ashfield Stadium. And with so many riders a little rusty after the winter lay-off, who knows what to expect? But you can be sure the new Tigers, even with a team that they can hardly call their own, will intend to make a statement.

There's a long season ahead, so we want men and bikes to come through intact. But what we all hope for most are good racing conditions to bring out the best in both sets of riders. There'll certainly be no lack of entertainment and drama, so make sure you get along to Armadale Stadium in plenty of time for a 7.30 start. Speedway's back!

Likely line-ups:

EDINBURGH BORDER ROOFING MONARCHS: Craig Cook (capt.), Justin Sedgmen, Kevin Wolbert, Erik Riss, Sam Masters, Max Clegg, Rob Branford.

GLASGOW ALLIED VEHICLES TIGERS: Kenneth Hansen (guest), Dimitri Berge, Aaron Summers (capt.), Kozza Smith, Stevie Worrall (guest), Victor Palovaara, Ellis Perks (guest).