Title Partner
REPORT Friday 29th October 2010, 10:00pm
Edinburgh Monarchs
Once again Friday was the wettest day of the week and the riders did very well to race 15 competitive heats while the rain was coming down without respite.
There?s no denying that the Newcastle heat leaders were the quickest to get to grips with the conditions and they dominated the match over the first eight heats, sharing six successive race wins from heat 3 to heat 8 after William Lawson had very encouragingly won heats 1 and 2.
William hit bad luck though he continued to ride well, and there wasn?t much luck for Ryan Fisher either. He overdid things, yes, but he could claim that Larsen?s lockup didn?t help in heat one, and of course he had been leading in heat 6 when it was stopped due to a William Lawson fall. In the rerun of that one Ryan?s bike finished up climbing the fence after he had tried to pull off an outside pass.
After that Ryan did settle down to play a full part in the fightback.
Back at the beginning, with the rain already coming down, William Lawson rode a great first turn to nip past Kenni Larsen up the back straight. We were on a 4-2 with Ryan Fisher trying to catch Larsen, but he got too close and when Larsen did lock up, down came Fisher. On the next bend it looked like Lawson?s engine cut out and everyone stopped, then restarted (including Lawson) only to find the red lights then coming on as Fisher had not cleared the track.
Lawson did it again in the rerun for an excellent win in a time of 55.0 which seemed exceptional for the conditions.
Heat 2 was stopped the first time as both Newcastle riders fell, and were generously both allowed back on the rerun. Lawson made the gate and Ashley Morris slipped past the visitors on the first corner, but was kept under pressure throughput by Roynon. That pressure paid off on the last bend as Roynon grabbed a good second.
Rene Bach and Derek Sneddon were well placed in heat 3 but Derek went straight across the pits bend and into the fence, allowing us a shared heat.
We should have shared heat 4 as well. It was easily won by Howe but Lawson?s engine stopped and restarted too late to allow him to catch Adam McKinna.
Larsen was fast away in heat 5 and when Roynon passed Katajisto, and threatened Wolbert, it looked like the Diamonds would go ahead. However Roynon spun off, his style a bit extravagant for the conditions.
Disaster was just around the corner though. We sat on a 4-2 in heat 6 with Fisher leading from Howe, when Lawson fell (apparently due to an engine cut out). In the rerun Howe was better away with Fisher trying a very adventurous passing line round the outside ? too adventurous as it turned out. Off he came, his bike standing up on the back wheel and climbing along the fence.
The heat was awarded as a 5-0, a very unfortunate turnaround. Adam McKinna had replaced Roynon who had been ruled out of the meeting, and took his score to paid 6 from 4, all gifts.
However the loss of Roynon was a blow for the Diamonds.
Bach and Sneddon then took a 4-2 with Matthew not all that comfortable in second, and we weren?t looking good for a first leg lead at 17-24.
It didn?t look any better as David Howe came in for a Jason King ride in heat 8, and won it easily.
A fight back was needed and it started at heat 9, one of the best heats of the meeting. Wolbert at last made a start and led from David Howe, with Katajisto suddenly storming under the pair of the to the front. We held the 5-1 most of the way till Howe slipped past Wolbert.
We shaved another two off the lead when Fisher led Bach home with Lawson third in heat 10. Derek Sneddon fell on the first corner ? Derek was struggling.
We were three down now and shared the next one behind Larsen. Ashley Morris got an excellent point here, getting the better of Derek Sneddon in a good battle.
Heat 12 always looked good for us, and Wolbert and Lawson made no mistake against Sneddon, out for his third ride on the trot.
That put us one point up, and we then pulled off a slightly surprising 5-1 in heat 13. Matthew made one of his best starts of the season, and Ryan slotted in well to ensure there was no comeback from Larsen and Howe.
Five ahead with only one Diamond in heat 14 meant that we only needed finishers to at least take the win. Bach duly won heat 14, but he was pointless in the last one as Larsen jetted from the tapes to win that.
47-42, pretty good after the start we made but it could have been better with fewer mistakes!
Hermiston Monarch of the Match: William Lawson.
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