Comfortable win in spite of Scorpions fightback

REPORT Saturday 24th June 2017, 1:52am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Having built up a 12-point lead after four races, the Parsons Peebles Monarchs didn’t add anything to their advantage and finished up beating Scunthorpe 52-40, thereby extending their lead at the top of the Championship.

Alex Harkess said “We won comfortably enough after making a strong start but we still have some riders who are short of their best. Whatever the conditions it doesn’t seem to matter to Erik Riss who is getting better every week.

“After a couple of weeks with a track which was too grippy, tonight it was a bit slick but we’ll get it right eventually!”

It would be wrong to conclude from the table-topping position that the Monarchs are at their best at the moment, because they are not! The home team did record the first six race winners but had only four more in the last nine races as the Scorpions fought back with spirit.

Top man on the home side tonight was Erik Riss who flew to victory in his first four races, making great gates. Sam Masters won three, and Ricky Wells two, but as in recent matches the backup was decidedly patchy.

The first two races were home 5-1s, assisted by Michael Palm Toft spluttering on the opening lap in heat 1. British Finalist Carl Wilkinson was well beaten in heat 2 by home reserves Josh Pickering and Mitchell Davey, so it looked as though the threat from Wilko was going to be nullified. In fact that wasn’t the case and he later took three race wins. Lewis Kerr and Michael Palm Toft were the other Scorpion winners.

With the score at 26-10 after heat 6 the match already looked all over, and yet Scunthorpe had other ideas. Lewis Kerr won heat 7, Wilkinson heat 8 and in all the visitors recorded four 4-2s and a 5-3 from heat 7 onwards.

Theo Pijper picked up points fairly comfortably on his first home match of the season, without looking at his most effective. Josh Pickering didn’t score again after winning heat 2, coming to grief when trying hard to pass the rather wobbly Ryan Douglas in heat 7. Josh could do with more racing but there isn’t much coming up for him.

Max Clegg gated poorly as usual but managed to grab paid 7, while Mitchell Davey was spirited in scoring paid 6.

Michael Palm Toft rode very well in the closing stages, passing Sam Masters in heat 13 when Monarchs were on a 5-1 and finishing up the winner in the last heat.

In this one Erik Riss was looking for his 15-point maximum, but after making a good start from the inside he swung extremely wide. Sam Masters was also out wide and this allowed the crafty Palm Toft to race up the inside. The result was that he and the two home men arrived at the third turn together. Erik attempted to go right round the fence outside the other two and it wasn’t a surprise when he became entangled in the air fence.

Palm Toft got the better of Masters in the rerun to help his team to the 40-point mark.

Full Result Details