Title Partner
With 5 riders paid for double figures, Monarchs made light of Rusty Harrison's absence to beat Redcar 52-40.
Rusty had hoped to ride but eventually decided that recovery from his chest infection was more important. On top of that Henrik Moller had two engine failures while leading, and when he accidentally brought down Derek Sneddon on the last bend of heat 4 it looked as though things might be going badly wrong.
No need to worry though, both Henrik and Derek bounced back well.
We lost a 4-2 in heat 1 and it took some good work by Matthew on the first corner of heat 3, preventing Kevin Little coming round the outside, to let William race clear and ensure a 5-1 to take the lead.
Henrik shot ahead in heat 4 but started spluttering at the end of lap three. He managed to reach the last bend before stopping and straightening right in Derek's path, causing him to fall. He had some attention on the track and in the ambulance, and with rider replacement operating you certainly don't want to lose your star reserve.
Heat 5 was a chance for William to measure his progress against Gary Havelock, and he gave the ex-World Champ a terrific battle, drawing level several times. Havvy just held on but he knew he had been in a race.
Theo recovered from a poor heat 1 to win easily in heat 6, but this time Henrik missed the start. He wasted no time rounding Chris Kerr on the pits corner, and a lap later sliced inside Jack Hargreaves with the minimum of fuss. Quite impressive.
Kevin Little got away from William in heat 7 and gave a fine display of his Armadale quality riding a fairly wide line. This time William wasn't close.
Heat 8 was a routine 4-2 with Dickie Juul splitting our riders, but the next two heats gave us control. Matthew and William easily took 5 in heat 9, which brought Kevin Little out in the black and white hat.
Henrik again whipped to the front with Kevin chasing. Theo was well back early in the heat but gradually worked his way up for a challenge, and with a perfectly judged inside move he squeezed into second on the final corner. That meant Kevin's TR ride produced no additional points.
Havvy took the next TR ride but with Derek harrying him to the first turn, he couldn't catch Theo who made a good start off gate 1.
Derek got the race winning habit back in heat 12 and we were now 16 points up.
Henrik was really fling now and nipped off gate 2 in heat 13 to round Havelock on the first corner. It was an intriguing chase but on the final turn of lap 3, Henrik's chain came off and we were denied an exciting finish.
Kevin beat William again in heat 14, and Havvy closed the evening by cutting inside Henrik off the second bend to win the last race.
All in all a pleasant evening's entertainment, and enough plus points to suggest that when Rusty gets fit we will have quite a formidable side.
HALMOND ENGINEERING MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Henrik Moller.
This Thursday we visit the newest track to the Premier League when we travel to Redcar to face the 'Bears' in a Premier Trophy match. Those with memories of the Powderhall days will recall the Middlesborough Bears and will welcome the return of another 'Northern' track from the same area.
The new team raced its first match at the new track last Thursday when they faced Sheffield in a Premier Trophy match. The Bears went down 44-46 due in part to the massive 13+3 return from Sheffield reserve Paul Cooper. The Bears' side is led by former world champion Gary Havelock who first rose to fame riding for Middlesborough and is now returning to his roots. There will not be many, if any, better riders in the Premier League this season and we can expect him to be the Bears' top scorer. It will be a bonus if we can stop him scoring a maximum.
The rest of the team are not nearly as formidable. Kevin Little has moved to the new team from Workington, no doubt to keep his record of riding for most of the northern teams intact. The third heat leader is the young American, Chris Kerr, who has been thrown into the deep end with his assessed average of 8 points. The back up consists of Richard Juul and Tomas Suchanek with Jack Hargreaves and Daniel Giffard filling the reserve berths.
As only the second visitors to the track the Monarchs will not be at a massive disadvantage to local knowledge because as yet there probably isn't much to be found! However this is a highly significant match for us if we hope to challenge for a qualifying spot in the final section places. Sheffield have already picked up the away win there and others will no doubt be targeting it too as a potential win.
The section may have its runaway leaders in Workington but an almighty scramble seems to be developing for the runners up spot with only Berwick and Redcar looking out of contention. A win here will bring us back into the running after last week's lost ground in the home defeat to the Comets.
It's a difficult match to assess but Edinburgh not only look stronger down the line but also in the heat leader department, Havelock excepted. This is a match we could well win with the same sort of spirit and determination shown at Newcastle. However, it will require a much improved performance in the gating department than we saw last Friday against Workington. Provided we can live with the Bears at the starts there is no reason why we can't come back with both points.
We should have a decided advantage at the lower end of the team. While the reserves scoring may balance out, William Lawson and Matthew Wethers are well capable of outscoring Richard Juul and Tomas Suchanek who is still looking to score his first point at his home track. At the top end, we may not contain Gary Havelock but Kevin Little and Chris Kerr will have to be on top form to hold their own against Theo, Rusty and Henrik.
Can we make it two away wins on the trot? Here's hoping so.
© Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway 2024
Bathgate Road
Armadale
EH48 2PD
