Title Partner
The lineup for our Diamond Jubilee didn't look strong but the action was enjoyable as Stoney and his Powderhall team took the honours.
From the long list of Monarchs and ex-Monarchs, circumstances (ie other fixtures and injuries) ruled out so many that we had to pull in quite a few riders with no Monarchs' connection including Carl Stonehewer and Jason Lyons. Not that anyone would ever object to watching these two.
The final two call-offs on Friday morning were James Grieves and Ross Brady, and so we finished up with just 15 riders.
The sun shone and our former stars watched from Hospitality as the action unfolded. Carl Stonehewer won heat 1 from Matthew Wethers and that was eventually to be the result of the last heat of the night also!
The team competition wasn't really the main focus of the night, but the 3-man Powderhall team did establish an early advantage with their 3-man side. Rider replacement was working well!
It was obvious that Robert Eriksson was still very much a threat even on a makeshift bike, and though he dropped to the back in his first ride he actually improved as the night went on.
Buzz Burrows was also causing much interest with his enthusiastic efforts, and all the home men were well in the thick of things.
Jonasson and Fisher both suffered machine failures and their respective teams were well out of it.
The likely sides were the all-Australian Armadale squad, even though Lyons took a while to get going, and Powderhall with Stoney, Tully and Eriksson.
Theo Pijper is still Armadale track record holder but he is a bit down on confidence at the moment, and probably not fully fit. He had a pointless first ride but got in amongst the others in his later rides. He was brought down on the final turn of heat 10 by Burrows but was awarded the third place.
Gradually Armadale wore down Powderhall and went into the final heat 2 behind. Lyons won it from Fisher with Stonehewer third which levelled the scores, and it was decided to use the 'King of the Monarchs' top scorers race also as a decider for the team competition.
When Matthew Wethers nipped off the inside to take the lead it seemed that he and Armadale would triumph, but Ryan Fisher ran into Stoney and the pair came down.
In the rerun it was Stoney and Powderhall who emerged victorious.
Monarchs are 60 years old in 2008 and on Friday night they'll take a break from competitive action, as Armadale hosts a special evening to commemorate the occasion.
Amazingly, some fans will remember the very first meeting at Old Meadowbank. As for myself, I'm currently enjoying my 30th season as a regular, so I guess that officially makes me a 50% fan!
It seems like only yesterday I was cuddling into my mum at Powderhall and turning round to watch the racing while she wasn't looking! I've got numerous memories from yesteryear tucked away in the back of my brain, highlights of which would include all the silverware won (especially the 2003 Premier League!), Jamie Luckhurst's success in the 1985 Scottish Open and Aaron Summers' recent maximum at Glasgow but, for the moment, let's talk about the event itself this Friday...
It's perhaps fitting that we'll be using the Four Team Tournament format, given the popularity of the competition up our way. It's sad the qualifiers are a thing of the past but we'll all have an opportunity to reminisce this week!
The competing teams are going under the respective banners of Old Meadowbank, Coatbridge, Powderhall and Armadale, the tracks at which we've ridden during our history. There are some pretty familiar names on show, including six of the current seven Monarchs (William Lawson is absent because he's chasing his World U21 title dream so good luck to him for that).
Aside from the current team members, Old Meadowbank are represented by current Armadale track record holder Theo Pijper and Birmingham's James Birkinshaw, who had a fleeting stay during the middle of the 1999 season. Both have suffered injuries already this year but are looking to recapture their best form now they're back in the saddle.
Coatbridge include the ever popular James Grieves, who will be hoping he doesn't have to do any more last lap running to secure points (!) and Glasgow asset Ross Brady, who returned to form with an amazing 16+1 at Ashfield on Sunday. However, it's the other name on the list which looks most intriguing, that of Mark Burrows. I remember watching him at Powderhall many moons ago and he was a bit of a nutter (in a nice way of course!). He's been seen before at Armadale and, in between chatting up the First Aid women, managed to score quite reasonably in the colours of Wimbledon Dons. He's also been one of the success stories of the season so far at Stoke!
At the time of writing, the Powderhall line-up is incomplete. Former Grand Prix man Carl Stonehewer and Swede Robert Eriksson make up the spearhead and neither are any stranger to the Lothian Arena. Stoney always seems to be in the Scottish Open and, although he's never won the title, he has been runner up no less than three times. Meanwhile, Eriksson is one of a handful of riders who has represented the Monarchs at the 2 most recent venues (or even 3, if you include Shawfield!), having made his UK debut in 1995 during the 'one big league' era. He hasn't been seen over here since 2001 (I think!), so it will be interesting to see how he fares.
The final side on show is Armadale, who are transformed into an all Australian outfit for the night - we like Aussies in these parts! 'Relative strangers' arrive in the shape of the evergreen Jason Lyons and the much younger Trent Leverington, who is quite literally never away from the place!
Whatever happens, it promises to be a fun night and, when it's all over, we can look ahead to repeating the whole show in another 60 years!
Line-ups:
Old Meadowbank: Ryan Fisher, Derek Sneddon, Theo Pijper, James Birkinshaw.
Coatbridge: James Grieves, Thomas H Jonasson, Mark Burrows, Ross Brady.
Powderhall: Carl Stonehewer, Robert Eriksson, Andrew Tully, A N Other.
Armadale: Jason Lyons, Matthew Wethers, Aaron Summers, Trent Leverington.
Friday 16th May 2008, 1:07am
"In spite of some call-offs amongst the riders on and off track, the 60th birthday celebration event at Armadale was a success with some very entertaining racing.
© Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway 2024
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