Newport Wasps
Robin Aspergren 9 (4)
Edinburgh Monarchs
Kalle Katajisto 11+2 (5)
Premier League
33
39
Sunday 4th July 2010
Queensway Meadows
Newport Wasps
Team Manager: Neil Street and Kevin Brown
33
1. Leigh Lanham 1 2* 2* 5 2
2. Robin Aspergren X 3 3 3 9 0
3. Craig Watson 0 2 1* 0 3 1
4. Kyle Legault 3 1* 2 1 7 1
5. Kim Nilsson 1* 3 0 4 1
6. Alex Davies 2 0 1 3 0
7. Todd Kurtz F 2 0 2 0
Edinburgh Monarchs
Team Manager: John Campbell
39
1. Ryan Fisher 2* 2 3 2* 9 2
2. Tobias Busch 3 X 2 3 2* 10 1
3. Kevin Wolbert R/R 0 0
4. Matthew Wethers 1* 2 1 4 1
5. Andrew Tully 0 1 3 0 4 0
6. Cal McDade 1 0 0 1 0
7. Kalle Katajisto 3 3 1* 1* 3 11 2
Heat 1
Time: 59.06
1. Leigh Lanham  
1
2. Robin Aspergren  
X
1. Ryan Fisher  
2
2. Tobias Busch  
3
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
1
1
Away
5
5
Heat 2
Time: 59.1
6. Alex Davies  
2
7. Todd Kurtz  
F
6. Cal McDade  
1
7. Kalle Katajisto  
3
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
2
3
Away
4
9
Heat 3
Time: 60.65
3. Craig Watson  
0
4. Kyle Legault  
3
3. Kevin Wolbert R/R  
1. Ryan Fisher
2
4. Matthew Wethers  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
6
Away
3
12
Heat 4
Time: 62.03
5. Kim Nilsson  
1
7. Todd Kurtz  
2
5. Andrew Tully  
0
7. Kalle Katajisto  
3
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
9
Away
3
15
Heat 5
Time: 60.77
3. Craig Watson  
2
4. Kyle Legault  
1
1. Ryan Fisher  
3
2. Tobias Busch  
X
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
12
Away
3
18
Heat 6
Time: 60.9
1. Leigh Lanham  
2
2. Robin Aspergren  
3
5. Andrew Tully  
1
6. Cal McDade  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
17
Away
1
19
Heat 7
Time: 60.35
5. Kim Nilsson  
3
6. Alex Davies  
0
3. Kevin Wolbert R/R  
7. Kalle Katajisto
1
4. Matthew Wethers  
2
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
20
Away
3
22
Heat 8
Time: 61.36
2. Robin Aspergren  
3
7. Todd Kurtz  
0
2. Tobias Busch  
2
7. Kalle Katajisto  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
23
Away
3
25
Heat 9
Time: 62.81
3. Craig Watson  
1
4. Kyle Legault  
2
5. Andrew Tully  
3
6. Cal McDade  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
26
Away
3
28
Heat 10
Time: 61.09
1. Leigh Lanham  
2
2. Robin Aspergren  
3
3. Kevin Wolbert R/R  
5. Andrew Tully
0
4. Matthew Wethers  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
31
Away
1
29
Heat 11
Time: 63.65
5. Kim Nilsson  
0
6. Alex Davies  
1
1. Ryan Fisher  
2
2. Tobias Busch  
3
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
1
32
Away
5
34
Heat 12
Time: 64.4
3. Craig Watson  
0
7. Todd Kurtz  
1
3. Kevin Wolbert R/R  
2. Tobias Busch
2
6. Cal McDade  
7. Kalle Katajisto
3
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
1
33
Away
5
39
Heat 13
 
1. Leigh Lanham  
5. Kim Nilsson  
1. Ryan Fisher  
5. Andrew Tully  
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
0
33
Away
0
39
Match Abandoned

The rain plus a strengthened Newport side made this a difficult afternoon, but once again the Scotwaste Monarchs rose to the occasion to take our fifth successive away league victory.

Drizzle was present pretty much the whole way through the contest which meant that the track became ever greasier, and the Monarchs showed a greater appetite for the fray. After a good start we lost the lead, but came good with a power finish before the call-off at heat 12.

Ryan Fisher and Kalle Katajisto led our challenge with Tobias Busch showing his determination and ability mounted on Kalle?s second bike, having wrecked his own at Rye House.

Things went our way over the early heats. Leigh Lanham picked up a 2-minute exclusion in heat 1, Robin Aspegren spun off on the first turn, then Busch and Fisher sped home in the rerun ahead of Lanham on a Watson bike. Although he had a free run it did look as though Tobias was going really well.

Kalle led all the way in heat 2, and Cal McDade took advantage of a last lap fall by Kurtz tro take a point, so we were already 6 up.

Craig Watson touched the tapes in heat 3 and went off 15 metres. Legault gated and led all the way from Fisher and Wethers, with Watson looking unhappy in the wet as he often does.

Kurtz popped out of the start in heat 4 and looked like a winner till he hit a late problem on the second bend, allowing Katajisto through for another win. Track record holder Tully was at the rear on a bad day for him which included a broken-down van.

Fisher did brilliantly to sweep past Watson and Legault on the first turn of heat 5, but Tonias crashed at the rear and the heat was stopped. Ryan did it again though for an important win.

We now saw the best of new boy Aspegren. This young Swede is good, and he won heat 6 by a long way from partner Lanham with Tully still not showing his best form.

Our lead was cut to 2, and Wasps had another race winner through Nilsson in heat 7. Matthew and Kalle shared it ahead of Davies.

Aspegren did it again in heat 8, shared by Busch and Katajisto.

We finally saw the best of Andrew in heat 9, chasing race leader Legault and slipping past cleverly on the inside.

However Andrew came out as rider replacement with Matthew in heat 10, and again the Aspegren-Lanham proved too strong as Wasps took a two-point lead.

The track was getting wetter and it was clearly important to strike back before heat 12.

Superbly, Busch and Fisher pushed ahead at the first corner in heat 11 and sped home. Davies pressed Fisher but this time Nilsson was tailed off badly.

Busch had earned the fourth rider replacement slot, and justified it in style as both Tobias and Kalle passed Kurtz in heat 12 for a great 5-1. Watson was again at the rear, a shadow of the rider we saw on Friday.

Now we had some grading and an interval of sorts as the rain continued, and after discussion between the riders and referee Durno, the match was off. Result stands, and again we had done what we needed to do.

Following the high drama at Rye House last night, the heroic six Monarchs head for Newport's Queensway Meadows Circuit in South Wales today (2.30) on the quest for more Premier League points and having the chance to record an incredible nine wins out of their last ten matches.

Monarchs cemented their place at the top of the league after a cliffhanging fourth running of Heat 15 gave them a win by a single point at Hoddeston, while Newport were running Berwick very close at Shielfield. So both sides will be in good spirits, each facing their third meeting in three days.

And despite Monarchs recording a fairly comfortable fourteen-point win over the Wasps on Friday night at Armadale, Newport will be a different prospect on their own track. Mind you, Edinburgh will be looking for a star performance from Andrew Tully who is a Newport track record holder.

Monarchs' top class Californian racer, Ryan Fisher is also showing this season that he can ride equally well on just about any track size, shape or surface, so Wasps beware! Third heat leader Kevin Wolbert is still missing, so Monarchs will again operate rider replacement which was covered pretty well by his team-mates at Rye House.

Of most concern will be the worrying form of Tobias Busch, brought in to replace Joszef Tabaka on an assessed seven point average, who has scored points in only one of his six rides this weekend so far. There is no doubt he has the makings of a useful rider but, like Joszef, it looks as though that will take time.

Cal McDade is another who needs time to get acclimatised to Premier League racing but will take heart from his performances against Newport's reserves on Friday night. It remains to be seen how much better the two 17-year-old Wasps will look on their home shale.

The vastly experienced Leigh Lanham and Craig Watson will again provide the biggest challenge to Monarchs' ambitions, and the form of the two Under-21 Swedes, Kim Nilsson and Robin Aspergen, along with the occasional brilliance of Canadian Kyle Legault will be crucial to the outcome.

The result should be a close one but here is no doubt that Monarchs will be targeting this match as a golden chance to put clear blue water between themselves and the chasing Premier League pack.

Probable line-ups

Newport: Leigh Lanham, Robin Aspergen, Craig Watson, Kyle Legault, Kim Nilsson, Alex Davies, Kurt Shields.

Monarchs: Ryan Fisher, Ryan Fisher, Tobias Busch, rider replacement for Kevin Wolbert, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Cal McDade, Kalle Katajisto.