Edinburgh Monarchs
Sam Masters 13 (5)
Scunthorpe Scorpions
Lewis Kerr 10+1 (6)
Championship
54
36
Friday 7th April 2017
Armadale Stadium
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Edinburgh Monarchs
Team Manager: Alex Harkess
54
1. Sam Masters 3 3 3 3 1 13 0
2. Josh Pickering 1 2* 3 0 6 1
3. Erik Riss 3 3 X 1 7 0
4. Max Clegg 0 0 2 0 2 0
5. Ricky Wells 3 2* 3 2* 3 13 2
6. Mark Riss 3 3 0 3 2 11 0
7. Mitchell Davey 2* 0 0 2 1
Scunthorpe Scorpions
Team Manager: Dave Peet
36
1. Ryan Douglas r/r 0 0
2. Carl Wilkinson 2 1* 2 2 1 0 8 1
3. Lewis Kerr 1* 2 1 2 2 2 10 1
4. Michael Palm Toft 0 2 0 1* 3 6 1
5. Josh Auty 2 1 3 1* X 7 1
6. Fritz Wallner X 0 0
7. Josh Bailey 1 1* 0 1* 1 0 1 5 2
Heat 1
Time: 56.7
1. Sam Masters  
3
2. Josh Pickering  
1
1. Ryan Douglas r/r  
2. Carl Wilkinson
2
2. Carl Wilkinson  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
4
4
Away
2
2
Heat 2
 
6. Mark Riss  
3
7. Mitchell Davey  
2*
6. Fritz Wallner  
X
7. Josh Bailey  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
9
Away
1
3
Heat 3
Time: 57.3
3. Erik Riss  
3
4. Max Clegg  
0
3. Lewis Kerr  
1*
4. Michael Palm Toft  
2
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
12
Away
3
6
Heat 4
Time: 57.5
5. Ricky Wells  
3
7. Mitchell Davey  
0
5. Josh Auty  
2
7. Josh Bailey  
1*
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
15
Away
3
9
Heat 5
Time: 56.9
3. Erik Riss  
3
4. Max Clegg  
0
1. Ryan Douglas r/r  
3. Lewis Kerr
2
2. Carl Wilkinson  
1*
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
18
Away
3
12
Heat 6
Time: 57.1
1. Sam Masters  
3
2. Josh Pickering  
2*
5. Josh Auty  
1
6. Fritz Wallner  
7. Josh Bailey
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
23
Away
1
13
Heat 7
Time: 57.1
5. Ricky Wells  
2*
6. Mark Riss  
3
3. Lewis Kerr  T/S
1
4. Michael Palm Toft  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
28
Away
1
14
Heat 8
Time: 57.1
2. Josh Pickering  
3
7. Mitchell Davey  
0
2. Carl Wilkinson  
2
7. Josh Bailey  
1*
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
31
Away
3
17
Heat 9
Time: 57.1
3. Erik Riss  
X
4. Max Clegg  
2
5. Josh Auty  
3
6. Fritz Wallner  
7. Josh Bailey
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
2
33
Away
4
21
Heat 10
Time: 57.6
1. Sam Masters  
3
2. Josh Pickering  
0
3. Lewis Kerr  
2
4. Michael Palm Toft  
1*
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
36
Away
3
24
Heat 11
Time: 58.0
5. Ricky Wells  
3
6. Mark Riss  
0
1. Ryan Douglas r/r  
5. Josh Auty
1*
2. Carl Wilkinson  
2
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
39
Away
3
27
Heat 12
Time: 57.8
3. Erik Riss  
1
7. Mitchell Davey  
6. Mark Riss
3
3. Lewis Kerr  
2
6. Fritz Wallner  
7. Josh Bailey
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
4
43
Away
2
29
Heat 13
 
1. Sam Masters  
3
5. Ricky Wells  
2*
1. Ryan Douglas r/r  
1
5. Josh Auty  
X
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
48
Away
1
30
Heat 14
 
4. Max Clegg  
0
6. Mark Riss  
2
4. Michael Palm Toft  
3
7. Josh Bailey  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
2
50
Away
4
34
Heat 15
Time: 57.9
1. Sam Masters  
1
5. Ricky Wells  
3
3. Lewis Kerr  
2
2. Carl Wilkinson  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
4
54
Away
2
36

Ricky Wells scored a paid maximum on his team debut as the Parsons Peebles Monarchs made a sound start to their Championship campaign with a 54-36 victory over Scunthorpe Scorpions.

He may have just missed out had Josh Auty not come spectacularly to grief late in heat 13, allowing Ricky to join Sam Masters up front for a 5-1, but he deserved that small slice of luck after a great performance which saw him come from the back on the first lap of heat 4, and then even more spectacularly in heat 11 when he superbly passed Auty and Wilkinson who had beaten him from the start.

This performance of cool excellence earned Ricky the new Arnold Clark Fiat / Kia Seafield Monarch of the Match.

Alex Harkess said "It was a solid enough start with just a couple of the side needing to pick things up. Ricky Wells was right into the groove, and Josh Pickering is certainly going to be a crowd-pleaser. And Mark Riss is a trump card at reserve no doubt about that."

Ricky was certainly not the only success because Josh Pickering's crowd-pleasing celebrations were extremely well earned with paid 7 from his first three rides, including a paid win behind captain Sam in heat 6 and an excellent tapes-to-flag success in heat 8. It is astonishing how quickly this boy has adapted to our track and it looks as though his motorcycling ability is ideally suited to our circuit.

Sam himself was completely dominant in his first four rides, until he picked up a third place in the final heat with Lewis Kerr spitting our top two. The captain has expressed some disquiet over the new tyres and he is certainly not alone in that.

The Riss boys were happy too, Mark taking the bigger score with a powerful display from reserve which included three wins. Erik won his first two but then came off on the second bend of heat 9, trying to go round Josh Auty who had gone a long way out on the corner to block Erik's run.

It looked like the brothers were on a 5-1 in heat 12 but Lewis Kerr produced one of the rides of the night to pass Erik round the outside.

Mitchell Davey did very well to take a paid win in heat 2 in which Fritz Wallner fell and suffered a wrist injury, but in his next two Mitchell struggled. The same was true for Max Clegg who hasn't yet found his best form, and who was out for a run in the second half.

Kerr was the best of the Scorpions, finishing strongly, though their two race winners were Michael Palm Toft (heat 14) and Josh Auty (heat 9 after Erik's crash).

As far as we know Auty is OK after his very awkward heat 13 tumble when he lost control and flew through the air onto the track.

It's that time of year again. It's the time when the Parsons Peebles Monarchs go in search of silverware as we launch our SGB Championship (let's see if I can go the whole season without calling it the Premier league) campaign against the Scunthorpe Henderson Insurance Scorpions.

The Scorpions have not been serious title challengers since they last tasted victory in the 2012 championship but this year there is a feeling they will be more competitive than they have been in recent years.

This feeling is borne of the fact that the Lincolnshire outfit were the only team able to field the same 1-7 to begin this year as they finished last year with. While last year's team wasn't overly successful the improvement towards the end of the season coupled with the lowering in the points limit has the Scunny faithful believing better times lie ahead.

The Scorpions have a mix of experience and youth in their ranks and have built their line-up with a strength in depth basis in the hope that one or two can continue their upward trajectory and make the team a force to be reckoned with. This coupled with what should always be at least one strong reserve to act as a trump card has been a recipe for success for many teams in the past.

The season has not perhaps started out in quite the way planned though as after an encouragingly close affair away to Glasgow where only the Tigers top end strength allowed them to pull away in the later stages a home defeat was to follow on Sunday against Peterborough and as we are all aware championships are not built on home defeats.

That is it to say the Scorpions can be taken lightly though and they have many a handy Armadale performer in their ranks

Starting at number 1 with Aussie Ryan Douglas. Douglas has steadily improved year on year and while average wise he is not one of the strongest number ones on his day he is a match for anyone. Now entering his 5th season on these shores the 23 year old Brisbane born racer now looks to take the next step and reach the upper echelons of the Championship standings. To do this Douglas will need to get over his hoodoo of tracks such as Armadale a track where he has never shown his true ability.

Joining Douglas in the opening pairing is the most experienced member of the Scunthorpe line-up Carl Wilkinson. Wilkinson is a firm favourite with the fans wherever he goes due to his all action style and never say die attitude. The Lincolnshire man has a mixed record at Armadale but on his day he is a handy performer and has recorded a double digit return to his name round our circuit. A repeat of that tomorrow and we are in for a tough night.

The engine room of the team starts with what many view as a bargain signing. Lewis Kerr is in the line-up on a sub 6 point average and now hopefully recovered from his horrific injuries this is the year that many believe Kerr will kick on and fulfil the promise he was showing before that fateful day at Peterborough. Kerr is the most proficient of the visitors around our circuit with a near 8 point average from his previous 5 visits.

Another all out racer slots in at number 4 in Michael Palm Toft. On his day Palm Toft can be devastatingly brilliant but perhaps lacks the consistency that should see him sitting on a higher average than his current sub 7 figure. Although perhaps renowned more for his ability on the bigger tracks he has shown a liking for the smaller circuits as well and once in front is a hard man to beat. He has a 14 point return at Armadale on his resume so again is not one that can be taken for granted.

Number 5 is Josh Auty, the now 26 year old Yorkshire man. Many will find it hard to believe that Auty is still so young as he appears to have been around for years having first broken through as a 15 year old. Perhaps his career has not taken him to the places his potential at that age would have had many believe it would and a lot of this can probably be attested to his gating ability which can sometimes let him down. In full flight he is a sight to behold and is another with a liking for our track and has plenty of experience around the Armadale shale.

Many believe that number 6 Fritz Wallner is the ace in the pack for the Scorpions. A relative unknown to these shores when he was snapped up last year Scunthorpe will look to benefit from having given Wallner enough matches to gain an attractive 4.00 average. The experienced Austrian impressed at Glasgow last Sunday and will look to be one of the top reserves in the Championship. It remains to be seen whether he can adapt quickly to our track but if he does our reserves will need to be on their toes come tomorrow night.

Last but not least is Josh Bailey. Josh has been one to benefit from the reserve rules in our league over the last few years and having stuck by him last year the Scorpions will now be looking for him to return the favour by kicking on and making a mockery of his starting 2.00 average. It remains to be seen if this will be the case but with the experience of riding with the likes of Chris Holder for Kings Lynn in the Premiership this year he has a very good chance.

So now for our Blue and Gold heroes the Parsons Peebles Monarchs. While this will be the first match for the team as whole this year many of our riders are well known to the fans with 4 returnees from last year in Sam, Erik, Max and Mark alongside returning Monarch Mitchell and popular visitor Ricky Wells this means the only real newcomer to the fold is Josh Pickering, and what an impact he made last week. Heat 1 of the Harrison’s Scottish Open up against a formidable line-up of Theo Pijper, Aaron Summers and Richard Lawson and Josh gets left at the tapes a clever switch back and he emerges from bend 2 in front. It appears a new hero will be born only for over eagerness to set in and a slide of on bend 1 of the final lap with the race in the bag. Josh’s attitude though is always to look forward and he acquitted himself well the rest of the night and we will wait to see what team action will bring for our newcomer.

All of our boys have been in action already this season of course in last week’s Open but Sam is now in to almost double figures of matches due to his Wolves and testimonial appearances. Erik impressed everyone in the best pairs meetings from Torun the other week in which Mark also got a run out. Ricky has accepted bookings up and down the country in various individual meetings and looks sharp and Max also has the benefit of doubling up with Sam at Wolverhampton. Only Mitchell and Josh have not had more than one meeting but Josh has been taking in practice sessions at Scunthorpe and Mitch will be at Stoke’s press and practice as I type this to sharpen up ahead of tomorrow night.

So a competitive and exciting season opener lies ahead as we go into the unknown of our 2017 campaign. One thing is for sure we have a team full of racers that will give 100% to the cause and we are in for a rip roaring year ahead.