Monarchs Progress

The What the Fork Monarchs stuck to their task well to progress to the semi final of the league playoffs going down by 8 on the day but winning by 10 on aggregate after a match that had a bit of everything at the Ecco Arena.

As is so often the case the Monarchs were led by captain Sam Masters who finished on 13 points and beamed after 'It was good we had the lead after the home leg but they pushed us in the first couple of heats but we got the job done in the end and finished with a 5-1 so that was nice.'

The home men knew they would have to hit back hard if they wanted to unsettle the Monarchs and they did just that taking the chequered flag in each of the first 4 races.

The first of these won by Erik Riss who was sensational on his return from injury top scoring for the Bears with 11.

The most controversial of the early races was heat 4 where after missing the start Josh Pickering set about doing what he so often does first going round Kasper Andersen then cutting under Charles Wright. Wright then hit the inside himself pushing Josh out on the final corner the Monarch coming down. A move that would be probably be described as hard by the home fans and desperate by the away ones. Referee Chris Durno the only one whose opinion matters adjudging Wright had done nothing wrong.

The Monarchs would hit back quickly though with a maximum of their own in heat 5 when Lasse Frederiksen rounded Leon Flint to join Masters at the front.

This settled the nerves and when Jacob Hook and Lasse Frederiksen hit another 5-1 in heat 8 then it was a case of just counting down the points.

Some enthralling racing ensued with Kye Thomson riding a fantastic race to split the home men in heat 12.

Heat 13 was race of the night as a blanket could be thrown over all 4 throughout, Riss holding on from Masters but with Wright unable to make an impact it meant only a finisher was needed in the penultimate race.

The Bears duly recorded the 5-1 with Monarchs guest Adam Roynon picking up the 3rd the job was done, Roynon worth more than his 3 points on the day.

It meant the last heat was inconsequential in regards the tie but try telling that to the Monarchs top men.

Masters controlled the race throughout with Pickering diving under Riss to join his captain up front the wheelies and burnout celebration showing just how much it meant to them and the rest of the team

Monarchs Look To Complete The Job

The What the Fork Monarchs head to Redcar on Saturday evening with a handy lead but work still to do should they want to progress to the playoff semi finals.

A solid team performance excellently led as always by Sam and Josh meant an 18 point advantage was gained but having went down by the same amount in the cup a couple of weeks ago no chickens are being counted yet.

The Monarchs are boosted with the news that Kye Thomson is fit to ride after his heavy crash in the 1st leg. Lewi Kerr who came to grief in the same incident not as fortunate Berwick's Leon Flint stepping in for Kerr in this one.

Elsewhere there is one change for the Monarchs as Paco Castagna is on Italian championship duty, Scunthorpe's Adam Roynan who scored an excellent paid 12 on his last visit to Redcar and started the season as a Bear coming in.

Beyond that the Monarchs septet is as expected but there is one further change to Friday's lineup for the Bears with Erik Riss declaring himself ready to return at number 1.

So, the job is known for both and 37 points the first target for the Monarchs to extend the season and move onto the semi finals.

Tapes up at 5pm with live updates available on the Monarchs website and stream available on the British Speedway Network