Stellar Monarchs stride into the BSN Series semis

The Stellar Monarchs really rose to the occasion tonight with their best performance of the season, clinching victory and qualification for the BSN Series semi as early as heat 13. The whole team contributed well but especially notable was a superb 14 points by Paco Castagna in his most effective match for the club.

It had been such a turnaround for both team and captain after some disappointing results. Castagna said afterwards "I'm amazed by how difficult the last few weeks were for me and the team. Tonight I'm really, really impressed by everyone, we've got to thank Cookie for his hard work, and everyone did a massive job. Even though Lasse was injured half way through the meeting he kept going. We all did our job and got a win against Glasgow which is always satisfying."

Injured number one Josh Pickering was there to watch and spent the night in amongst the team keeping them going.

Both Justin Sedgmen and Craig Cook had engine failures when in front, and unlucky Lasse Fredriksen also lost a point to a machine failure, otherwise the margin might have been greater.

There was a fierce determination about the Monarchs tonight, and that certainly includes Craig Cook who made some really classy moves. He started right away in heat 1, cutting through from fourth to first down the back straight before Paul Starke brought down Lasse Fredriksen (yes always Lasse) and caused a stoppage.

Chris Harris jetted off to win the rerun, and there was a stoppage in heat 2 as well. Max James led and Connor Coles attempted an outside pass on Jack Smith only to come down with Smith also falling. Coles got the blame and Tigers took the lead with a 4-2.

But then, things changed! How were our unpredictable middle pair going to do tonight? We soon knew, as Kye and Paco raced away for a huge 5-1 over Leon Flint. Justin Sedgmen followed up with a fast start and solid ride, backed by Coles in third, and then did Kye and Paco not do the trick again? A 5-1 over Chris Harris no less, by a fair margin.

That should have been extended in the next race, even though Lasse took a very heavy first bend fall at the first attempt. He was back up for the rerun won by Cook, with Lasse so unluckily stopping on the last corner when in third.

Sedgmen kept his run going with another tapes to flag win in heat 7 before an interesting heat 8 grabbed the attention.

Connor Coles made the start but Starke pulled off an excellent wide sweep to go to the front. Fredriksen, covered in mud from his tumbles and no doubt hurting, eventually burst past Smith into third to keep us 8 ahead.

Steve Worrall used the wide run off the second bend to take the first points off Thomson-Castagna in heat 9, and Leon Flint did likewise beating Cook in the next one. It was still up for grabs.

No luck for Sedgy in heat 11 as he shed a chain while leading. Harris had already stopped at the gate so Starke got a fortunate win over Max James. Flint took a second win in heat 12 and the interest here was in watching Coles hold off an early challenge from Pijper.

So 7 up going in to heat 13. Nothing settled yet. However Sedgmen yet again made the start, with his partner at the back, but with the move of the match Craig Cook rode the line to pass both Harris and Worrall, pulling away for a match-winning 5-1.

We still had two overtaking exhibitions by Paco Castagna in heat 14, first on the outside off bend two (after which Max James fell heavily in third), then up the inside as he missed the start again.

That earned Paco a heat 15 ride. Initially Cook made another brilliant move to the front round the first corner but his machine then died as Worrall and Flint went ahead. However Castagna was again not to be denied as he burst to the front to complete a great personal performance.

Looking Forward To Friday Night

Stellar Monarchs are steeling themselves for a massive Scottish derby clash this Friday at Armadale Stadium with a place in the BSN Series Semi Finals on the line.

The clash comes hot on the heels of a hard-fought away match at Oxford. For 12 heats Monarchs managed to remain competitive, restricting their hosts' lead to just six points.

The disaster struck! A trio of straight 5-1 reversals to complete the evening was not the conclusion anyone was looking for.

The 36-54 final scoreline was probably an unfair indication of the meeting as a whole although even our big guns, Justin Sedgmen and guest Craig Cook were powerless to rescue the situation as heats 13 and 15 arrived.

So often a fruitful area of the programme for us to do some serious scoring when it matters, our top two struggled as Oxford powered ahead from the more fruitful gate positions.

Focussing on the positives for a second, although only three Monarchs - Sedgy, Cookie and Kye Thomson - recorded a heat win on the night, they did manage it on seven occasions over the first twelve heats, which is pretty good going by any standards.

This Friday the spotlight switches to the BSN Series and that much-anticipated qualification showdown with old rivals, the Glasgow Tigers, at Armadale.

After the thrilling golden heat victory at Ashfield in the first leg, any win at all will see the Monarchs through to the semi-finals and, with Craig Cook once again deputising for Josh Pickering, the team is ready for a great contest.

Of course, nothing whatsoever will be taken for granted against this solid looking Tigers' team who have now drafted in former rider Jack Smith as the permanent replacement for the suspended Lee Complin.

Like Edinburgh, Glasgow's early season form has been patchy. They too exited the Knockout Cup at the first time of asking though they have broken their Championship duck already.

So, Friday's derby clash would appear to be between two teams with bags of potential who each have a large point to prove.

Who will blink first?