Impressive first victory for Monarchs

Two unbeaten riders and plenty of points for all of the top five was the pleasing situation for the Monarchs tonight as they recorded a very convincing win by 54-36 against Berwick.

Berwick's efforts were obviously badly hampered by injury to Peter Kildemand in heat 1, with the IRR procedure only providing four points, but there was no denying how impressive both Dan Thompson and Kye Thomson were in going through the card. Bandits only managed three race winners, two of these going to guest reserve Dayle Wood who is a hugely improved rider. Thomson's full maximum was his second for Monarchs, the previous one coming in 2023 also against Berwick.

After scoring the full 15 Kye Thomson typically was mainly interested in talking about the team. "It's been a slow start with two home draws, some of us firing and some having a few dramas. But we're talking a lot and trying to help the young ones get going. Tonight we've come out on top against a strong side."

In the final heat 15 Dan Thompson slowed just before the line to give Kye the fifth race win of his night, and Kye appreciated that. "We are working well together, he's unreal to ride with. Tonight was a big night for us and we can still qualify for the BSN semis."

Kildemand's misfortune came in heat 1 as Dan Thompson tried to come in between the Dane and his partner Jye Etheridge with Jonatan Grahn well ahead. Kildemand and Thompson tangled and the Bandits' no. 1 somersaulted and landed heavily. Thompson bike looked worse for wear and it was reported that Kildemand has a collar bone injury.

It was ruled that Kildemand be excluded though it was difficult to apportion blame for such an incident. Monarchs took a 5-1 in the rerun and they continued to be successful, gating better in most heats.

Thompson and Thomson dominated the meeting and took 5-1s from both heats 13 and 15 riding together, something Monarchs used to achieve regularly in years gone by but not for two or three seasons now. With Grahn, Sedgmen and Castagna also scoring heavily and taking no last places, Monarchs were able to carry their reserves who rode much better than in previous weeks but could still only total 3 points. Cluff lost what appeared a certain third in heat 7 when passed by Fredriksen, and the best ride by Loftus was against Berwick's top two Palovaara and Morris who he challenged strongly in the early stages of heat 11.

Best race of the night was heat 9, with Morris and Castagna battling for the four laps and Castagna just failing to pip the Aussie. The teams meet again tomorrow at Berwick (7pm).

Monarchs seek first win and BSN Series progression

After starting the season with two consecutive home draws, Edinburgh Monarchs will need a home win over Berwick Bandits this Friday as they seek to qualify for the BSN Series play-offs.

The Scottish Section will be decided this weekend as the Monarchs travel to Berwick on Saturday and Glasgow on Sunday. With all three teams still in contention, Edinburgh will likely need at least two wins to get over the line but their destiny is firmly in their own hands.

Inspirational skipper Paco Castagna is battered and bruised after his acrobatic flip over the pit bend fence at Armadale last week but he is fit to ride this weekend. That is a massive boost for the team and a great relief for supporters who witnessed the frightening crash. The effectiveness of Paco's partnership with Justin Sedgmen will again be pivotal to Monarchs' success and with Dan Thompson and Kye Thomson in excellent form to begin the season, there is real optimism that the team can push on strongly in May.

Both Monarchs reserves enjoyed morale boosting guest appearances at Workington last weekend. Jordy Loftus scored in all of his races for visitors Berwick and finished with 5+1, while Mitch Cluff nabbed 4+1 for the home team and looked good. Mitch will be looking to build on that with a fast start to his second month in Monarchs' colours.

Berwick have started the season in good form. They comfortably dispatched Workington in the KO Cup and also beat Glasgow at Shielfield in the BSN Series, although the Tigers won the Aggregate Point with a 51-39 win in their home leg.

The Bandits are packing some top-end strength this year. Two-time GP winner Peter Kildemand will be backed up by the 2025 Monarch of the Season Victor Palovaara, who certainly knows the fastest way around Armadale. Experienced Aussie Nick Morris, who is regaining form after suspension and injury, will line up alongside two other former Armadale stars in 2016 Monarch Jye Etheridge and Norwegian favourite Lasse Fredriksen, who was with Plymouth last year.

Berwick's secret weapon this season has been Australian Reid Battye's form at reserve. The former road racer has quickly mastered Shielfield and his 12+3 against Glasgow included an impressive win over Kyle Howarth. He was unbeaten after three rides in the subsequent home win over Workington before a nasty crash sidelined him with back, rib and facial injuries. He could be out for up to six weeks and will be replaced by Dayle Wood on Friday and Sam Hagon on Saturday.

The Monarchs have had some decent results at Berwick in recent years and will be hoping to at least secure the Aggregate Point to match Glasgow's performance so far. After the opening night draw at Armadale, the Monarchs will probably need to win at Ashfield or at least grab a point to force a Super Heat.

The eventual group winners will progress to the knockout stages alongside the winners of the other two groups and the highest-scoring runners-up. Poole won the Southern Section on Wednesday with 2nd placed Oxford setting a target of four points. Holders Redcar currently lead the Northern Section with five points. Workington visit Scunthorpe on Friday and then host Redcar at 6pm on Saturday, so the Monarchs will know exactly what they need to achieve at Glasgow before leaving Berwick on Saturday night.

It is sure to be an exciting weekend of speedway but the Monarchs will need to get off to a winning start with a home victory, so all roads lead to Armadale on Friday.

Friday 1st May 2026: Edinburgh Monarchs v Berwick Bandits, Armadale Stadium, 7:30pm

MONARCHS: Dan Thompson, Jonatan Grahn, Justin Sedgmen, Paco Castagna (captain), Kye Thomson, Mitch Cluff, Jordy Loftus.

BANDITS: Peter Kildemand, Jye Etheridge (captain), Victor Palovaara, Lasse Fredriksen, Nick Morris, Jack Smith, Dayle Wood (guest).

Update: Despite strenuous efforts to ensure that Monarchs number 1 Dan Thompson would ride at Berwick on Saturday, he has been called up by his Polish side Lodz who hold priority over Dan for their match at Poznan.

Dan will return to the Monarchs team on Sunday at Glasgow. A guest is being sought to cover Dan's absence on Saturday.