Mitch Cluff stars in a comfortable win

Monarchs ran out handsome winners in the end against Oxford, and while it was far from a classic match there were some favourable signs for the home team, none more so than Aussie reserve Mitch Cluff who only dropped one point in his four rides and looked faster and more confident than in previous matches.

A delighted Mitch, whose birthday was the previous day, said "Great night! I expect this from myself most weeks, probably not that high but being in amongst it in every race. That's what I'm capable of and it's just about doing that week in week out now. Only dropping one point to Sam's not a bad night! I've just got to turn up next week and try to replicate the same thing."

Big guns Sedgmen and Thomson were firing once more and they were able to carry captain Paco Castagna who was out of touch and seemed to be having bike problems most of the night.

Oxford were missing several of their normal side and did well to put a serviceable team together given that no guests at all were available from Championship sides. As expected Sam Masters and Anders Rowe scored well but they were well backed up by former Monarchs' reserve Dayle Wood who is performing heroics for his new club.

The match started with a first bend pileup as Masters came down trying to get the better of Monarchs' guest Drew Kemp and Jonatan Grahn, and there were a few riders struggling in the early stages. Some extra track grading was requested at the usual break after heat 4.

Sedgmen became the first Monarch to defeat Masters at Armadale for a while and there was usually a home man to step up at any stage when an Oxford fightback was threatened. Grahn beat both Rowe and Wood in heat 8 and even though Cheetahs took a 5-1 in heat 9, this was quickly reversed by Grahn again along with Kemp.

Cheetahs' guests Bowtell and Morley have both had their moments at Armadale but are probably too rusty at the moment whilst restricted to National League racing to really threaten the home riders.

Monarchs led by a dozen into the big heat 13, won by Masters, but Kemp and Thomson kept Rowe at the back, and after Cluff had taken an excellent heat 14 win, the match finished with a Sedgmen-Thomson maximum advantage over Masters. The former Monarchs' captain could have made life awkward for Thomson as he raced into second down the back straight but Sam left room and Kye's bold move paid off.

The 18 point advantage gives Monarchs, at the very least, a good chance of the bonus in the away match at Oxford which is their next fixture on 27th May.

Monarchs seek to fend off Masters and his Cheetahs

The Edinburgh Monarchs will hope to maintain their unbeaten start to the league season when they welcome returning legend Sam Masters and his Oxford Cheetahs to Armadale on Friday.

A late-meeting comeback by the Workington Comets gave the Monarchs a scare last Friday and their task won't be any easier this week with the popular Masters back at the track where he enjoyed such success as a Monarch. Last season he scored an undefeated 18 points when the Cheetahs visited Armadale.

One rider who will be looking to test himself against the old master is Kye Thomson. Monarchs' supporters have been enjoying his superb upsurge in form all season, but after a brilliant 18+1 for Premiership Northampton against Kings Lynn the other week, the rest of the speedway world is starting to take notice too, especially after winning Round the Boards podcast Rider of the Week award. His 11 points against Workington was impressive, but Justin Sedgmen's 12+1 was even better, and the two Aussies combined superbly in Heat 15 to clinch the points.

Dan Thompson's place at No 1 will be taken by fellow GB star Drew Kemp as a guest. Monarchs' fans will enjoy a rare sighting of the German-born Kemp as he is not racing regularly in the Championship this year, focusing instead on Leicester in the Premiership and Latvian side Daugavpils in the Polish leagues. He is having his own 'Northern Tour' this weekend as he is also riding for former club Berwick on Saturday.

Over the winter, Kemp claimed the Argentinian International Championship ahead of Monarchs' skipper Paco Castagna, who was not able to compete in every round due to injury. Last weekend, Paco won Round 3 of the Italian Championship to maintain his narrow lead over Nico Covatti and Nicolas Vicentin, as he continues to recover from his crash at Armadale in April.

Kemp's first race partner will be Jonatan Grahn, who seems to be benefitting from increased track time now that the Swedish season has started and he has been regularly winning heats for the Monarchs in recent outings. Both Mitch Cluff and Jordy Loftus also recorded race wins last week and that will have boosted their confidence too.

Oxford's Anders Rowe has been in impressive form again this year and he will be First Track Reserve for the British Grand Prix double-header at the National Speedway Stadium, Manchester on June 5th and 6th, where he will be joined by Dan Thompson, provided the Monarch regains fitness by then.

With Erik Riss sadly still sidelined, the Cheetahs will use rider replacement at No 2. Mitch McDiarmid will also miss the match due to Polish commitments, so Oxford will utilise Alfie Bowtell in his place.

The Cheetahs' trump card might be Dayle Wood. The Edinburgh Academy rider has made great progress this year and is significantly outperforming his average. That has earned him several guest bookings recently, including an 8+2 (4) performance at Armadale for Berwick that included two race wins.

The Cheetahs suffered an absolutely disastrous first-leg of their MAXICab KO Cup quarter-final at home to Poole on Wednesday. In difficult conditions, the Cheetahs lost by 39-49, despite 14 points from their captain, Sam Masters.

The Cheetahs also lost Team GB SoN2 rider Luke Killeen after the young Aussie crashed in Heat 8 and had to be withdrawn. He will be replaced by Ben Morley on Friday. Darryl Ritchings, who was impressive last week at Armadale guesting for Workington, was also injured in the same incident and will not travel north. Ashton Vale has been promoted from Oxford's NDL Chargers in his place and will partner Dayle Wood at reserve. Young Vale impressed with 10th place in the recent FIM Long Track U23 World Championship in Holland and is one to watch.

With a patched-up side, Oxford manager Peter Schroeck may need to be creative if the Cheetahs are to seriously challenge Monarchs' unbeaten record at Armadale this season, but any team featuring Sam Masters and Anders Rowe should not be underestimated and will not be short of entertainment.

Friday 15th May 2026: Edinburgh Monarchs v Oxford Cheetahs, Cab Direct Championship, Armadale Stadium, 7:30pm

EDINBURGH ROSS ECO TECHNOLOGIES MONARCHS: Drew Kemp (guest), Jonatan Grahn, Justin Sedgmen, Paco Castagna (captain), Kye Thomson, Mitch Cluff, Jordy Loftus.

SD TIMMO CAR SALES OXFORD CHEETAHS: Sam Masters (captain), Rider Replacement for Erik Riss, Alfie Bowtell (guest), Ben Morley (guest), Anders Rowe, Ashton Vale, Dayle Wood.