A 40-POINT HOME WIN

NEWS Friday 9th April 2010, 11:10pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Berwick provided virtually no opposition on a night when three riders were unable to complete the meeting due to injury, and the Scotwaste Monarchs hit 65.

There were maximums for Ryan Fisher (full), Kevin Wolbert and Matthew Wethers (paid), a highest score so far for Jozsef Tabaka and double figures again for Kalle Katajisto who would have done even better had he not been forced to ride a big track engine following the loss of his Armadale special machine last week.

Full marks to them all, not forgetting Andrew Tully who only dropped one point, but it was a poor spectacle for the spectators, not least because of a spate of reruns which highlighted the folly of the rule which forbids races being awarded unless two laps have been completed by ALL riders.

In three heats in a row Anders Andersen finished up as the sole Bandit! He tried hard, but it did not make for a thrilling spectacle.

The injured riders were Max Dilger, Craig Branney and Paul Clews, the latter being the only really competitive Bandit prior to crashing.

Max was on a paid win in heat 2 when his bike incredibly broke in half entering the third turn. He was thrown onto the track and the following Craig Branney couldn't avoid the melee.

It is suggested that Max's carbon fibre forks attachment broke and caused the incident. He was ruled out with a hand injury, and although Branney won the rerun, he retired after one further outing.

Clews' injury came in heat 12 when he led from Katajisto and Wolbert, only to lift and hit the fence on the second bend. The Bandits' captain, as ever, was providing great entertainment.

It seems at this early stage that all three injured riders are still possibilities for the Saturday match at Berwick.

The biggest disappointment by far was Adrian Rymel. He stayed on the continent last time he was due at Armadale, and looked as though he wished he was there again tonight. The paying public deserved better and he could have picked up some tips about application and effort from his partner Jade Mudgway, making a decent Armadale debut.