BRILLIANT WOLBERT

NEWS Thursday 7th July 2011, 9:59pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

We were well beaten at Owlerton, perhaps as expected, but a thrilling display by Kevin Wolbert made the trip worthwhile for the fans.

The German was a bit lucky to get a point in heat one when Skidmore fell, but his next four rides were all outstanding as he fought to get the better of the home heat leaders - and generally won.

In heat 5 he beat Josh Auty with a bit to spare, then he scored 6 on a TR in heat 11 after a superb battle with Shane Parker. Parker caught Kevin at one point but Kevin fought back to take the win.

In heat 13 the home riders Ashworth and Parker were on a 5-1 but Wolbert didn't give up, and swept past Ashworth (a somewhat rare event for an Edinburgh rider).

Finally Kevin raced away round the Sheffield boards in heat 15 to win again and finish on 15+1.

Matthew Wethers rode well for a 10-point score (including a heat 8 6-pointer), and Kyle Howarth was competitive in all his heats.

Tim Webster deserves credit for a good point in heat 2 but the rest of the side struggled most of the time.

Kevin now heads to Denmark for World Cup action of the hardest possible variety, with in-form James Grieves guesting against Somerset on Friday night at Armadale.

Full Result Details