Wolbert brilliant at Glasgow Image Credit: Ron MacNeill

UNLUCKY MONARCHS LOSE THE CUP

NEWS Sunday 23rd October 2011, 7:21pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The weakened Scotwaste Monarchs put up a great fight and were very unlucky to lose the Scottish Cup at Ashfield today.

The final score was 56-37 with an aggregate of 89-82 in Glasgow's favour. However two engine failures while leading for Craig Cook, one of these when on a TR in heat 14, cost us dear, and the rider replacement rides for our injured skipper yielded a grand total of 0 points. We did not manage to organise a guest reserve replacement at no. 6 for Bekker (Perry was riding at Leicester) and were loaned junior John McPhail.

We didn't even get the consolation of a closing race win, because Kevin Wolbert was excluded for bringing down James Grieves as he passed him, even though Kevin was adamant that he had done nothing wrong.

Heavy pre-meeting rain made the circuit very wet, and had Wolbert made that last heat pass, it would have been the only overtake of the day. Everything was from the gate and while most of the riders were getting round OK, visibility must have been pretty bad and there were very few chances to overtake.

Wolbert won heat one, and scored a 6-pointer in heat 5 after we had lost 1-5s in the previous two races. He won for a third time in heat 11 and only dropped points off the poor gate 1 in heat 13. The other major success was Kyle Howarth who recorded his highest ever score as a Monarch (13+1), winning two of his seven heats.

Andrew Tully won heat 10 but generally struggled with his gating, while Kalle Katajisto was a complete passenger, never even getting close to an opposition rider. His only point came when Theo Pijper stopped in heat 8 (on a certain Tigers' 5-1), and even then he just trickled through for the gift point.

Craig Cook was way off the pace in heat 4 and 6 and didn't look in the mood at all, but he suddenly came to life to lead heat 9 from Howarth. However cruelly he lost a chain coming off the last corner and was passed by everyone before the line.

Three down on aggregate going in to heat 14, Craig took his rider replacement ride as a TR, and again led. We were on a 7-2 which would almost certainly have won the cup, only to once again stop with the race in the bag.

In the final heat Wolbert gave chase on race leader Grieves, getting closer throughout the heat, and went for an inside pass on the last turn. He was half a length in front going in to the bend, but Grieves tried to hold his ground, leant in and came down.

It sometimes seems as though Ashfield meetings are being refereed by their triumphalist announcer, because the red lights were slammed on right away and he was bellowing the name of James Grieves as the winner of the Svein Kaasa Trophy (which is awarded annually in this last heat).

Wolbert was excluded, and Grieves made his way at speed towards the Wolbert end of the Monarchs' pit. All would probably have been fine after a discussion, but there are always some aggressive hangers-on in the Ashfield pits ready to leap in, and they were the main trouble makers.

That blew over, but we were left to rue the injury to Matthew, the absence of a no. 6 and these engine failures for Craig (who has had very few stoppages this year).