Better Weather Required

NEWS Wednesday 23rd August 2017, 2:32pm

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs

After a dry run of weather to start the season the last few weeks have not been as kind and everyone will be hoping for a reappearance of the sun as the re-staging o f the Caledonian Riders Championship takes place at Armadale this Friday.

REVISED LINE-UP

An exciting looking line-up has been assembled with the best efforts being made to maintain as much of the original field as possible but due to other commitments a few changes have been made that it could be argued makes for a stronger field from top to bottom.

INTEREST THROUGHOUT THE FIELD

Although predominantly being a chance for the Parsons Peebles Monarchs faithful to see some riders they may not experience on a regular basis there are still plenty of familiar faces in the line-up.

Home hero Mitchell Davey is expected to be among the front runners with many expecting his stiffest challenge to come from the likes of Mason Campton or Tom Perry and with relatively unknown Jacob Bukhave on the grid will this meeting unearth a star?

WILL WE SEE A SCOTTISH WINNER?

With a lack of training facilities having led to a downturn in the amount of riders being produced in and around Scotland recently this is seen by many as a great chance for the current crop of Scottish youngsters to get their names out there and secure a place in the National League. 4 of the country’s top prospects are in the field in the form of Ryan MacDonald, Kev Whelan, Dale Lamb and Kieran Douglas and this is something that meeting promoter Scott Frame was keen to make sure happened “We have to make sure we are giving the young Scottish guys a chance to show what they can do. The guys don’t get the track time they need these days and we need to try and rectify that. However the meeting is not just about that. There are a lot of riders in the field who will be thinking they can win and the fans are in for an exciting meeting that’s for sure.”

FUN FOR ALL THE FAMILY

With ticket prices slashed across the board the hope is a large turnout will be in attendance to support the event. Home man Mitchell Davey will be in attendance at the entrance to the stadium for pictures and autographs before the meeting and there will be face painting and bouncy castle for the younger (or younger at heart) also. A talk in is also planned in the bar after the meeting with some of the night’s competitors.

MEETING SPONSOR

Linlithgow Tyres and Exhausts are meeting sponsors this week. A long term supporter of Scottish junior speedway owner Alan Robertson was heavily involved with the Linlithgow Lightning back in the day and is always looking for ways to help young Scots make their way. Thanks also go out to the numerous heat and rider

sponsors who have stepped forward to support the event and who stayed on board after the original meeting was postponed.

Line-up for the Caledonian Riders Championship in association with Linlithgow Tyres and Exhausts this at Armadale on Friday 25th August (start time 7:30pm, gates open 6:30pm), is:

1.Ryan MacDonald, 2.Dale Lamb, 3.Kieran Douglas, 4.Kevin Whelan, 5.Shelby Rutherford, 6.Tom Wooley, 7.James Sarjeant, 8. Mitchell Davey, 9.Tom Perry, 10.Jacob Bukhave, 11. Mason Campton, 12.Coty Garcia

WILL A STAR BE UNEARTHED: While on paper the line-up looks like it may be split into two halves a little with the less experienced riders looking to make a name for themselves and the more well known stars going for the title an interesting evening is in store. A specially devised heat format will mean all races are competitive and with noted Championship performers such as Campton, Garcia, Sarjeant and Davey all gunning for victory then some surprises may be in store and whoever tops the podium at the end of the night will know they have had to battle hard for the title.

LAST MEETING: Last week’s SGB Championship match fell foul to the weather despite the best attempts from all to get the meeting on heavy rain throughout the day had seeped right through to the base of the track and in the end the match had to be postponed

NEXT MEETING: Another re-staging as we attempt to run the intermediate challenge against the Buxton Hitmen once again. The hope is with the new date that Buxton will be able to field their normal National League team and a team made up of the lower order of the Monarchs team and some local youngsters will be keen to do well.

Full Result Details