Monarchs seek to fend off Masters and his Cheetahs

PREVIEW Thursday 14th May 2026, 1:40pm

by Iain McArthur

  Edinburgh Monarchs

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.

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