Edinburgh Monarchs v Redcar Bears

A tough match against Redcar got even tougher when Carl Stonehewer was ruled out in a disastrous heat 1.

However the remainder of the team rallied round and turned in one of their most impressive performances to run out comfortable winners in a very entertaining match.

Both Jonasson and Auty were penalised for exceeding the two minutes in heat 1, Thomas being replaced by Derek Sneddon and Auty going off 15 metres.

Derek made the start with Monarchs? guest Stonehewer outside him, but the two made contact with Stoney going into the fence. He sustained foot or ankle damage and that was the end of his match.

A depressing start indeed. Aaron came into the rerun and rode well to hold second spot. He was out again in heat 2 and with Derek winning easily, Aaron fought a race long battle with Arlo Bugeja before gaining a point. That was the scores levelled, but we had probably expected better from heat 2.

Heat 3 though was an inspiration to the home team, with brilliant riding by Ryan Fisher and Andrew Tully. Although James Grieves as ever made the start, Fisher was through on the second bend, and Tully impressively followed by the same route later in the heat after an excellent battle.

Aaron made the start in heat 4 protected by Matthew, and hard match or not, we had built up a 16-8 lead.

Heat 5 was another eventful one. Initially Havelock led, with Fisher flying through the pack to challenge, and Tully battling with Auty. Josh came down on the third turn and was ruled out of the rerun.

In this Tully surged ahead off the second bend while Fisher ran into the back of Havelock and lost ground which he never regained.

Somewhat surprisingly Redcar chose to give Ty Proctor the TR in the next heat, perhaps believing that a pairing of Sneddon and Jonasson would be a relatively soft touch.

They weren?t, and Thomas won the heat even though his engine was smoking a bit. So now we were ten up and the TR was used.

However heat 7 went badly for Monarchs with Grieves and Kerr gating and Matthew unable to do anything about it.

We got that quickly back in heat 8, Derek winning, well backed by Thomas who looked after Josh Auty.

Heat 9 looked promising too, and again the Tully/Fisher pairing came up with the goods, taking a 5-1 off Proctor.

James Grieves took a good win in heat 10 from Thomas, and Aaron did a good job to keep Chris Kerr at the back.

Heat 11 was a tremendous race. Derek gated with Matthew tucked in, Auty battling round the outside with Havelock stuck on the inside in fourth but no room to move. So it continued for the full race, Auth continually battling round the wide line and finally grabbing second on the last corner.

That was fine team riding by the home men in spite of the eventual loss of a point, and in heat 12 we saw another demonstration of the art from Summers and Tully. Great riding to ensure that James Grieves could find no way through. James eventually locked up on the pits corner and swerved into Compton?s path, the race being awarded 5-1.

It was all over with a 20-point lead, three heats to go, a great effort with a rider missing.

Redcar took a 5-1 in heat 13 through Proctor (his only gate) and Havelock.

Chris Kerr was well placed early in heat 14 but Fisher swept round him, glancing over disdainfully as Kerr tried to push him out, and we then saw another fine effort by Aaron Summers to pass and subdue Kerr.

The final heat was another good one, Grieves just holding off Fisher and Proctor hanging on to third from Andrew.

HERMISTON MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Aaron Summers

Edinburgh Monarchs v Redcar Bears

The table topping Scotwaste Monarchs face another stiff test on Friday when rejuvenated Redcar Bears come to town in Premier League action.

The Bears will certainly be busy this week, with a trip to Birmingham and a home meeting against rivals Workington in their diaries before they even think about their visit to sunny Armadale.

Such a schedule will give the riders a chance to put their recent heavy defeat at Rye House behind them and allow their colourful bunch of supporters another opportunity to be merry (not that they need any excuse of course!).

It?s been a remarkable couple of weeks down Cleveland way. The Gary Havelock saga has been well documented and the end result (the aforementioned punters helping to pay his wages) is one that allows the club to remain competitive on track. For this, we should be grateful because there is nothing worse than watching a struggling side being battered left, right and centre.

Havvy may not be the ?unbeatable? force he once was but he?s still a top rider at this level, as is teammate James Grieves. Both these guys need no introduction in West Lothian and anyone defeating them on Friday will have claimed an excellent scalp.

However, if these two were well known before this season, it has to be said quite a chunk of their limelight has been stolen by exciting Aussie newcomer Tyron Proctor. His all action style has won him plaudits throughout the country, especially for his performance in the PL Pairs at Somerset.

Further down the pecking order are another 2 ?talents in waiting? who, it?s fair to say, probably haven?t reached their full potential as yet, namely Chris Kerr and Joshua Auty. Kerr?s untimely injury earlier this season left a gaping hole in the Bears? septet and his replacement, hapless Finn Joni Keskinen, struggled somewhat (I think that?s probably the kindest way of putting it!). Meanwhile, Auty is well known in that he appeared in the Under 15 Championships at the Lothian Arena long before he became an oldie! This year hasn?t been the best for the young man, but he still has plenty of time on his side to make a big impression in the sport.

At the bottom end top reserve, the unfortunate Daniel Giffard, is currently on the injured list. At the time of writing, it hasn?t been confirmed who will be taking his place, although we?re reliably informed it will be either Benji Compton or James Cockle. Whoever gets the nod, let?s just hope they ride steadily and sensibly!

In the home camp, there?s yet another change in riding order, brought about by Thomas H Jonasson completing 12 meetings last week. He moves back into the top 5 for this one, following one of the briefest spells at reserve ever seen! It was pleasing to see him riding (and scoring) well against Birmingham and hopefully this will be a sign of good things to come for the young Swede.

Skipper Derek Sneddon is the man who drops down into the bottom two (although he?ll be replaced by Andrew Tully for the month of August!) and he?ll no doubt be looking to continue his recent high scoring from that position. Elsewhere, Carl Stonehewer continues to deputise for the injured William Lawson and his contribution will be absolutely vital in the final outcome. We?ll definitely need Stoney to show top form if we are to lower the visitors? colours with any degree of comfort.

With the weather set to be scorching (for a change), I?m expecting a hugely entertaining evening!

As always, may the best team win...

Line ups:

Edinburgh: Carl Stonehewer, Thomas H Jonasson, Andrew Tully, Ryan Fisher, Matthew Wethers, Derek Sneddon, Aaron Summers.

Redcar: Gary Havelock, Joshua Auty, James Grieves, Chris Kerr, Tyron Proctor, guest for Daniel Giffard, Arlo Bugeja.