Edinburgh Monarchs v Redcar Bears

It took until the last few races for Monarchs to gain control of a match in which a number of riders found the track difficult.

This should not really have been the case against a Redcar team which had little race-winning potential. Monarchs had 13 race winners and in the two in which a visitor took the chequered flag, three of the Edinburgh riders failed to finish!

In fact there were 7 ?letters? on the Monarchs? scorechart ? three Xs, two Fs and an E, and only non-finishes prevented four of the team gaining paid maximums.

Bears were unlucky to lose James Grieves after a first bend crash in his third ride. He had started with a stinker in heat 4, then led Fisher down the back straight in heat 6 only for the race to be stopped. He gated again in heat 9 but the heat was stopped because Robert Branford had been unsteady at the start, and just to confirm it wasn?t his night, he crashed in the rerun. It seems he may have a broken finger.

Bears? successes were Charles Wright with 7+3 on his debut ? some were gifts but he rode well ? and Robert Branford, guesting at no. 7 but looking very steady and confident on a track which gave far more experienced riders problems.

Monarchs made a dismal start. Havelock led in heat 1 with Fisher going for a big move round the outside on the pits bend ? and falling. In the restart Tobias Busch held second for a bit but Wright slipped past for a Bears? 5-1. Busch?s attempts to repass looked promising but he couldn?t find the decisive move.

Kalle stormed home in familiar style in heat 2, but Cal McDade was slow away and fell trying to come inside Branford.

We were on a 5-1 for much of heat 3, with neither Kevin nor Matthew looking all that comfortable. Sanchez was pressing, and Matthew lifted on the second bend of lap three but held on to second. A lap later he was a bit tentative at the same spot, and Sanchez grabbed second.

Kalle and Andrew had no problems in heat 4 with an easy 5-1, and at last we were leading.

Havelock?s good form in heat 1 largely disappeared thereafter, and he was well back as Matthew and Kevin swept to a 5-1 in heat 5.

James Grieves was back in the groove to lead down the back straight in heat 6, but with Busch falling the heat was stopped. Tobias was out but Fisher took his second chance to win, though James was close for a couple of laps.

Andrew Tully won well in heat 7 and Cal this time picked up a gift when Wilson fell. Cal actually fell also, but he was quickly enough up to take the gift.

Eight points up, we should have been pushing on for a big win ? but instead heat 8 went all wrong.

Kalle led the way with Tobias dicing for second with Charles Wright. Coming off the fourth turn though, his chain came off and threw him heavily onto the track.

Kalle led again in the rerun only to pull out with a bike problem, and we had lost a 5-0.

More problems in heat 9. The first running was stopped, then James Grieves crashed in the restart after Wolbert and Wethers had made the gate. Suchanek replaced him for the third attempt, and there were more problems.

Young Branford made an excellent start from gate 4 and was coming hard down the back straight when Kevin Wolbert lifted and seemed to bump him into the fence, though not everyone watching on that straight agreed.

Kevin was out, Matthew rode a good race to win the rerun but we were still only 3 points up.

Thereafter with the track getting a little easier, we hit the accelerator at long last. Fisher and Katakisto took 5 from heat 10 with Sanchez falling in third place.

Andrew Tully won heat 11, with Cal touching the tapes and riding off 15 metres.

Wolbert and Katajisto celebrated their 5 points in heat 12 with great gusto even though the opposition was limited, and the same was true in heat 13 with Fisher and Tully ahead. Havelock could have ridden as a TR here but didn?t.

Sanchez was handed the black and white for heat 14, but he pulled out as Kalle and Matthew romped home for the fourth 5-1 in five heats.

It looked like another in heat 15 until Andrew got too close to Ryan and bailed out. That was his maximum up the spout.

It was an easy win really, and it should have been easier.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Redcar Bears

This Friday at the Scotwaste Arena (7.30), it's a case of top plays bottom as the Edinburgh Monarchs with 13 wins to their name go head-to-head with the Redcar Bears who have only 4 wins to their credit so far this year.

Monarchs took a while to get into their stride but have five straight wins behind them and will go back to the top of the Premier League if they win. Redcar could jump a few places if they pulled of a shock away win but will stay bottom if they lose.

But that is not to underestimate the challenge facing Monarchs because the troubled side from Redcar have been making numerous changes in order to come up with a winning formula and they have two new faces in their line-up, both of whom will give the Bears more backbone.

After tomorrow, 11 different riders will have represented the Bears as full team members. Unlucky casualties have been Jan Graversen from Denmark, Maks Gregoric from Slovenia and former Stoke junior, Gary Irving. Latest to be replaced is another Dane, Henning Bager.

James Grieves seems to have ridden as many matches at Armadale this year as some of the Monarchs and, after becoming surplus to requirements at Glasgow, the Paisley-born star was immediately snapped up for a return to the South Tees Motor Park where he previously spent a very successful spell.

He makes up what on paper looks a very decent top four along with Gary Havelock, Ben Wilson and Emiliano Sanchez. But of course speedway isn't raced on paper otherwise former World Champion Gary Havelock would still be the dominant force he once was.

As it is, he is still capable of beating anyone on his day and has made a good return to action following a lengthy injury absence after he and Ryan Fisher got in a first bend tangle at Redcar. So their match-ups should be well worth the admission money alone.

Emiliano Sanchez is another who has settled in well at Redcar after a memorable 2009 with the formidable King's Lynn side where he was voted 'Rider of the Year'. The popular and experienced Argentinian is a solid heat leader who can also trouble any of the Monarchs riders.

Ben Wilson has become a solid heat leader since joining the Bears from the wide open spaces of Sheffield where he had spent all his formative speedway years. The remaining three Bears are all experienced riders with averages between the four and five point mark.

The Czech, Tomas Suchanek is a man of many British clubs, Stuart Swales has made a successful comeback after nearly eight years out of the sport when he left Glasgow in 2001. The team is completed by new signing Charles Wright of Workington fame.

Wright found himself without a Premier League place this year and has been riding for Buxton in the National League where he partners Craig Cook and is only a point below him in terms of averages. So whatever the combination at reserve, none will be a 3-point rider.

This will make the full d?but of Cal McDade to the Monarchs side all the harder but he will be trying his utmost to get among the points. Elsewhere in the Monarchs side there are solid performers in every nearly position and they are all back from their foreign travels of last weekend.

Another main point of interest for Monarchs fans will be how their other recent signing Tobias Busch fares against more serious opposition than he did on his d?but on Glasgow's night of shame. That night he looked very good for someone who had never ridden the Armadale track in earnest before.

It would be a major surprise if Edinburgh were to lose this one but any match is a potential banana skin when you are flying as high as the mighty Monarchs are right now. As ever they will have to fight for every point and let's hope super Kalle continues to dazzle the crowd.

Probable line-ups

SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Ryan Fisher, Tobias Busch, Kevin Wolbert, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Cal McDade, Kalle Katajisto.

REDCAR BEARS: Gary Havelock, Charles Wright, Ben Wilson, Emiliano Sanchez, James Grieves, Tomas Suchanek, Stuart Swales.