Edinburgh Monarchs v Somerset Rebels

There was a good crowd present to see what was expected to be a hotly-contested match between two top PL sides, but only one of the teams lived up to expectations.

A strong start laid the foundations of what was a comfortable Monarchs victory, and as a considerable bonus Sam Masters returned successfully to action after a six-week absence.

After a quiet first ride, the Aussie was back in the groove and even felt confident enough to come out for Heat 15.

Craig Cook and Justin Sedgmen swept away to a 5-1 in Heat 1, Heat 2 was shared, then Kevin Wolbert and Erik Riss took another maximum and already the writing was on the wall for the Rebels.

Josh Grajczonek and Brady Kurtz then won races, but when Cook (totally dominant throughout) passed Grajczonek to turn Heat 6 into a 4-2, it was TR time. This proved to be the next disappointment for the visitors.

Sensing that the returning Masters might be a little vulnerable, Garry May handed the black and white helmet to Richie Worrall. However he got caught on the outside of Masters on the second turn, allowing Max Clegg to cleverly cut up the inside and ride a faultless race to ensure no extra TR points.

There wasn’t much doubt about the result after that. Regrettably Grajczonek came down in Heat 9 when he was having a good battle with Kevin Wolbert (it looked like a bike problem) and Paul Starke couldn’t avoid him, causing Josh to pull out with a back injury.

Starke did win the re-run of that race, and later Rasmus Jensen managed a win over Masters, making it five different race winners for the visitors. They also had six different riders recording last places, though, with perhaps the biggest disappointments being the 5-1s conceded in their three heats together by Worrall and Charles Wright, expected to be a strong pair on this track. They weren’t losing by any hairsbreadth margins either. Worrall came good later on but Wright never got going.

There has to be a special mention for the home reserves. As well as Clegg’s heat 7 heroics, both battled excitingly in all of their races. Clegg should have had another point because he was severely baulked when Kurtz lost control and stopped right in his path in heat 11. Why the ref let that go was a complete mystery.