Poole Pirates
Richard Lawson 13 (5)
Edinburgh Monarchs
Josh Pickering 14 (6)
Championship Play Off
55
35
Wednesday 27th September 2023
Poole Stadium
Poole Pirates
Team Manager: Neil Middleditch
 55
1. Richard Lawson 3 3 2 3 2 13 0
2. Anders Rowe - Rider Replacement 0 0
3. Ben Cook 3 3 R 3 9 0
4. Zach Cook 2* 2* 3 2 2 11 2
5. Steve Worrall 2 3 3 2* 1* 11 2
6. Kyle Newman 1 3 R 1* 2* E 7 2
7. Joe Thompson 2* 1* F 1 0 0 4 2
Edinburgh Monarchs
Team Manager: Gordon Campbell
 35
1. Rider Replacement - Rider Replacement 0 0
2. Lasse Fredriksen 0 1 2 0 0 3 0
3. Kye Thomson 1 0 1* 0 1* 3 2
4. Paco Castagna 0 2 3 1 2 3 0 11 0
5. Josh Pickering 2 3 2 3 1 3 14 0
6. Dayle Wood 0 1* 1 2 1
7. Bastian Borke 1 0 0 1 2 0
Heat 1
 
1. Richard Lawson  
3
2. Anders Rowe  
6. Kyle Newman
1
1. Rider Replacement  
5. Josh Pickering
2
2. Lasse Fredriksen  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
4
4
Away
2
2
Josh passed Kyle Newman down the back straight lap 1
Heat 2
 
6. Kyle Newman  
3
7. Joe Thompson  
2
6. Dayle Wood  
0
7. Bastian Borke  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
9
Away
1
3
Heat 3
 
3. Ben Cook  
3
4. Zach Cook  
2
3. Kye Thomson  
1
4. Paco Castagna  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
14
Away
1
4
Monarchs beaten from the start and can't make up lost ground.
Heat 4
 
5. Steve Worrall  
2
7. Joe Thompson  
1
5. Josh Pickering  
3
7. Bastian Borke  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
17
Away
3
7
Josh gates, takes the Pirates wide on bend one and races ahead. Bastian competes at the back and just misses third on the line.
Heat 5
 
3. Ben Cook  
3
4. Zach Cook  
2
1. Rider Replacement  
3. Kye Thomson
0
2. Lasse Fredriksen  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
22
Away
1
8
Poole gate and take an easy 5-1.
Heat 6
 
1. Richard Lawson  
3
2. Anders Rowe  
7. Joe Thompson
F
5. Josh Pickering  
2
6. Dayle Wood  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
25
Away
3
11
Pirates gate, Josh takes second. Despite fence scraping he can't catch Lawson. Joe Thompson slides off on lap three but gets his bike off the track.
Heat 7
 
5. Steve Worrall  
3
6. Kyle Newman  
R
3. Kye Thomson  
1
4. Paco Castagna  
2
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
28
Away
3
14
Worrall streets ahead as Monarchs trade places.
Heat 8
 
2. Anders Rowe  
4. Zach Cook
3
7. Joe Thompson  
1
2. Lasse Fredriksen  
2
7. Bastian Borke  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
4
32
Away
2
16
Lasse makes a brilliant pass to take second, Bastian competing but can't find a line.
Heat 9
 
3. Ben Cook  
R
4. Zach Cook  
2
5. Josh Pickering  
3
6. Dayle Wood  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
2
34
Away
4
20
Ben Cook gates but Josh pulls a great move to exit bend 2 in front. Ben Cook pulls out on bend 4.
Heat 10
 
1. Richard Lawson  
2
2. Anders Rowe  
6. Kyle Newman
1
3. Kye Thomson  
0
4. Paco Castagna  
3
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
37
Away
3
23
Race of the night so far! Monarchs gate but exit bend 2 losing 2-4. Paco keeps in the mix passing Newman to get to first. Newman gets ahead but gets out of shape on lap 2 allowing Paco to get through. Lawson applies some pressure but Paco takes the win
Heat 11
 
5. Steve Worrall  
3
6. Kyle Newman  
2
1. Rider Replacement  
4. Paco Castagna
1
2. Lasse Fredriksen  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
42
Away
1
24
Worrall appeared to touch the tapes but the referee doesn't stop the race. Poole complete an easy maximum.
Heat 12
 
3. Ben Cook  
3
7. Joe Thompson  
0
3. Kye Thomson  
1
6. Dayle Wood  T/S
4. Paco Castagna
2
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
45
Away
3
27
Paco Castagna takes a tac sub ride. Josh preferring not to take one, would have done so were the scores closer. All sorted from the gate, Kye keeping an eye on Joe Thompson but safe for the point.
Heat 13
 
1. Richard Lawson  
3
5. Steve Worrall  
2
1. Rider Replacement  
2. Lasse Fredriksen
0
5. Josh Pickering  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
5
50
Away
1
28
From the gate, Josh never really close after the second bend. He would have had an easier ride in heat 12!
Heat 14
 
4. Zach Cook  
2
6. Kyle Newman  Tapes
7. Joe Thompson
0
4. Paco Castagna  
3
7. Bastian Borke  
1
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
2
52
Away
4
32
Excellent heat. Paco forces through on the inside round the first turn, and has a race long tussle with Zach Cook. Paco using the inside brilliantly. Meanwhile Bastian gets his reward with a good pass on Joe Thompson.
Heat 15
 
1. Richard Lawson  
2
5. Steve Worrall  
1
5. Josh Pickering  
3
4. Paco Castagna  
0
 
Heat
Score
Match
Score
Home
3
55
Away
3
35
Unbelievable stoppage after Josh rode a brilliant second bend to go ahead, but someone had left the tapes bollard at the start. Thankfully Josh does it again in the rerun and keeps out wide to take a comfortable win.

35 points at Poole

The Stellar Monarchs did not push table-topping Poole very hard on our trip to the south coast, but in the circumstances it was not a dreadful performance to go down by 55-35 with most of the team achieving something over the evening.

Team manager Gordon Campbell commented ""Poole is always a difficult place to go but the team were determined to give our fans as good a performance as possible.

"Circumstances dictated that we were racing without a number 1 which added significantly to the difficulty of the task.

"Paco and Josh led the charge admirably but Poole were always comfortable. Paco did particularly well considering he had a heavy crash on Monday but completed 7 rides without question.

"There is still spirit in the team and they have a huge desire to finish the season on a high on Friday."

Our prospective guest at no. 1 had pulled out the day before and rider replacement only yielded three, but with Josh Pickering and Paco Castagna winning five heats between them and others showing flashes of ability, it was a reasonably entertaining evening.

We were 14-4 down after three heats so there was no upset on the cards, but Josh added a heat 4 victory over Steve Worrall to his heat 1 second place. We did benefit from a couple of Pirate non-finishers in heats 6 and 7 but there was a fine pass by Lasse Fredriksen over Joe Thompson to enjoy in heat 8.

Heat 9 was our first heat advantage and Josh's second race win, already clear of Ben Cook when the home man pulled out after a lap.

Great stuff from Paco in heat 10, passing and re-passing with Newman and taking the win ahead of Richard Lawson who was eventually second. With Josh not wanting to take seven rides (though he would have done if scores were closer), we rewarded Paco with a tac sub ride in heat 12 and we managed to share that.

Lasse got the toughest r/r ride in heat 13, a comfortable enough home 5-1, before we finished with a flourish. Heat 14 was a great battle between Zach Cook and Paco Castagna, Paco using his inside line ability to stay in front, while Bastian who was not off the pace all night picked up a good third from the back.

Josh swept ahead in the final race, only to suffer a stoppage because the tape supporting bollard was left on the track. He repeated the feat in the rerun thankfully so didn't miss out.

Will It Be Double Trouble At Poole and Oxford

It's a rare double duty on Wednesday as both the Monarchs and Monarchs Academy are on the road with visits to Poole and Oxford respectively.

Sadly for both these matches are raced with nothing at stake after seasons that will end empty handed.

Down in Dorset the Monarchs look to regain some pride after a humbling pair of results against Scunthorpe that has eliminated them from any chance of progression from their playoff group.

The same can not be said for the hosts who know any victory guarantees them a spot in the league final.

There is one change to both teams, for the Monarchs rider replacement will operate at number one after Kyle Howarth who had originally been booked to cover for Craig Cook reneging on his agreement to do so. This means all of the Monarchs are eligible to cover.

For the hosts Anders Rowe suffered a concussion in their victory at Scunthorpe on Friday night meaning a mandatory 9 day spell on the sidelines, rider replacement in operation also with Zach Cook, Kyle Newman and Joe Thompson.

A little further north east of Wimborne Road the Monarchs Academy finish their season with a trip to title chasing Oxford, again changes required for both.

For the Academy long term injury absentees Alex Spooner and Adam Roynan are joined by Dayle Wood who misses out due to the Championship fixture at Poole taking precedent.

It is Nathan Ablitt in for Roynon, Kai Ward for Wood and rider replacement for Spooner that will operate.

For the hosts they are missing number one Jordan Jenkins after a spill earlier in the week Mildenhall's Alfie Bowtell stepping in.

Both matches start at 7.30pm with a live stream available from Poole at https://livestream.poole-speedway.com and live updates from Oxford at https://speedwayupdates.proboards.com/thread/22187/oxford-edinburgh-ndl-2023-30pm