With To Be Done

Edinburgh Monarchs will have it all to do in the second leg of their KO Cup quarter final after going down by 12 points at Redcar on Friday night.

The result leaving Monarchs captain Paco Castagna who contributed paid ten points on the night to say, "It was a tough night, the track was difficult at the start.

"It was the same for both teams and both teams struggled to get used to it and it is a shame as before the meeting I felt we could have won but Redcar got used to the track quicker than us so fair play to them.

"Me personally I was happy with how I scored, I have been struggling a little with the starts so far this season but that was improved tonight so hopefully I can take that into next week and the rest of the season.

"I still feel like we can pull it back at home, we are strong at home and we have a couple of guys that had a bit of an off night but that happens it is a team sport and we win and lose as a team and as a team I still think we can beat Redcar next week and go through."

With uneven track conditions to start not helped by a setting sun affecting vision gating was at a premium in the early heats and things started well for the Monarchs as Jonatan Grahn made the jump in the first heat, with partner Dan Thompson in third the Monarchs had a lead.

This would disappear in the second heat as the home reserves hit the front ahead of a Monarchs pair who would not beat an opposing number all evening and from then on the home side were never headed.

The scores would remain tight through heat seven though with Grahn again taking the checkered flag in heat five and Kye Thomson who enjoyed perhaps his finest away night in a Monarchs race-suit doing the same in the next race also.

The home men would turn the screw in the next few heats with a maximum from Ace Pijper and Bears rider of the night Jody Scott in heat eight, a further advantage in heat ten and then race of the night to that point from Scott in heat 12 as he went from last to second to join teammate Jordan Jenkins for another home 5-1 extended the lead.

This meant the gap was 12 and the fear from the Monarchs faithful on the terraces was this might start to get away from them in the last few heats.

As it was the final three races would all be shared, the highlight of these coming at the death as Thomson saved his best for last with a powerful ride to steam under home man Jake Allen taking his third win of the evening on the way to a paid 13 point haul.

A tough task awaits for the Monarchs now with a big deficit to make up in next Friday's second leg if semi final progression is to be secured.

Redcar Bears 51: Klindt 4+1, Pijper 8, Jenkins 7, Edwards 8+3, Allen 11, Mulford 3, Scott 10+4

Edinburgh Monarchs 39 : Thompson 5, Grahn 8+1, Sedgmen 4, Castagna 9+1, Thomson 12+1, Cluff 0, Loftus 1

Attention Moves To the Cup

There is no speedway at Armadale Stadium this Friday as the Edinburgh Monarchs travel to Redcar for the first leg of their MAXiCab KO Cup quarter-final tie. The decisive return leg will take place at Armadale next Friday, so every point will count as the Edinburgh team look to progress to the semi-finals.

The Monarchs have won this cup four times, most recently in the treble-winning 2014 season with a team featuring Craig Cook, Sam Masters and Aussie GP star Max Fricke, alongside Justin Sedgmen, who the Monarchs will rely heavily on as they attempt to win back the trophy for the first time in 12 years.

Last year, Redcar Bears were beaten finalists in the KO Cup as Poole claimed the trophy for third time in four years. The Teesside team did enjoy success in winning the BSN Series trophy and also continued their dominance of the Championship Pairs; a title they have claimed in three of the last four years.

Lewis Kerr, Danny King and Erik Riss have all partnered Charles Wright to victory in the Pairs but each of them has moved on to other clubs and sadly, former British Champion Wright will also be missing after a nasty early season shoulder injury which looks likely to rule him out of World Cup contention.

To replace Wright, the Bears moved quickly to sign a top-quality replacement in Nicolai Klindt. The experienced Dane enjoyed a testimonial meeting this season, having first ridden in the UK in 2008. He excelled for Plymouth last season and will also represent Northampton in the Elite League.

The Monarchs league visit to Redcar last year resulted in a 50-40 win for the home side. Monarchs skipper Paco Castagna has recorded double-digit scores there in the last two years and will again be an important performer. Justin Sedgmen had three heat wins two years ago and the Monarchs will expect great things from Dan Thompson, who has been selected in Great Britain's squad for the World Cup this year.

The Bears have assembled a particularly solid middle order this year, which unusually contains five riders whose first name starts with the letter J; Jake Allen, Jake Mulford, Jody Scott, Jason Edwards and Jordan Jenkins.

Jake Allen has been a standout for Scunthorpe in the past and Jason Edwards has drawn plenty of praise for his early season form for Ipswich in the Elite League. Jake Mulford joined Dan Thompson in SGP2 and GB U24 last year and could be very significant in this tie after dropping to the reserve berth this month, with Ace Pijper moving up to No. 2.

The Monarchs will have their work cut out to contain the home side's strength-in-depth but Kye Thomson has shown good form and both Jonatan Grahn and Jordy Loftus will look to improve their scoring from their first visits to Redcar last year. Mitch Cluff will be making his first official appearance at Redcar as a Monarch and might find the fast track to his liking.

Redcar currently sit top of the BSN Series Northern group, having secured an aggregate bonus point with a thumping 58–32 home victory over Scunthorpe - their biggest win since August 2023.

Last week, the Bears were taken to a last-heat decider at home by Workington before pulling off a 48-42 win, with old friend Craig Cook notching 14 for the Comets. A similar scoreline tonight would set up a very tasty contest at Armadale next week.

The West Lothian Wildcats will also be in action against the Redcar Cubs after the main match tonight.

Elsewhere, Glasgow and Berwick will face-off in home and away BSN Series matches this weekend, so the Monarchs should know what they have to do when their BSN Series campaign resumes in a couple of weeks, with their remaining three fixtures now scheduled for the weekend of 1-3 May.

Maxicab KO Cup Quarter Final 1st Leg, Friday 17 th April 2026, 19:30

ECCO Arena at the South Tees Motorsports Park, Middlesborough

ROSS ECO TECHNOLOGIES MONARCHS: Dan Thompson, Jonatan Grahn, Justin Sedgmen, Paco Castagna (captain), Kye Thomson, Mitch Cluff, Jordy Loftus.

REDCAR AGILIA BEARS: Nicolai Klindt, Ace Pijper, Jordan Jenkins, Jason Edwards (captain), Jake Allen, Jake Mulford, Jody Scott.