CELEBRATION TIME FOR CAPTAIN SNEDDON

NEWS Wednesday 11th September 2013, 11:43am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

There is plenty going on for the Scotwaste Monarchs at the moment, but on Friday all attention will be on team captain Derek Sneddon who will be celebrating his Testimonial, due reward for a career which actually spans a period of more than 13 years associated with the Monarchs.

A record amount of sponsorship for the meeting shows how highly Derek is regarded, and this has come from Edinburgh and West Lothian, Glasgow, Berwick and Newcastle. GP star Kenneth Bjerre heads up a fascinating field, with plenty happening on what should be a memorable Armadale occasion. The riders will be introduced to Provost Tom Kerr of West Lothian on parade.

Please note: 7:15 start, season tickets not applicable for a Testimonial event.

TEAMS FOR D-DAY: THE DEREK SNEDDON TESTIMONIAL AT ARMADALE ON FRIDAY 13th SEPTEMBER (start time 7.15, doors open 6.30) are:

EDINBURGH (sponsored by Ride and Skid it): Replacement for Thomas H Jonasson, Max Fricke, Jozsef Tabaka, Frede Schott.

GLASGOW (sponsored by the Wedding Store): James Grieves, Theo Pijper, Matthew Wethers, Ryan Macdonald.

NEWCASTLE (sponsored by Duddingston Private Hire): Kenneth Bjerre, Andrew Tully, Rene Bach, Adam McKinna.

REST OF THE WORLD (sponsored by Border Roofers): Ryan Fisher, Claus Vissing, Wayne Carter, Ludvig Lindgren.

Derek Sneddon will take one ride for each of the teams.

DEREK THE CHAMPION: Derek Sneddon hasn’t won many individual honours in a Speedway career which started at Linlithgow in 1998.

But he has won a remarkable set of team honours, and that is his value in the sport – as a team man.

Here are the main ones:

2005 Conference Trophy (with Dale Devils)

2008 Premier League, Premier Trophy, Premier Playoffs (with Monarchs)

2010 Premier Trophy, Premier Playoffs, Premier KO Cup (with Newcastle)

2011 Premier Shield (with Newcastle)

2013 Premier Fours (with Edinburgh – so far!)

Without exception his clubs would testify that Derek’s contribution goes well beyond the useful points that he scores. His motivates (whether captain or not) and is always competitive himself.

Of course he was Monarchs’ captain in the memorable year of 2008, and later captained the Diamonds. He took over captaincy of Monarchs again this season.

He once said “A good team spirit is worth 4 points per match, I’m a great believer in that,” and no-one does more to ensure that his teams have good team spirit.

ALSO HAPPENING…: The main event on Friday is the 4-team contest between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and the Rest of the World.

There will also be an eagerly awaited demonstration of short-track racing by Les and Aidan Collins, the first time this has been seen at Armadale, and two veterans races.

SPONSORING ON FRIDAY: Kumho Tyres are the generous meeting sponsors of D-Day: The Derek Sneddon Testimonial.

STAR VISITORS: There will be plenty for the fans to enjoy in Friday’s main event. Kenneth Bjerre has just qualified for next year’s Grand Prix (and of course he is also a past GP star).

Former Monarchs Ryan Fisher (back for the first time for over a year) and Frede Schott (back for the first time for nine years!) will have plenty of supporters rooting for them. So will Wayne Carter from the 2003 league winning team who insisted on riding in the meeting.

Most of the high-flying Monarchs are there, and Newcastle supply track specialist Andrew Tully plus Swede Ludvig Lindgren, who comes in for Kevin Doolan who has failed in his bid to be fit to ride for Derek.

James Grieves will ride in his penultimate Armadale appearance, and Workington’s Rene Bach is an in-form competitor. Theo Pijper and Matthew Wethers switch to Glasgow colours for the night, and are former Tigers.

ONE RIDER SOUGHT: The lineup for the meeting has been set from an early stage this season, but inevitably there have been injuries and fixture changes to affect the situation.

Tomas H Jonasson, team mate of 2008 in the league winning year, was one of the first names down on the list, but he had to let Derek know earlier this week that his Polish club had rearranged a fixture and demanded his presence. As it happens, Tomas was unfortunately injured in the Sky match at Belle Vue on Monday anyway.

Tomas has told Derek how sorry he is but another rider will have to be found for the Edinburgh quartet. Derek says “I don’t want to dilute the field, I want to get someone of Tomas’s stature.”

Monarchs’ star Craig Cook can’t ride in the meeting because the rules dictate he must ride for his Elite team Belle Vue in their match at Eastbourne (for which he has expressed his regret to Derek).

DEREK’S RECORD: For Monarchs, Derek Sneddon has ridden a total of 242 matches, taken 1,060 rides, scored 1,459 points plus 217 bonus points for a CMA of 6.32.

THE BIKE RAFFLE: On Friday the draw will be made for the 2006 Hans Andersen bike for which tickets have been sold around the country during the summer.