Exciting Finish to an Enjoyable Match

REPORT Saturday 3rd June 2017, 0:26am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The Parsons Peebles Monarchs extended their advantage at the top of the Championship table with a 49-44 victory over Sheffield, but it got extremely tight near the end and no-one is likely to begrudge Sheffield the point they earned.

Monarchs’ heat leader Ricky Wells said “We made a good start which has been kind of unusual for us recently, but it got tight in the end. The sun was very bright over the third bend which made it hard to see, and there was dirt on the track which we’ve been asking for, but it made some of the outside passes kind of scary!”

Monarchs looked fairly safe with a ten point advantage after ten heats, and even after guest Aaron Summers picked up 6 points from a TR ride in the next race. But a controversial heat 12 exclusion for Erik Riss after Lasse Bjerre had lost control and almost stopped in front of him, meant that heat ended as a 1-5. When Sheffield also took a 4-2 in heat 13, suddenly the Monarchs’ lead was cut to a single point!

Mark Riss had had a pretty disappointing evening up to that point but he took the rider replacement ride in heat 14, and rounded Tigers’ guest James Sarjeant on the opening turn to go ahead. Heroic reserve Max Clegg on his seventh outing of the evening flew round Sarjeant a lap later and completed the 5-1, and that just about ensured victory.

We finished with a good final heat in which both Sam Masters and Ricky Wells passed Aaron Summers, but Masters failed by half a wheel to peg back Kyle Howarth who again had a great meeting for Sheffield. That left the gap at 5 and so Sheffield took a point.

How would it have gone had Grajczonek, Bates and Josh Pickering all been in place? Well that is speculation but neither team will be too unhappy with the result, or with a good quality meeting.

In the early stages the Monarchs’ heat leaders all scored 8 from their first three rides, and with Max Clegg on song again and pulling off overtakes, notably on Lasse Bjerre for a heat 3 5-1, Monarchs seemed to be comfortable. In the end, it was a lot less so!

Full Result Details