Big weekend For Monarchs

PREVIEW Friday 26th July 2024, 11:51am

by Jim Milton

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Last week, the Stellar Monarchs returned impressively to winning ways with the comprehensive 55-35 victory over Workington Comets at Armadale.

Unfortunately for the Cumbrian outfit, their trip north was one to forget. Circumstances disarmed them from the outset with two of their septet, Claus Vissing and Celina Liebmann, seeing their flights cancelled due to the weekend's IT outage that affected millions globally. Even speedway riders couldn't escape it.

The eleventh hour nature of the duo's no-show put Comets' promoter Steve Lawson in an impossible position leaving him ultimately to rely on untried youngsters - Laylan Richardson and Monarchs Academy rider Mason Watson - to fill the void.

Add to the all-round catastrophe Aussie Tate Zische's continued absence recovering from his recent horror crash, and there is just no understating how disadvantaged Workington we're ahead of Friday's clash.

Not that Edinburgh got off lightly in the misfortune stakes either. Things had started swimmingly with two 5-1s in the opening three heats but all that changed dramatically in Justin Sedgmen's first race of the night.

The crash that initially halted Heat 4 saw all four riders hit the shale but, while three of them were able to shake themselves down in readiness for the rerun, Sedgy's next mode of transport was an ambulance trip to hospital as a concussion precaution. The Monarchs' No.5's involvement in the meeting was over with injured rider replacement quickly deployed.

It took some strong performances throughout the side, but victory on the night was never really in any doubt.

Indeed, Max James's last place finish in Heat 7 was the sole occasion all evening where red or blue helmet colour failed to score.

Even with Sedgy's retirement, Workington's own problems must have offered their hosts a glimmer of renewed hope that the aggregate bonus point, previously considered somewhat forlorn after the massive 32-point deficit legacy from the previous fixture between the sides at Northside in May, might just be achievable after all

And it might well have been but for the all-but faultless display of Armadale-savvy from Comets' main man, Craig Cook whose 17-point haul from six rides was yet another reminder of just how immaculate he can be round a track he owns as emphatically as anyone.

In store for the Stellar Monarchs this weekend is an intriguing home and away double header against the Jewson Berwick Bandits.

Neither team has enjoyed the type of season they had hoped for and, as a biting consequence, both currently occupy the bottom two spots in the Championship table.

Yet, they are each within just five points of the play-off zone which, with five meetings still to run apiece, lends the upcoming back-to-back fixtures (Armadale on Friday, Shielfield Park 24 hours later) even more significance.

The Bandits double header aside, Edinburgh still have another with Glasgow and a final home meeting with Poole (who have only a ten-point cushion from the earlier clash at Wimborne Road in the bank) to play out so, in essence, with 13 points remaining up for grabs, the season is anything but over.

A precautionary concussion ruling means that Justin Sedgmen will sit out both dates with Berwick. Rider replacement will be called into action on Friday while Glasgow's Leon Flint, a man who knows the Berwick circuit like the back of his hand, will guest in the away leg.

For the Bandits, on both evenings, Ben Barker and Joe Thomson come in for Rory Schlein and Bastian Borke respectively."

Full Result Details