2026 Roars Into Action With Tigers Visit

PREVIEW Friday 10th April 2026, 12:00pm

by Iain McArthur

  Edinburgh Monarchs

After last week's postponements, the Edinburgh Monarchs will start their hotly-anticipated 2026 campaign on Friday when they welcome their local rivals, Glasgow Tigers for the first big Scottish Derby of the season. The Tigers will also be taking to the track for the first time this year as the Scottish section of the BSN Series, which also includes Berwick Bandits, gets underway.

Last season, the teams clashed home and away in five competitions (Scottish Cup, BSN Series, KO Cup, League, Championship Play-offs) and after some thrilling speedway, it was the Tigers who came out on top, despite some hard-fought encounters which saw the Monarchs win three matches and lose a further three by four points or less. The most agonizing loss came in the end-of-season Play-offs. After a superb Edinburgh team effort established a 14-point lead at Armadale, it took a last heat 5-1 from Chris Harris and Kyle Howarth to snatch an aggregate win for Glasgow by just two points.

Last heat deciders turned out to be the main difference between the sides. The Monarchs did not take a heat advantage in any of the ten derby Heat 15s last year as the Tigers' heat leaders romped to six 5-1s and two 4-2s with two heats shared.

With Harris and Howarth returning, Glasgow are again strong at the top of the order, but with Edinburgh grabbing Armadale expert Dan Thompson from The Tigers to be their new No 1, and Justin Sedgmen back for a sixth season in Blue & Gold, the Monarchs seem better-placed to take the fight to the Tigers in the later heats.

The two Scottish rivals look evenly matched again. The Monarchs have retained strength in depth and, in addition to Thompson and Sedgmen, they have potential match-winners in skipper Paco Castagna, Kye Thomson and Jonatan Grahn. Kye, in particular, will be looking to kick on again this year, having secured a Premiership place with the new Northampton Foxes team. The Tigers middle-order matches the reliable returnee Leon Flint with Danish newcomer Kevin Juhl Pedersen, who excelled with second place at the season-opening Ben Fund Bonanza and already looks like an Ashfield expert.

The WWE can boast a famous wrestler named Triple-H, but this year's Tigers team contains "Quintuple-Hs"; Harris, Howarth, Sam Hagon, Freddy Hodder and Mario Häusl. Of those, young Häusl is perhaps the most intriguing. In 2025, the 19-year-old won the coveted Golden Ribbon in Pardubice and then helped Germany win the Speedway of Nations U21 final in Torun. Those exploits also made the young man a star in The Seychelles, where his mother is from. Mario has dual-nationality and an affinity with the Indian Ocean nation which has rarely achieved sporting success on the global stage. His contests with Monarchs' own teenage phenomenon Jordy Loftus should be entertaining and potentially pivotal, with another Aussie Mitch Cluff making his Monarchs' debut in the home reserve berth.

The reigning two-time British U21 Champion Hagon will start at reserve for Glasgow alongside Hodder. Both Flint (2022) and Howarth (2015) are also former British U21 winners and Pedersen won the Danish equivalent in 2022. Surprisingly, Chris Harris never even reached the podium when he was U21 eligible. That was a long time ago and last year, at the age of 42, he was crowned the Championship League Riders Champion and one year on, he remains one of the most popular and entertaining riders on the circuit.

With both teams stacked with both proven talent and promising young stars with a lot to prove, this should be an exciting and intriguing contest which might just go down to a last heat decider again. If it does, the Monarchs will be hoping for a stronger finish this time.

After the senior match, young Anika Loftus will make history as the first female Australian rider to race competitively in the UK when West Lothian Wildcats take on Ashfield Giants in the first Northern Junior League match of the season. Rocco Webb will also be on track for the Wildcats.

Friday 10th April 2026: Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers, Armadale Stadium, 7:30pm

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

ALLIIED VEHICLES TIGERS: Chris Harris (Captain), Mario Häusl, Leon Flint, Kevin Juhl Pedersen, Kyle Howarth, Sam Hagon, Freddy Hodder