Attention Moves To the Cup

PREVIEW Friday 17th April 2026, 8:00am

by Iain McArthur

  Edinburgh Monarchs

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.