2016 Speedway Grand Prix Qualifying Round 2 07/05/2016

2016 Speedway Grand Prix Qualifying Round 2 7 May 2016 Speedway GP Qualifier Slangerup, Denmark

1 2 3 4 5 P 1 Linus Sundstrom SWE 3 1 1 1 2 8 2 Andzejs Lebedevs LAT 2 2 2 1 2 9 Q 3 Timo Lahti FIN 1 3 1 3 3 11 Q 4 Anders Thomsen DEN 0 2 EX 3 3 8 Q 5 Rohan Tungate AUS 1 0 1 0 0 2 6 Eduard Krcmar CZR 0 1 3 R 0 4 7 Bartosz Zmarzlik POL 3 1 3 2 3 12 Q 8 Tomas H. Jonasson SWE 2 3 2 2 1 10 Q 9 Nick Morris AUS 0 2 0 2 1 5 10 Martin Vaculik SLO 3 R 2 2 3 10 Q 11 Chris Harris GB 2 2 2 0 1 7 12 Vadim Tarasenko RUS 1 0 3 3 1 8 13 Mikkel Bech DEN 2 3 1 3 2 11 Q 14 Andriej Karpov UKR 3 3 3 0 2 11 Q 15 Oleg Mihailov LAT 0 R 0 1 0 1 16 Glen Moi NOR 1 1 R 1 0 3 17. Leon Madsen DEN dnr 18. Mikkel Michelsen DEN dnr Bartosz Zmarzlik, Mikkel Bech, Timo Lahti, Andriej Karpow, Martin Vaculik, Tomas H. Jonasson, Andrzej Lebiediew, all qualify for the Grand Prix Qualification semi-finals. Anders Thomsen qualifies as reserve. Heat by Heat Heat 01. Sundstroem, Lebiediew, Lahti, Thomsen Heat 02. Zmarzlik, Jonasson, Tungate, Krcmar Heat 03. Vaculik, Harris, Tarasienko, Morris Heat 04. Karpow, Bech, Moi, Mihailow Heat 05. Bech, Morris, Sundstroem, Tungate Heat 06. Karpow, Lebiediew, Krcmar, Vaculik (R) Heat 07. Lahti, Harris, Zmarzlik, Mihailow (R) Heat 08. Jonasson, Thomsen, Moi, Tarasienko Heat 09. Krcmar, Harris, Sundstroem, Moi (R) Heat 10. Tarasienko, Lebiediew, Tungate, Mihailow Heat 11. Karpow, Jonasson, Lahti, Morris Heat 12. Zmarzlik, Vaculik, Bech, Thomsen (EX) Heat 13. Tarasienko, Zmarzlik, Sundstroem, Karpow Heat 14. Bech, Jonasson, Lebiediew, Harris Heat 15. Lahti, Vaculik, Moi, Tungate Heat 16. Thomsen, Morris, Mihailow, Krcmar (R) Heat 17. Vaculik, Sundstroem, Jonasson, Mihailow Heat 18. Zmarzlik, Lebiediew, Morris, Moi Heat 19. Lahti, Bech, Tarasienko, Krcmar Heat 20. Thomsen, Karpow, Harris, Tungate

2016 Speedway Grand Prix Qualifying Round 1 07/05/2016

2016 Speedway Grand Prix Qualifying Round 1 7 May 2016 Speedway GP Qualifier King's Lynn, United Kingdom

1 2 3 4 5 P 1 Gabriel Dubernard FRA 0 FX 0 0 0 0 2 Kenneth Bjerre DEN 1 3 3 2 3 12 Q 3 Freddie Lindgren SWE 3 3 3 2 2 13 Q 4 Sam Masters AUS 2 1 3 3 1 10 Q 5 Craig Cook GB 3 3 0 FX 2 8 Q 6 Lasse Frederiksen NOR F 0 1 1 0 2 7 Matej Kus CZR 2 1 1 2 FX 6 8 Jason Garrity GB 1 0 2 0 2 5 9 Alexandre Dubra FRA 0 1 0 0 1 2 10 Ricky Wells USA 1 2 2 1 1 7 11 Krzysztof Kasprzak POL 3 FX 3 3 3 12 Q 12 Hans Andersen DEN 2 3 2 3 1 11 13 Robert Lambert GB 2 2 0 1 3 8 14 Bradley Wilson-Dean NZ FX 1 1 1 0 3 15 Brady Kurtz AUS 1 2 1 2 3 9 Q 16 Joonas Kylmakorpi SWE 3 2 2 3 EX 10 Q 17. Lewis Kerr GB dnr 18. Lewis Bridger GB dnr Freddie Lindgren, Krzysztof Kasprzak, Kenneth Bjerre, Hans Andersen, Joonas Kylmakorpi, Sam Masters and Brady Kurtz all qualify for the Grand Prix Qualification semi-finals. Craig Cook qualifies as reserve after a run-off.  Heat by Heat Heat 01: Lindgren Masters Bjerre Dubernard 60.05 Heat 02: Cook, Kus, Garrity 58.62 Heat 03: Kasprzak, Andersen, Wells, Dubra 58.86 Heat 04: Kylmakorpi, Lambert, Kurtz 58.77 Heat 05: Cook, Lambert, Dubra (AW) Heat 06: Bjerre,Wells,Wilson-Dean, Frederiksen 60.02 Heat 07: Lindgren Kurtz Kus 60.07 Heat 08: Andersen Kylmakorpi Masters Garrity 59.38 Heat 09: Kasprzak,Kylmakorpi,Frederiksen,Dubernard 60.15 Heat 10: Bjerre,Andersen,Kurtz,Cook 59.91 Heat 11: Lindgren Garrity Wilson-Dean Dubra 60.24 Heat 12: Masters Wells Kus Lambert 61.31 Heat 13: Andersen Kus Wilson-Dean Dubernard 61.07 Heat 14: Kasprzak, Bjerre, Lambert, Garrity 59.39 Heat 15: Kylmakorpi Lindgren Wells 60.03 Heat 16: Masters Kurtz Frederiksen Dubra 61.02 Heat 17: Kurtz Garrity Wells Dubernard 60.51 Heat 18: Bjerre Kerr Dubra 60.62 Heat 19: Lambert Lindgren Andersen Fredriksen 60.83 Heat 20: Kazprzak Cook Masters Wilson-Dean 60.15 3rd Place Run-Off: Heat 21: Kasprzak Bjerre 60.71 8th place (reserve spot) Run-Off : Heat 22: Cook Lambert 60.43

Edinburgh vs Plymouth 13/05/2016

Edinburgh Monarchs 54 Plymouth Devils 36 13 May 2016 Premier League KO Cup 1st leg Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 P B 1 Sam Masters 2 3 3 3 11 2 Erik Riss 1' 2' 3 2' 8 3 3 Kevin Wolbert 3 3 3 3 1' 13 1 4 Jye Etheridge 0 1 0 0 1 5 Ryan Fisher 3 3 2 2' 2 12 1 6 Max Clegg 1 2' 1' 3 7 2 7 Dan Bewley 0 2' 0 0 2 1 Plymouth 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 P B 1 Steve Worrall (G) 3 2 3 1 3 12 2 Kyle Newman R/R 3 Jack Holder 2 1 FX 2 0 5 4 Todd Kurtz 1' 0 2 1 2 6 1 5 Sam Simota 1 1 1' 0 0 3 1 6 Stefan Nielsen 3 0 0 1' 2 1' 1' 8 3 7 Ellis Perks 0 2' 0 2 1 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Worrall, Masters, Riss, Perks (56) Heat 02 Nielsen, Perks, Clegg, Bewley (57.6) Heat 03 Wölbert, Holder, Kurtz, Etheridge (56.5) Heat 04 Fisher, Bewley, Simota, Perks (57.8) Heat 05 Wölbert, Worrall, Etheridge, Nielsen (55.9) Heat 06 Masters, Riss, Simota, Nielsen (56.3) Heat 07 Fisher, Clegg, Holder, Kurtz (56.8) Heat 08 Riss, Kurtz, Nielsen, Bewley (57.5) Heat 09 Wölbert, Nielsen, Simota, Etheridge (56.9) Heat 10 Masters, Riss, Kurtz, Holder (F/x) (57.1) Heat 11 Worrall, Fisher, Clegg, Simota (57.3) Heat 12 Wölbert, Holder, Nielsen, Bewley (57.5) Heat 13 Masters, Fisher, Worrall, Simota (56.8) Heat 14 Clegg, Kurtz, Nielsen, Etheridge (58.2) Heat 15 Worrall, Fisher, Wölbert, Holder (57) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs look to be on course to reach the Premier League speedway Knockout Cup quarter-finals after taking control of last night’s first round first-leg clash against Plymouth Devils at Armadale Stadium. After a faltering first couple of races Monarchs eventually prevailed 54-36, a handsome lead for tonight’s deciding tie at the St Boniface Arena and a devil of a job facing Plymouth to pull back their deficit. Monarchs German star Kevin Wolbert was the Capital outfit’s top scorer with 13 points from his five outings. His hopes of a maximum were dashed in the last race when he had to settle for third place. Said Wolbert: “It would have been nice to get the maximum but the important thing was we won the match quite comfortably in the end. We now have a good chance of progressing as long as we don’t do anything silly.” Monarchs co-boss John Campbell had warned of the threat Plymouth posed and after guest Steve Worrall headed home Monarchs skipper Sam Masters in the first heat this was underlined in letters writ large. And there was a big shock for Monarchs in the next race when Plymouth reserve duo Stefan Nielsen and Ellis Perks grabbed a 5-1 against Max Clegg and Dan Bewley who fell off before remounting. But Ryan Fisher and Bewley steadied the ship in the fourth race with a 5-1 over Sam Simota and Perks which tied the scores 12-12. Monarchs took a two-point lead for the first time in heat five when Wolbert and Jye Etheridge scored a 4-2 over Worrall and Nielsen. The home side then suddenly found their spark and a 5-1 from Masters and Erik Riss in the sixth race opened up a six-point lead 21-15 which gave the Devils some food for thought after their strong start to the meeting. It got worse for the visitors in the very next race when Fisher and Clegg piled in with a 5-1 to stretch Monarchs’ advantage to ten points, 26-16. And that gap was maintained at the halfway point when Riss took the chequered flag to share the points 3-3 in heat eight, Monarchs now looking a lot more comfortable. The match was starting to run away from Plymouth after Masters and Riss claimed their second 5-1 of the night in heat ten against Todd Kurtz after his team-mate Jack Holder was excluded after tumbling off on the pits bend. Monarchs now led 37-23 and were on easy street, especially with no tactical rides allowed in the cup competition. And with Monarchs sharing heats 11 and 12 their 14-point advantage looked even more healthy. And a 5-1 from Masters and Ryan Fisher in heat 13 stretched Monarchs’ lead to 18 points, 48-30 as the Devils floundered under a points onslaught. Monarchs: Wolbert 13, Fisher 12, Masters 11, Riss 8, Clegg 7, Bewley 2, Etheridge 1. Plymouth: Worrall 12, Nielsen 8,Kurtz 6, Holder 5,Simota 3, Perks 2.

Edinburgh vs Glasgow 06/05/2016

Edinburgh Monarchs 46 Glasgow Tigers 43 6 May 2016 Premier League Cup Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 P B 1 Sam Masters 3 2' 3 1 3 12 1 2 Erik Riss 1 3 3 2' 0 9 1 3 Kevin Wolbert 2 2 3 3 10 4 Jye Etheridge 0 0 0 2 2 5 Ryan Fisher 2 1 2 3 8 6 Max Clegg 3 0 0 0 EX 3 7 Ryan Blacklock 2' 0 0 2 1 Glasgow 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 P B 1 Richard Lawson 2 3 3 2 2 12 2 Nike Lunna 0 1 2 1 4 3 Richie Worrall 3 3 1 2 1' 10 1 4 Ben Barker 1 2' FX 3 6 1 5 Aaron Summers 3 1 2 0 6 6 Coty Garcia F 0 1' 1' 1 3 2 7 Danny Ayres EF 1 1' 2 1 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Masters, Lawson, Riss, Lunna (54.8) Heat 02 Clegg, Blacklock - 2 Finishers only (57.4) Heat 03 Worrall, Wolbert, Barker, Etheridge (55.2) Heat 04 Summers, Fisher, Ayres, Blacklock (55.8) Heat 05 Lawson, Wolbert, Lunna, Etheridge (55.3) Heat 06 Riss, Masters, Summers, Garcia (55.9) Heat 07 Worrall, Barker, Fisher, Blacklock (56.5) Heat 08 Riss, Lunna, Garcia, Clegg (56.3) 3-3 Heat 09 Wolbert, Summers, Ayres, Etheridge (55.1) Heat 10 Masters, Riss, Worrall, Barker (F/x) (AWD) Heat 11 Lawson, Fisher, Lunna, Clegg (56.8) Heat 12 Wolbert, Worrall, Garcia, Clegg (56.2) Heat 13 Fisher, Lawson, Masters, Summers (57.3) Heat 14 Barker, Etheridge, Garcia, Clegg (Excl.) (59.1) Heat 15 Masters, Lawson, Worrall, Riss (56.7) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs ripped up the form book to defeat Glasgow Tigers 46-43 in their rearranged League Cup group clash at Armadale last night. With Glasgow already through to the semi-finals, Monarchs only had honour to race for and they preserved that with a steely scoring performance. Glasgow certainly did not take their foot off the gas despite progressing to the last four, and this was will be a setback for them given the unbeaten roll they have been on. Monarchs captain Sam Masters said: “It is always tough against Glasgow especially this year because they have an awesome team. But all our boys put in a great effort and I was proud of them all.” Team-mate Ryan Fisher, who scored eight points, commented: “I did not start off too well but did a lot better in the second half which pleased me. It was a really good win for us against a strong Glasgow side.” Monarchs got off to a dream start with a 4-2 from Masters and Erik Riss in the opening heat. And luck was on Monarchs’ side in the very next race when Max Clegg and Ryan Blacklock, who was standing in for Dan Bewley, grabbed a 5-0 after Tigers duo Coty Garcia and Danny Ayres fell off and retired from the race. Monarchs led 9-2 but Tigers pegged their hosts back with a 4-2 from Richie Worrall and Ben Barker in the third race. The Tigers then managed a further 4-2 in heat four which cut Monarchs’ advantage to three points, 13-10. Game was now on. Glasgow then extracted their third 4-2 advantage in a row in heat five to reduce their arrears to a single point, 15-14 with Monarchs under some pressure to respond. And respond they did with Masters and Riss storming to a big 5-1 in the sixth heat which saw Tigers captain Aaron Summers trailing in a poor third. This gave Monarchs a five-point lead confounding those who had predicted the Tigers would be too strong for their hosts. However, the Tigers began to show their mettle in the next race when Worrall and Barker seized a 5-1 against Monarchs’ flying American Ryan Fisher who just failed to catch Barker on the way to the finishing line. And once again the Ashfield men trailed by just a single point, 21-20. Heat eight, the halfway point, proved a pivotal race for Monarchs with Riss powering around the outside of Nike Lunna on the fourth bend to take the chequered flag which maintained Monarchs’ wafer thin single-point lead. Monarchs then turned the screw on the Tigers in heat ten when Masters and Riss powered to their second 5-1 of the meeting over Barker and Worrall to open up a five-point gap once more. Barker fell off on the fourth bend and seemed hesitant about clearing the track so the referee awarded the race in Monarchs’ favour, the home duo leading at the time. Fisher succumbed to Tigers’ Richard Lawson in heat ten and with team-mate Lunna pinching third spot, the visitors picked up a 4-2 to trail by three points, 34-31 with victory at this stage very much in the balance for both teams. Victory by Fisher in heat 13 with Masters in third gave Monarchs a crucial 4-2 to lead 41-36 and inch to victory. But the Tigers roared back in their penultimate race after Monarchs reserve Max Clegg was disqualified for not being under power, handing a 4-2 to Barker and Garcia over Jye Etheridge who did exceptionally well to split the Tigers duo. Masters proved to be Monarchs’ hero when he sped to victory in the last race to clinch the match for his team to leave the Tigers pretty deflated having tasted defeat for the first time this season. Monarchs: Masters 12, Wolbert 10, Riss 9, Fisher 8, Clegg 3, Blacklock 2, Etheridge 2. Glasgow: Laswon 12, Worrall 10, Barker 6, Summers 6, Lunna 4, Garcia 3, Ayres 2.

Workington vs Edinburgh 23/04/2016

Workington Comets 57 Edinburgh Monarchs 36 23 April 2016 Premier League Armadale

Workington 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 P B 1 Ricky Wells 2 2' 2 2' 3 11 2 2 Rasmus Jensen 0 3 2 1' 6 1 3 Kenneth Hansen 0 3 2' 3 8 1 4 Mason Campton 2 1 3 3 9 5 Claus Vissing 2 3 2 3 1 11 6 Adam Roynon 3 2' 0 2' 7 2 7 Matt Williamson 2' 1' 1' 1 5 3 Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 P B 1 Sam Masters 1 R 1 R 2 2 Erik Riss 3 2 6 3 0 14 3 Kevin Wolbert 3 1 3 2 2 11 4 Jye Etheridge 1 R 0 F 1 5 Ryan Fisher 3 1 1 1 6 6 Max Clegg 0 0 0 0 7 Dan Bewley 1 0 0 0 1 2 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Riss, Wells, Masters, Jensen (63.7) Heat 02 Roynon, Williamson, Bewley, Clegg (65.2) Heat 03 Wölbert, Campton, Etheridge, Hansen (64.2) Heat 04 Fisher, Vissing, Williamson, Bewley (65.5) Heat 05 Hansen, Riss, Campton, Masters (Ret) (65.6) Heat 06 Jensen, Wells, Fisher, Clegg (65.1) Heat 07 Vissing, Roynon, Wölbert, Etheridge (Ret) (65.7) Heat 08 Riss, Jensen, Williamson, Bewley (65.4) Heat 09 Campton, Hansen, Fisher, Clegg (66.2) Heat 10 Wölbert, Wells, Jensen, Etheridge (64.6) Heat 11 Riss, Vissing, Masters , Roynon (65.5) Heat 12 Hansen, Wölbert, Williamson, Bewley (65.9) Heat 13 Vissing, Wells, Fisher, Masters (Ret) (67.1) Heat 14 Campton, Roynon, Bewley, Etheridge (Fell) (67.1) Heat 15 Wells, Wölbert, Vissing, Riss (65.9) 4-2 report from the Edinburgh Evening News A mechanical nightmare for skipper Sam Masters was the big factor in Edinburgh Monarchs slipping to a heavy 57-36 Premier League defeat at Workington Comets on Saturday, the Derwent Park outfit quickly avenging their loss at Armadale Stadium just 24 hours earlier. Masters, who has been in splendid double-figure form for Monarchs so far, blew two engines and ended up with just two points to show for his efforts, a setback the rest of his team-mates just could not absorb. The Australian revealed: “I had not blown an engine since 2011 and then I blow two on the same night! “But I still think I’m ahead of the game as far as luck goes.” Team manager Alex Harkess said: “The gremlins Sam suffered certainly did not help because our heat leaders matched Workington’s early doors. But the track got slicker and faster and we just could not compete after that.” Frustratingly Monarchs made a strong start to the match picking up a 4-2 in the opening race with Erik Riss heading home Comets No.1 Ricky Wells. The scores were tied, 12-12 after four heats with Monarchs providing three race winners. And Monarchs were heading for another 4-2 in the fifth race until Masters slowed down. But the Capital outfit then surrendered two 5-1 advantages which undid their early good work. Riss won a double-points tactical ride in heat eight and Monarchs were only seven points adrift at this juncture. However, a possible 5-1 in heat 11 was thwarted when Masters once again stopped, and after this the match slipped away from Monarchs. Riss was Monarchs top individual scorer romping to a brilliant 14-point haul and he was well supported by fellow German Kevin Wolbert, who weighed in with 11. Unfortunately Monarchs other top line star Ryan Fisher had a miserable evening, finishing with six points despite winning his first race, a disappointment for Fisher and fans alike. The other major problem was senior reserve Max Clegg’s failure to score. Clegg simply needs to do better, especially as his partner, young Dan Bewley, is still trying to find his feet in the Premier League and is doing just fine right now. He scored two points. If Clegg cannot cut the mustard away from home and some of Monarchs top four have an off-night, it could be a long campaign for the defending champions. However, that doesn’t mean changes cannot be made to the squad if the Monarchs management deem minor surgery is required. Wells and former Monarch Claus Vissing each scored 11 points for the Comets. Meanwhile, Monarchs league fixture at Redcar Bears on Thursday has been rescheduled until later in the season. Workington: Wells 11, Vissing 11, Campton 9, Hansen 8, Roynon 7, Jensen 6, Williamson 5. Monarchs: Riss 14, Wolbert 11, Fisher 6, Masters 2, Bewley 2, Etheridge 1, Clegg 0.

Edinburgh vs Workington 22/04/2016

Edinburgh Monarchs 49 Workington Comets 41 22 April 2016 Premier League Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 P B 1 Sam Masters 2 2' 3 3 2 12 1 2 Erik Riss 0 3 3 2' 8 1 3 Kevin Wolbert 3 1 2 3 9 4 Jye Etheridge 0 0 1' F 1 1 5 Ryan Fisher 3 3 3 1 1' 11 1 6 Max Clegg 2 1 0 1 3 7 7 Dan Bewley 0 1 0 1 Workington 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 P B 1 Ricky Wells 3 3 2 2 3 13 2 Rasmus Jensen 1 2' 2 1' 0 6 2 3 Kenneth Hansen 2 2 1 2 7 4 Mason Campton 1' 0 0 2 3 1 5 Claus Vissing 2 1 3 0 6 6 Adam Roynon 1 0 0 1 7 Matt Williamson 3 F 1' 0 1' 5 2 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Wells, Masters, Jensen, Riss (56) Heat 02 Williamson, Clegg, Roynon, Bewley (59.5) Heat 03 Wolbert, Hansen, Campton, Etheridge (56.4) Heat 04 Fisher, Vissing, Bewley, Williamson (Fell) (57.8) Heat 05 Wells, Jensen, Wolbert, Etheridge (56.3) Heat 06 Riss, Masters, Vissing, Roynon (57.3) Heat 07 Fisher, Hansen, Clegg, Campton (58.6) Heat 08 Riss, Jensen, Williamson, Clegg (57.1) Heat 09 Vissing, Wolbert, Etheridge, Roynon (57.8) Heat 10 Masters, Riss, Hansen, Campton (57.7) Heat 11 Fisher, Wells, Jensen, Bewley (58.1) Heat 12 Wolbert, Hansen, Clegg, Williamson (56.7) Heat 13 Masters, Wells, Fisher, Vissing (57.6) Heat 14 Clegg, Campton, Williamson, Etheridge (Fell) (59.3) Heat 15 Wells, Masters, Fisher, Jensen (57.5) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs got their Premier League campaign off to a winning start against Workington Comets at Armadale Stadium last night. Monarchs triumphed 49-41 after trailing by six points in a nervy opening period. The Comets looked far more assertive but ultimately could not maintain their strong start to the meeting. But they will seek swift revenge in tonight’s return clash at Derwent Park. Monarchs skipper Sam Masters admitted the Comets made it hard at times for the home riders, but said: “We have to be pleased with the result after trailing by six points early on. Workington made it difficult at times, especially out of the starts. “But I was pleased at the way we fought back and now it’s on to Workington to try and secure a quick double.” Monarchs reserve Max Clegg who finished with seven points wasn’t entirely happy with his first few rides, saying: “My bike set-up did not feel right at the beginning of the match so I have to be satisfied at how I finished the match.” The first half of the meeting proved to be something of a rollercoaster for Monarchs as Workington grabbed the lead in the very first race when Ricky Wells and Rasmus Jensen grabbed a 4-2 over skipper Sam Masters and Erik Riss. And when the Comets repeated the trick in the second race to lead 8-4, Monarchs knew they were in for a battle royal against their Cumbrian visitors who have not enjoyed the best of fortunes at the Lothian Arena in recent times. Ryan Fisher and Dan Bewley pinched a 4-2 in the fourth race to leave Monarchs trailing by just two points, but the home side were stunned in heat five when Comets duo Wells and Jensen raced to a 5-1 against Kevin Wolbert and Jye Etheridge to open up a six point gap, 18-12. But Monarchs hit back with a 5-1 of their own in heat six courtesy of Riss and Masters to reduce the leeway to two points again. And a 4-2 from Fisher and Max Clegg in heat seven pulled Monarchs level 21-21. Monarchs then took the lead for the first time in heat ten when Masters and Riss rode to a splendid 5-1 over Kenneth Hansen and Mason Campton to leave the Comets trailing 32-28. Monarchs moved up a gear now and a brace of 4-2 advantages in heats 12 and 13 moved them eight points in front, 43-35 and the Comets appeared to have run out of steam a little after their first-half power show. Monarchs, whose top four all scored well, closed out the match by sharing the final two races, and the Capital outfit will be mighty relieved to start the defence of their championship with a victory especially after the Comets gave them something of a scare to begin with. Old heads Masters and Fisher brought their experience to bear when it mattered most, but Riss once again displayed his potential with a handy eight-point haul underlining just how pivotal a performer the young German could prove to be over the course of the season. Comets top scorer was American ace Wells who stormed to 13 points. Monarchs: Masters 12, Fisher 11, Wolbert 9, Riss 8, Clegg 7, Etheridge 1, Bewley 1. Workington: Wells 13, Hansen 7, Jensen 6, Vissing 6, Williamson 5, Campton 3, Roynon 1.