Newcastle vs Edinburgh 26/04/1948

Newcastle Diamonds 53 Edinburgh Monarchs 31 26 April 1948 National League Division Two Brough Park

Newcastle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1. Peter Lloyd 1 2 0 1 4 2. Alec Grant 3 2 3 1' 9 1 3. Norman Evans 3 3 3 3 12 4. Crusty Pye 1 1 2' 2 6 1 5. Danny Calder F 2' 2' 3 7 2 6. Wilf Jay 3 3 3 2 11 7. Fred Rogers 1' 1' 2 2 8. Ken Le Breton 1 1 2 Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1. Bert Shearer 0 2 1 2 5 2. Bill Maddern 2 F 3 5 3. Eddie Lack 2 1 2 2 7 4. Clem Mitchell 0 3 0 0 3 5. Bill Baird 1' 1 1 3 6 1 6. Dick Campbell 2 3 F 0 5 7. Keith Cox F F 0 8. Ken Sharples 0 F F 0 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Grant, Maddern, Lloyd, Shearer, 77.4 Heat 02 Evans, Lack, Pye, Mitchell 78.2 Heat 03 Jay, Campbell, Baird, Calder (f) 77.2 Heat 04 Mitchell, Lloyd, Rogers, Sharples 79.8 Heat 05 Evans, Shearer, Pye f/rem), Maddern (f) 82.0 Heat 06 Jay, Calder, Lack, Mitchell 78.0 Heat 07 Campbell, Grant, Baird, Lloyd 78.2 Heat 08 Evans, Lack, Le Breton, Cox (f) 79.2 Heat 09 Jay, Calder, Shearer, Sharples (f) 79.2 Heat 10 Grant, Lack, Lloyd, Mitchell 79.0 Heat 11 Evans, Pye, Baird, Campbell (f) 79.8 Heat 12 Calder, Shearer, Le Breton, Sharples (f) 79.0 Heat 13 Baird, Pye, Rogers, Cox (f) 79.2 Heat 14 Maddern, Jay, Grant, Campbell 79.6 Peter Lloyd, Ken Le Breton, Alec Grant, Jack Hunt, Johnnie Hoskins (promoter), Danny Calder, Norman Evans (on machine), Charlie Spinks, Crusty Pye, Wilf Jay and Keith Gurtner.

Edinburgh vs Workington 05/05/2017

Edinburgh Monarchs 52 Workington Comets 40 5 May 2017 Premier League Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters (C) 3 3 3 2' 11 1 2 Josh Pickering 1 1 2 1 5 3 Erik Riss 3 2' 2 2 0 9 1 4 Max Clegg 1 3 1' 1' 6 2 5 Ricky Wells 2 3 3 3 3 14 6 Dany Gappmaier (G) 3 0 0 2 5 7 Mitchell Davey 1 1' 0 0 2 1 Workington 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Stevie Worrall (G) 2 0 1' 0 3 1 2 Mason Campton FX 1 3 2 1' 7 1 3 Ty Proctor MX 1' 2 3 6 1 4 Adam Roynon R 2 0 R 2 5 Thomas Jorgensen 3 4 3 1 2 13 6 Matt Williamson 2 2 1 0 1 3 9 7 Rob Shuttleworth 0 0 0 0 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Masters, Worrall, Pickering, Campton (F/x) (AWD) 4-2 (4-2) Heat 02 Gappmaier, Williamson, Davey, Shuttleworth (60.5) 4-2 (8-4) Heat 03 Riss, Williamson, Clegg, Roynon (Ret) (56.8) 4-2 (12-6) Heat 04 Jorgensen, Wells, Davey, Shuttleworth (57) 3-3 (15-9) Heat 05 Clegg, Riss, Campton, Worrall (58.1) 5-1 (20-10) Heat 06 Masters, Jorgensen, Pickering, Shuttleworth (57.2) 4-4 (24-14) Heat 07 Wells, Roynon, Proctor, Gappmaier (58.1) 3-3 (27-17) Heat 08 Campton, Pickering, Williamson, Davey (57.9) 2-4 (29-21) Heat 09 Jorgensen, Riss, Clegg, Williamson (57.4) 3-3 (32-24) Heat 10 Masters, Proctor, Pickering, Roynon (57.5) 4-2 (36-26) Heat 11 Wells, Campton, Worrall, Gappmaier (59) 3-3 (39-29) Heat 12 Proctor, Riss, Williamson, Davey (58.2) 2-4 (41-33) Heat 13 Wells, Masters, Jorgensen, Worrall (58.3) 5-1 (46-34) Heat 14 Williamson, Gappmaier, Clegg, Roynon (Ret) (59) 3-3 (49-37) Heat 15 Wells, Jorgensen, Campton, Riss (58.4) 3-3 (52-40) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs returned to the top of the Championship tonight with a workmanlike display against Workington Comets. They triumphed 52-40 in their league clash which went some way to banish their hammering at Glasgow Tigers last Saturday. Mitchell Davey said: “It was another tricky meeting for us because Workington are a decent side, but we got the job done and that was the main thing.” Max Clegg, who picked up six points, commented: “It was a fantastic win for the whole team. We gated a lot better and it was good to get the win to take us back to the top of the league.” After they were taken down to the wire at home last week by Sheffied Tigers it was imperative that Monarchs got off to a strong start and this they managed with two 4-2s in the opening two heats. Skippper Sam Masters easily defeated Workington guest Steve Worrall in the first race then Monarchs guest Dany Gappmaier gated with aplomb to take the chequered flag against Matt Williamson to give Monarchs an early 8-4 lead. And a third 4-2 verdict followed in heat three courtesy of Erik Riss and Clegg, who made a shocking start but grabbed a third-place point. Workington’s Thomas Jorgensen was away smartly to defeat Monarchs ace Ricky Wells in the next heat to give the visitors their first race victory and a share of the spoils 3-3 which maintained Monarchs’ six-point lead. Clegg was out of the gate like a rocket in heat five and with Riss fighting his way into second place this 5-1 extended Monarchs’ lead to ten points, 20-10. This prompted Workington to give Jorgensen a tactical ride in the next race to try and reduce their arrears. But the Comets rider could only manage second place behind Masters, and another shared heat ensued keeping Monarchs ten in front and looking quite comfortable at this early stage. Wells atoned for his previous race by winning his next against Ty Proctor and Adam Roynon in heat seven. His partner Gappmaier, after his fine victory in the second race, trailed in last this time and couldn’t get going at all. The Comets always kept Monarchs in their sight and they secured their first heat advantage of the meeting in heat eight when Mason Campton held off Josh Pickering, and with Matt Williamson grabbing third sport this 4-2 reduced the Comets’ arrears to just eight points. Pickering was riding for Monarchs with broken fingers and at times it showed as he seemingly toiled to hang on to his bike. Jorgensen was all over Monarchs like a rash and he easily overtook Riss, who led from the gate, for his second victory of the night in heat nine. Masters and Pickering re-established Monarchs’ ten-point leeway with a 4-2 in heat 10 with Pickering trying outside and inside to get past Proctor who just held on to second place. The 11th race was a real humdinger with Wells riding brilliantly to pick off Worrall then Campton for a great win to split the points 3-3 when a 5-1 looked on for the visitors. However, Monarchs were not out of the woods yet as Workington snatched a 4-2 when Proctor won a hard race against Riss in heat 12 and this reduced the gap once more to eight points. It took Monarchs’ top two riders, Wells and Masters, to steady the ship in heat 13 with a timely 5-1 against Jorgensen to widen the gap to 14 points, 46-32. And a share of the spoils in the final heat pushed Monarchs comfortably over the line. Monarchs are in Championship action on Sunday nght against Peterborough Panthers and will be without Erik and Mark Riss after both were ordered to ride for their German League side Landshut away to White Tigers. Erik Riss said: “It’s an unfortunate clash of dates but I have to ride, my German Federation insist on it.” Ben Morley and Danny Ayres will deputise for them. Monarchs: Wells 14, Masters 11, Riss 9, Clegg 6, Pickering 5, Gappmaier 5, Davey 2. Workintgon: Jorgensen 13, Williamson 9, Campton 7, Proctor 6, Worrall 3, Roynon 2, Shuttleworth 0.

Glasgow vs Edinburgh 29/04/2017

Glasgow Tigers 57 Edinburgh Monarchs 34 29 April 2017 Premier League Ashfield Stadium

Glasgow 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Aaron Summers 1 3 3 3 10 2 Dan Bewley 3 2' 3 2' 3 13 2 3 Richard Lawson 3 3 3 2 3 14 4 Nike Lunna FX 0 5 Richie Worrall 3 3 3 2' 2' 13 2 6 Tom Perry 2 2' 2' 0 0 1 7 2 7 Jack Smith F 0 0 EF 0 Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters (C) 2 FX 1' 0 1 4 1 2 Josh Pickering 0 1 1' 2 1 3 Erik Riss 2 1 1 EF 4 4 Max Clegg TX 0 0 0 0 5 Ricky Wells 2 1 4 1 TX 8 6 Mark Riss 3 1' 2 1' 2 3 2 14 2 7 Mitchell Davey 1 1' 0 2 1 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Bewley, Masters, Summers, Pickering 4-2 56.17 Heat 02 M.Riss, Perry, Davey, Smith (F) 4-2 (6-6) 57.24 Heat 03 Lawson, E.Riss, M.Riss Lunna (F) 3-3 (9-9) Heat 04 Worrall, Wells, Davey, Smith 3-3 (12-12) 56.13 Heat 05 Re-Run: Lawson, Perry, Pickering (F) Masters (F) 5-1 (17-13) 58.34 Heat 06 Re-Run: Summers, Bewley, Wells, Davey 5-1 (22-14) 56.75 Heat 07 Re-Run: Worrall, Perry, E.Riss, Clegg 5-1 (27-15) 57.56 Heat 08 Bewley, M.Riss, Pickering, Smith 3-3 (30-18) 57.58 Heat 09 Lawson, Wells, M.Riss, Perry 3-5 (33-23) 57.46 Heat 10 Summers, Bewley, E.Riss, Clegg 5-1 (38-24) 57.66 Heat 11 Worrall, M.Riss, Masters, Perry 3-3 (41-27) 57.01 Heat 12 M.Riss, Lawson, Smith and E.Riss (EF) 2-3 (43-30) 57.92 Heat 13 Summers, Worrall, Wells, Masters 5-1 (48-31) 58.04 Heat 14 Bewley, M.Riss, Perry. Clegg 4-2 (52-33) 59.0 Heat 15 Lawson, Worrall, Masters Wells (TX) 5-1 (57-34) 57.93 report from the Edinburgh Evening News After been taken down to the wire by Sheffield Tigers in the KO Cup at Armadale on Friday, things became worse for Edinburgh Monarchs in their Championship clash with Glasgow Tigers at Ashfield Stadium on Saturday night when they were comprehensively beaten 57-34 by their oldest rivals. It was Monarchs’ first defeat of the season after notching up five wins on the bounce. And team manager Alex Harkess today said his side must discover how to gate again because that was their biggest failing. “Up until Friday we had been gating very well, but that’s two matches now where our gating has been very poor. We know that, as do the riders, and they will be working on their starts this week before our next home meeting against Workington Comets.” A heat five incident turned into disaster for Monarchs when skipper Sam Masters and team-mate Josh Pickering both come to grief. Masters hit the safety fence hard and was given medical attention, but it was an early blow Monarchs could have done without. Said Harkess: “Both riders struggled thereafter and the only reason Sam carried on was because we didn’t have enough riders to cover for him. But the wheels came off for us following that crash.” But it would be wrong for Monarchs to blame the scale of their defeat this one incident for, after all Tigers ace Nike Lunna was forced to withdraw from the match after a high speed crash in heat three in which he collided with both Erik and Mark Riss. The Tigers rammed in three consecutive maximum advantages after that to turn the screw on their visitors. Glasgow were simply too good and their electric starts from the tapes ended the majority of races by the second corner. Added Harkess: “I wouldn’t say we have been given a reality check because the Glasgow fixture was always going to be difficult. We had hoped to get something from the match but it wasn’t to be. “We played second fiddle to the Tigers into the first and second corners and it’s very difficult to pass when you’re stranded at the tapes. “Our basic problem was that our heat leaders never looked like winning a race and they were not competitive. This made life very difficult.” Reserve Mark Riss was the only Monarch to take the fight to the Tigers and he at least can be absolved from this shambolic display. He won heats two and 12 and without his 14 point contribution Monarchs would have sunk without trace. Promoter John Campbell said: “It was a very disappointing performance, especially from our heat leaders who showed a complete inability to win a race. “Nobody held the team together, although Mark Riss did very well with his contribution.” “I’d like to think our heat leaders will win races in future because it will then become far easier for us to win matches in future.” The febrile atmosphere inside Ashfield was ramped up as the Tigers went into overdrive. By heat seven they led 27-17 prompting Monarchs to send Ricky Wells out for a tactical ride in heat nine but second place was all he could muster as the Tigers juggernaut thundered on. The Tigers piled in with three further 5-1s over the closing stages to complete victory in the easiest possible manner. Star of the show for Glasgow was Dan Bewley, who rode for Edinburgh last season, and his 13 points were his first paid maximum at Championship level. And what a response to claims that he wasn’t scoring well enough for the Tigers since the season started! Glasgow: Lawson 14, Bewley 13, Worrall 13, Summers 10, Perry 7, Smith 0, Lunna 0. Monarchs: M Riss 14, Wells 8, Masters 4, E Riss 4, Pickering 2, Davey 2, Clegg 0.

Edinburgh vs Sheffield 28/04/2017

Edinburgh Monarchs 47 Sheffield Tigers 43 28 April 2017 Premier League KO Cup Quarter Final 1st Leg Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters (C) 3 3 3 0 2 11 2 Josh Pickering 0 0 3 2' 5 1 3 Erik Riss 2 1 2 3 8 4 Max Clegg 0 0 2' 2 1 5 Ricky Wells 2 2 3 2 1' 10 1 6 Mark Riss 0 1' 2' 1' 2' 3 9 4 7 Mitchell Davey 2 0 0 2 Sheffield 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Richard Lawson (G) 2 3 2 1 3 11 2 Josh Bates 1' 3 2' 1 1' 8 3 3 Todd Kurtz 1 0 1 1 1 4 4 Lasse Bjerre R/R 5 Kyle Howarth (C) 3 2 3 3 3 0 14 6 Rob Branford 3 1' 0 0 0 4 1 7 Jack Parkinson Blackburn 1 1 0 0 2 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Masters, Lawson, Bates, Pickering (55.6) 3-3 (3-3) Heat 02 Branford, Davey, Parkinson-Blackburn, Riss (58) 2-4 (5-7) Heat 03  Bates, Riss, Kurtz, Clegg (57.4) 2-4 (7-11) Heat 04 Howarth, Wells, Parkinson-Blackburn, Davey (56.8) 2-4 (9-15) Heat 05 Lawson, Bates, Riss, Clegg (56.8) 1-5 (10-20) Heat 06 Masters, Howarth, Branford, Pickering (56.4) 3-3 (13-23) Heat 07 Howarth, Wells, Riss, Kurtz (55.9) 3-3 (16-26) Heat 08 Pickering, Riss, Bates, Parkinson-Blackburn (56.6) 5-1 (21-27) Heat 09 Howarth, E Riss, M Riss, Branford (56.3) 3-3 (24-30) Heat 10 Masters, Pickering, Kurtz, Branford (57.6) 5-1 (29-31) Heat 11 Wells, Lawson, Bates, Davey (57.4) 3-3 (32-34) Heat 12 E Riss, M Riss, Kurtz, Branford (57.2) 5-1 (37-35) Heat 13 Howarth, Wells, Lawson, Masters (57.3) 2-4 (39-39) Heat 14 Riss, Clegg, Kurtz, Parkinson-Blackburn (58.2) 5-1 (44-40) Heat 15 Lawson, Masters, Wells, Howarth (57.7) 3-3 (47-43) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs have it all to do in the second leg of their KO Cup quarter-final clash after they toiled to curb Sheffield Tigers in tonight’s first-leg encounter at Armadale. Monarchs ran out eventual winners but whether it will be enough to earn them a semi-final meeting with Ipswich Witches is hugely debatable. The Tigers proved superior in a lot of departments and had the man of the match in former Monarch Kyle Howarth who picked 14 points. Monarchs captain Sam Masters said: “We got the job done eventually but would have liked a bigger lead to take down to Sheffield.” Erik Riss commented: “I struggled to find the right set-up and I toiled all evening.” Even Ricky Wells was downbeat, saying: “I would have loved to have scored a maximum but I couldn’t get out of the start.” Sheffield became the third visiting side this season to arrive with a makeshift line-up. No.1 Josh Grajczonek and Lasse Bjerre were both absent and it simply devalues a match when a team arrives shorthanded. It’s starting to turn into a running joke, but not everyone is laughing. The public are being short changed, but at the Lothian Arena at least it hasn’t affected attendances which are already up on 2016. Sheffield gave Monarchs a wake-up call in the early heats. Former Monarchs racer Rob Branford won heat two getting the better of Mark Riss and, in the following race, only a third bend intervention from Erik Riss prevented a Sheffield 5-1. They still grabbed a 4-2 courtesy of Josh Bates and Todd Kurtz and led Monarchs 11-7 after only three heats. And the Tigers bared their claws in the next heat with another 4-2 from Kyle Howarth and Jack Parkinson-Blackburn to extend their lead to 15-9. With no tactical substitutes allowed in the cup alarm bells were starting to ring in the Monarchs camp after providing just one race winner in the opening heat. It was turning into a nightmare for the home side as Richard Lawson and Josh Bates easily won a 5-1 against Erik Riss and Max Clegg in heat five to go ten points up, 20-10. Monarchs skipper Masters won his second race of the night in heat six, but the problem for the Aussie was that he was receiving no support. Sheffield, for their part, were far sharper from the gate and looked to have no weak links. This was underlined by Kyle Howarth who beat Wells comfortably in the next race for a 3-3 share of the spoils to maintain Sheffield’s ten-point lead. At this point Sheffield were handing Monarchs something of a speedway lesson. Monarchs then awoke from their slumbers with Josh Pickering and Mark Riss grabbing a 5-1 over Bates and Parkinson-Blackburn to reduce their leeway to six points. Howarth, a former Monarch, looked unstoppable as he won the ninth race in crushing style for the Tigers – and Howarth hasn’t ridden like this for a long time. A pulsating second place by Pickering to follow Masters home for a great 5-1 in heat ten reduced Monarchs’ arrears to just two points. 31-29. But they could only share heat 11 with Wells taking the chequered flag for the first time in the match. Then, almost incredibly, Monarchs took the lead for the first time in heat 12 thanks to a 5-1 from the Riss brothers over Todd Kurtz and Rob Branford. This put Monarchs ahead 37-35 but heats were running out for the Capital side to build a sizeable lead to take down to Sheffield for the second leg which will possibly be staged in June. Sheffield then levelled the match when Howarth and Richard Lawson grabbed a 4-2 in heat 13. Back it swung in Monarchs’ favour when Mark Riss and Max Clegg took maximum points in the penultimate heat to give Monarchs a four-point lead with one race to go. Monarchs: Masters 11, Wells 10, M Riss 9, E Riss 8, Pickering 5, Clegg 2, Davey 2. Sheffield: Howarth 14, Lawson 11, Bates 8, Kurtz 4, Branford 4, Parkinson-Blackburn 2.

Scunthorpe vs Edinburgh 23/04/2017

Scunthorpe Scorpions 37 Edinburgh Monarchs 53 23 April 2017 Premier League Eddie Wright Raceway

Scunthorpe 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Ryan Douglas 3 1' 2 FX 1 7 1 2 Carl Wilkinson 1 2 3 0 6 3 Lewis Kerr 4 Michael Palm Toft 3 3 2 0 8 5 Dimitri Berge (G) 3 2 1 2 7 1 6 Richard Hall (G) 2 2' 0 1' 0 1 0 6 2 7 Josh Bailey 1' 1 0 0 1 3 1 Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters 2 2 3 1 8 2 Josh Pickering 0 1' 3 2' 6 2 3 Erik Riss 1 3 3 3 2' 12 1 4 Max Clegg 0 1 1 2' 4 1 5 Ricky Wells 2 3 1 3 3 12 6 Mark Riss 3 0 3 2' 3 11 1 7 Mitchell Davey F 0 0 0 3 3 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Douglas, Masters, Wilkinson, Pickering 4-2 57.38 Heat 02 M.Riss, Hall, Bailey, Davey (F) 3-3 (7-5) 58.94 Heat 03 Palm Toft, Hall R/R, E.Riss, Clegg 5-1 (12-6) 58.25 Heat 04 Berge, Wells, Bailey, Davey 4-2 (16-8) 57.88 Heat 05 Palm Toft, Masters, Pickering, Bailey R/R 3-3 (19-11) 57.07 Heat 06 Wells, Wilkinson, Douglas, Davey 3-3 (22-14) 58.56 Heat 07 E.Riss, Berge, Clegg, Hall 2-4 (24-18) 58.25 Heat 08 Pickering, Wilkinson, Hall, M.Riss 3-3 (27-21) 59.38 Heat 09 M.Riss, Palm Toft, Wells, Bailey R/R 2-4 (29-25) 58.57 Heat 10 E.Riss, Douglas, Clegg, Wilkinson 2-4 (31-29) 58.12 Heat 11 Masters, Pickering, Berge, Hall 1-5 (32-34) 58.81 Heat 12 E.Riss, M.Riss, Bailey, Wilkinson R/R 1-5 (33-39) 58.75 Heat 13 Wells, Berge, Masters 2-4 (35-43) 59.19 (Douglas FX Heat 14 M.Riss, Clegg, Hall, Palm Toft - EF 1-5 (36-48) 60.13 Heat 15 Wells, E.Riss, Douglas, Hall 1-5 (37-53) 60.88(Toft - T-EX report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs staged a tremendous fightback at the Eddie Wright Raceway yesterday against Scunthorpe Scorpions to make it five league wins in a row. The Capital septet ran out comfortable winners to remain top of the Championship but that didn’t seem likely early in the match. Scorpions were without three of their own riders through injury but Monarchs seemed unable to capitalise on their hosts’ misfortune and were eight points adrift after just five heats. Promoter John Campbell said: “The result we got at the end was the result I had expected before the meeting. But when we slipped eight points down I couldn’t see where we were going to get a race winner from. But Josh Pickering’s win in heat eight I think was the turning point in the match for us. “Then we became very dominant and once everyone got going they were capable of scoring points. I couldn’t be happier we have kept our unbeaten run going and to get all four points here was very pleasing indeed.” Monarchs are nothing if not stubborn and were not going down without a fight and Erik Riss and Max Clegg began a comeback of sorts with a 4-2 in heat seven to reduce the gap to six points. It was Monarchs’ first heat win of the match. Monarchs switched reserves in heat eight putting Mark Riss, who won his opening ride, out to replace Mitchell Davey who fell off in heat two. But unfortunately Riss lost control on the final bend as he was pushing for second place and was passed by Scunthorpe guest rider Richard Hall. Mark Riss was out again in the very next race and won it in style and with partner Ricky Wells claiming a third-place point. This 4-2 inched Monarchs closer to the Scorpions and they trailed by only 29-25. Monarchs at last started to get into gear and Erik Riss’s second win of the match in heat ten, with Clegg finishing third, gave them a second 4-2 advantage in row and cut the deficit to just two points, 31-29. It was anyone’s match now. Incredibly Monarchs took the lead 34-32 when skipper Sam Masters and Pickering picked up a crucial 5-1 in heat 11 piling the pressure on the home side. It was Masters’ first win of the meeting after two second places in his opening two rides. And Pickering, who was riding the track competitively for the first time, came good after a last place in the first heat. Monarchs were now in full flight and brothers Erik and Mark Riss sensationally claimed a second 5-1 in heat 12 to lead 39-33. Wells and Masters took a 4-2 in heat 13 to increase their lead to eight points, completely overturning Scunthorpe’s early match advantage. There was no stopping Monarchs’ second-half juggernaut now as Mark Riss and Clegg raced hard for another 5-1 in heat 14 after Scunthorpe’s Michael Palm-Toft saw his engine die on him. And Monarchs finished with a flourish with a 5-1 from Wells and Erik Riss which allowed Monarchs to capture all four points at stake. This was a real team effort in every sense of the word and if Monarchs carry on like this a few of the favourites for the title will begin to fear them. Scunthorpe: Palm-Toft 8, Berge 7, Douglas 7, Wilkinson 6, Hall 6, Bailey 3. Monarchs: Wells 12, E Riss 12, M Riss 11, Masters 8, Pickering 6, Clegg 4, Davey 4.

Edinburgh vs Berwick 14/04/2017

Edinburgh Monarchs 57 Berwick Bandits 33 14 April 2017 Premier League Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters 3 3 3 2' 11 1 2 Josh Pickering 0 FX 3 1 4 3 Erik Riss 3 3 3 3 3 15 4 Max Clegg R 1 0 1' 2 1 5 Ricky Wells 3 2' 3 3 2' 13 2 6 Mark Riss 3 3 1 R 2 9 7 Mitchell Davey 2 1 0 3 1 Berwick 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Lewis Bridger 2 2 2 1 0 7 2 Dimitri Berge 1' 0 2 FX 3 1 3 Kevin Doolan (C) 2 1 2 2 7 4 Liam Carr FX 0 FX 0 5 Claus Vissing 2 2 4 0 1 9 6 Dany Gappmaier 1 1' 1' 1' 3 7 3 7 Joe Lawlor (G) 0 R R 0 0 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Masters, Bridger, Berge, Pickering (54.8) 3-3 (3-3) Heat 02 Riss, Davey, Gappmaier, Lawlor (56.6) 5-1 (8-4) Heat 03 Riss, Doolan - 2 Finishers only (56.6) 3-2 (11-6) Heat 04 Wells, Vissing, Davey, Lawlor (Ret) (57.2) 4-2 (15-8) Heat 05 Riss, Bridger, Clegg, Berge (57.3) 4-2 (19-10) Heat 06 Masters, Vissing, Gappmaier, Pickering (F/x) (58.1) 3-3 (22-13) Heat 07 Riss, Wells, Doolan, Carr (57.7) 5-1 (27-14) Heat 08 Pickering, Berge, M Riss, Lawlor (Ret) (58) 4-2 (31-16) Heat 09 Riss, VISSING, Gappmaier, Clegg (57.9) 3-5 (34-21) Heat 10 Masters, Doolan, Pickering, Carr (F/x) (59) 4-2 (38-23) Heat 11 Wells, Bridger - 2 Finishers only (57.8) 3-2 (41-25) Heat 12 Riss, Doolan, Gappmaier, Davey (58.9) 3-3 (44-28) Heat 13 Wells, Masters, Bridger, Vissing (57.4) 5-1 (49-29) Heat 14 Gappmaier, Riss, Clegg, Lawlor (59.6) 3-3 (52-32) Heat 15 Riss, Wells, Vissing, Bridger (59.2) 5-1 (57-33) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a thumping 57-33 Championship victory over Berwick Bandits at Armadale. The Bandits had reshuffled their pairings in a bid to outflank Monarchs. It had no impact whatsoever – it was a bit like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Berwick are a team sinking fast. They have won just one competitive match so far, and unless there is a turnaround in their fortunes soon, their new owners might have to look at changing the side to pacify their supporters, who were vocal in their condemnation of the loss to Monarchs at home last weekend. Monarchs can only defeat what is dished up to them and it wasn’t their fault that the meeting was so one-sided and a lot of the racing proved quite processional. Captain Sam Masters said: “It was quite a convincing win. We are still unbeaten and we’re going quite well right now. The team spirit is very good this year and I’m happy with it. Everybody talks to each other during the week and no one seems to be holding anything back.” Monarchs reserve star Mark Riss came into the match bursting with confidence after guesting for Sheffield Tigers against title favourites Ipswich Witches on Thursday night. Riss scored an amazing 14 points and was topscorer as Sheffield ran out easy winners. It is hoped Riss can emulate this score when Monarchs visit Sheffield on KO Cup first round duty in a couple of weeks time. Riss made mincemeat of Berwick reserves Dany Gappmaier and Joe Lawlor to win heat two by a country mile and with partner Mitchell Davey following him home, this gave Monarchs their first 5-1 maximum advantage of the evening. Berwick then surprised Monarchs when Kevin Doolan and Liam Carr sped away in front in the very next race. But Carr came off on the second bend and was disqualified and in the rerun Erik Riss, who was slow from the tapes at the first time of asking, made no mistake this time, fending off a fierce challenge from Doolan. Max Clegg then spun off and retired. Erik Riss grabbed his second win of the meeting in heat five and with Clegg atoning for his fall in the third race by claiming a third place point, this 4-2 increased Monarchs lead to 19-10. Josh Pickering, who finished last in his first outing, tumbled off in heat six and was disqualified, but partner Masters won the rerun convincingly to rescue a share of the points. Ricky Wells and Mark Riss then secured Monarchs second 5-1 of the night in heat seven to widen the gap to 13 points at 27-14. Doolan was third, but was riding like a teenager and was always lively. Pickering finally got his first win under his belt by triumphing over Dimitri Berge in heat eight. Then the Bandits secured their first heat win of the meeting thanks to a tactical outing by Claus Vissing in heat nine. The resultant 5-3 closed the gap to 13 points again. The second half was a carbon copy of the first as Monarchs stretched their lead to 15 points thanks to a 4-2 from Masters and Pickering in heat ten. Monarchs moved inexorably towards the winning post with a 5-1 from Wells and Masters in heat 13 over Bandits top rider Lewis Bridger and Vissing to lead 49-29. And Monarchs finished in style with their fourth 5-1 of the meeting courtesy of Erik Riss and Wells in heat 15. Erik Riss completed a 15-point maximum – his first for the club this season – and he said: “I worked hard for this and I feel good, apart from my starts, I’m not happy with them yet.” Monarchs: E Riss 15, Wells 13, Masters 11, M Riss 9, Pickering 4, Davey 3, Clegg 2. Berwick: Doolan 8, Vissing 8, Bridger 7, Gappmaier 7, Berge 3, Carr 0, Lawlor 0.