It's been quite a start for Robert Eriksson on his return to Armadale. James Grieves's shock departure to Glasgow made him rather unpopular with sections of the Armadale crowd. James's walkout led to the return of Robert Eriksson. Such has been the sucess of the Swede that I suspect that if James turned up in the bar at Armadale, there would be queue of supporters ready to buy him a drink!
Robert joined Edinburgh in 1995 and helped turn a struggling side into a solid outfit. He won the Swedish Under-21 championship later that season.
It was in 1996 at Shawfield that Robert really established himself. He had a difficult time in the middle of the season with mechanical problems as he and the rest of the Monarchs' team struggled to get their laydown equipment working properly. But Robert came back strongly with a string of massive scores at Shawfield including 17 paid 19 against Swindon and 17 paid 18 against Peterborough. Robert finished second in Monarchs' averages behind Mike Faria. But for the poor spell, he would certainly have averaged over 7 points and been ineligable to ride for Monarcs in the new Premier League in 1997.
Robert stayed with Monarchs when they moved to Armadale and occupied the number one race jacket. He alongside Kenny McKinna and Peter Carr formed the most potent heat leader trio in the new league and played a key role in Monarchs' cup win. Robert averaged well over nine points but might have expected to do better as one of the most talented riders in the league with a heat format that favoured the top riders. He did ake third place in the Premier League Riders' Championship behind winner Peter Carr.
The reduction of the points limit to 43 for 1998 meant that one heat leader had to go. Robert indiacted that he wanted to take a year out and return in 1999. Kevin Little was recruited to replace Robert. Eriksso did a few meetings Belle Vue but coundn't make it pay. Both Kenny McKinna and Peter Carr were threatening to retire at the end of 1998 so it appeared that Robert would be back. In the end Peter relented and stayed on, although Kenny stuck to his decision. A further reduction of the points limit to 41 for the 1999 season meant that Robert could not be fitted in to replace Kenny. Robert was stuck with a high average from 1997 wheras other top riders had reduced their averages in the much harder format reintroduced in 1998.
Eriksson regards Armadale as his home and admitted to being 'gutted' when he was told that he could not be accommodated in the 1999 Monarchs line-up. James Grieves came in instead and Robert went on loan to Newcastle:
"I was a bit dismayed. I enjoy riding for Edinburgh. It was where I started my career. I also like the Armadale track. I have a lot of confidence around it."
Robert had a fair season with Newcastle despite being hampered by nigglig injuries. He started like a train. Teamed up with his former Armadale riding partner Paul Gould, he came to Armadale and they destroyed Monarchs in the National Trophy qualifing match.
When it announced that James Grieves was staying with Monarchs for 2000, Robert was on the point of joining Glasgow. Fortunately news of Grieves's switch to Tigers came out in time for Edinburgh to block the proposed loan move to Glasgow. One day later and Robert would have lined up with Les Collins, and James Grieves in Tigers' colours.
Many were sceptical when the promotion predicted that Robert would score more points home and away than James would have managed. Few doubt it now. Robert is not surprised at the start he has made:
"I was quite confident in my own ability. I also have some very good equipment for this year. It is just a question of being able to do my job properly. I'm pretty pleased with the start I've made so far. Although I did not invest heavily in machinery during the winter, I decided to run with the same set-up I used back in Sweden. I also asked a few good rider what they were using and simply followed the advice they gave me."
Robert combines riding for Monarchs in thePremier League with riding for his home town team Indianerna, the Kumla 'Indians', in the Swedish Elite League. This is much tougher than the Premier League and his scores are much lower:
"It's not a problem riding in Sweden, you don't have as many meetings anyway. I've been doing it for so many years I don't think about the travelling back and forward. In fact I would miss Sweden if I wasn't riding there. However, the racingis much harder. My home track is big, and I'm not really a big track rider. I prefer smaller circuits, but thee are not many in Sweden. I try my best. I won't say I've been struggling. I think you get confidence problems if you are not scoring a lot of points."
Robert has ben making good starts and used his experience to score a succession of double figure scores for Edinburgh. Robert has never been renowned for his passing ability, he never gets much practise with the way he gates. However this year he has produced several memorable passes. He has even come up with a Peter Carr style second bend cutback. He puts down part of his improvement this year to his preference for the Amadale track over Brough Park:
"Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed riding for Newcastle but Armadale is a better racing track. You have more space to play with and it gives you a better home advantage. At Armadale you have a few different racing lines to choose from to take opponents from the back."
Unfortunately Robert's run of form did not extend to his trip to Berwick on Saturday. Robert has generally done well at Shielfield Park although it is a track he detests:
"I hate the place! I don't enjoy riding there at all. Yet strangely I always seem to produce some good scores there. I have been doing OK off he starts because the motor I've been using is set up for the larger tracks, which can sometimes make it difficult to ride on smaller circuits. But it has the power to pass anybody if needed. Sot it's easier to go to places like Berwick and pick up a few points."
Robert beat Paul Bentley from the start to win the opening at Berwick on Saturday. Things went badly after that. He was passed by Paul Thorp in heat 5 and by Aan Mogridge in heat 11. He then packed up with engine problems in heat 13. The same problems presumably stopped his expected tactical substitute appearance in heat 14 and also caused him to be left out of heat 15.
There will be no complaints from the Edinburgh faithful about this rare lapse.