Following Monarchs' elimination from the Young Shield the last meeting at Armadale this year will be held on Friday. This will be a double header including the individual Scottish Championship meeting and the restaging of the Conference League fixture between Ashfield Lightning Giants and Sheffield Prowlers.
The Scottish Championship was last held at Armadale in 1997 when Kenny McKinna won ahead of a strong field. The last staging was a 16-strong field but included one or two riders qualified by residence (Paul Gould) or by grandparents (Mick Powell). This time the eligibility appears to be restricted to birth or parents.
This has the effect of limiting the field especially with the retirement of Kenny McKinna, the absence of Stewart McDonald and the injuries to Ross Brady, Scott Lamb, Barry Campbell, and David McAllan.
The field for the Scottish Championship will feature senior stars Blair Scott and Kevin Little (Edinburgh), James Grieves (Glasgow) and David Meldrum (Berwick) along with Ashfield juniors Derek Sneddon, Steven McAllister, Robert McNeil and Ryan Milburn.
This event will run over 6 heats with each rider having three runs. There will be a final between the top point scorers with gate choice determined by score. There will also be a Youth Championship over two heats between William Lawson, Andrew Tully, Gary Beaton and Sean Stoddart.
The first Conference League meeting to be held at Armadale has had to be switched from Ashfield because the Glasgow venue lacks floodlights and no weekend afternoon slots were available. Sheffield remain title contenders for the Conference League but have a lot of fixtures to catch up to get them on terms with the current leaders. The Conference League match will precede the Scottish Championship.
Please note that this Friday's meeting is being staged by the Ashfield Lightning Giants promotion and not by Edinburgh Speedway. Hence Monarchs season tickets will not be valid for admission.
However prices are being held at the normal Confernce League level of £5 (adults), £3 (OAPs) or £1 (children) excluding programme. This is excellent value for 25 heats of speedway featuring both junior and senior riders.
The normal start time of 7.30pm applies.