David McAllan's short comeback for Monarchs appears to be over for the moment. He has been replaced by Brian Turner. David suffered three falls over the weekend, two at Linlithgow on Saturday and one at Ashfield on Sunday. There was concern that the comeback might have been a bit premature. He also appeared to have some difficulty in picking up his bike and restarting after a simple fall at Ashfield. his caused the race to be stopped with Blair Scott well ahead. As it happened Blair went on to win the rerun, but it could have cost Monarchs had he missed the start in the rerun. John Campbell commented:

"David told us he would be fit to ride again and had the medical certificate to prove it. We invited him back into the team on this basis. He had a feeling in his head he was definitely fit, but when he fell during one of the matches he lay still on the track even though there was nothing wrong with him. He said he didn't want to move in case his knee went again."

"He doesn't have the confidence in his own fitness to carry on at present. We have got some tough matches coming up and took the decision to rest him."

"We have got to overcome some of our recent disasters and make a play for some of the trophies we are still involved in. Brian is a man who is 100% fit and has no worries about his confidence. And I feel he could do a job for us."

Brian Turner comes in on loan from Glasgow until the end of the season. He is 21 and comes from Middlesbrough. He started with Cleveland in Division 3 before moving to Linlithgow in 1995. He was a member of the all-conquering Lightning team of 1996 alongside Blair Scott, Barry Campbell, Grant MacDonald, and Peter Scully.

Brian stepped up to the Premier League in 1997 with Newcastle. He scored an amazing 12 paid 17 against Monarchs in the Premier League Cup qualifyer at Brough Park. He averaged 3.78 in the Premier League but was dropped mid-season and moved to Hull where he averaged 2.91.

Brian then signed for Glasgow in 1998 where he was an ever present. He pushed his average up to 4.49 in the Premier League and 6.00 in the Premier League Cup qualifiers. He again reserved his best performance for a match against Monarchs scoring 12 paid 13 from 5 rides in the Premier League Cup qualifier at Shawfield.

This year Brian struggled initially at second string for Glasgow and his average dropped below 3.00 at one stage. The signing of Emiliano Sanchez alllowed Brian to drop down to reserve where he rediscovered his scoring habit and pushed his average up to 3.88 by the August Green Sheet Averages.

Brian was dropped to make way for the signature of former Berwick and Stoke rider Dean Felton.

Brian was involved in the now notorious Newport v Glasgow match in June. Having scored 9 points in his first four rides, Brian was leading heat 14 from Sean Courtney ahead of Newport's golden double tactical substitute Craig Watson and Emil Lindvist. Linqvist came hard inside Courtney and brought him down on the fourth bend. This tactic will be familiar to anyone who has travelled to Newport. Amazingly, the referee excluded Courtney and ordered a rerun which the home side went on to win 8-1 and set themselves up to win the match. A melee ensued after Will Beveridge pulled Linqvist to the ground. Brian's part in the affair is still under investigation by the Speedway Control Board, alongside that of Mick Powell. A repeat of Brian's final score of 10 from five rides will not go amiss in the Premier National Trophy Final at Newport next month.

Brian Turner will make his debut for Monarchs on Thursday at Sheffield. They don't come much tougher!

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