Monarchs struggling second string Justin Elkins annouced that he was quitting speedway after failing to resolve his long-standing mechanical problems.
This is the second time that Elkins has retired this year. He quit Reading in mid-season after a disastrous run of engine failures to attempt to sort out his problems. He had increased his average considerably before he was engulfed in machine problems.
Justin came in to the Monarchs team as a replacement for Stewart McDonald. Monarchs had used rider replacement for McDonald for three matces but it was not a long run solution. Had McDonald not been replaced Blair Scott would have moved up to second string in September and Monarchs would only have been able to use a conference league rider to replace him.
Elkins made his debut at Glasgow and had a fair meeting. He registered two third places and a second place in his first three rides. He then stopped when holding a comfortable third place in his final ride. Elkins suffered three engine failures at Sheffield and failed to score. He took a good third place in his opening heat against Glasgow at Armadale but his mechanical gremlins struck after that although he did limp around for a point in one race. Against Arena Essex in the league, Elkins had a great ride in the opening heat beating Leigh Lanham for a paid win before being knocked off after the flag and breaking a finger.
Justin missed the next four meetings before returning for the first leg of the Cup Final against Arena. He failed to score in four rides despite making a couple of good starts before his ignition problems slowed him down. Justin's best meeting for Edinburgh came in the first leg of the Scottish cup at Ashfield when he finished four heats and scored a win and a paid win in a score of six plus one.
Justin explained that he felt as bad as anyone about the situation and commented:
"That was a big match for me and I felt pleased that my points helped the team. My score contributed to us winning the meeting and did my confidence no harm whatsoever. The number 2 position within any team is a tough one, and to get points, especially away from home is good. I'm just glad that I helped the team out."
"It's been a great disappointment that I haven't scored often highly enough or often enough. Yet every time the other guys in the team tried my bike out, they could find nothing wrong with it. Even Kenny McKinna had a go and was puzzled why it spluttered to a halt so often."
"A couple of weeks ago, I got two new ignitions for it. They turned out to be faulty, which caused me to break down all the time. I took them back and got replacements. I fitted them on and everything seems to be fine, the problem is now over."
When it seemed that the corner had been turned, Justin again failed to finish a heat at Exeter in the Young Shield. This was repeated in the home leg when he struggled home for a gifted point in heat one and did not finish another heat.
In his time at Edinburgh, Justin has looked a stylish rider. He gates well, rides a tight line, looks steady and should clearly have an average higher than five points. He and his crew have tried all sorts of things to resolve the situation. He suffered from faulty components including a dodgy 'magic eye'. He also showed great character to keep going despite all the problems he has suffered.
The cruicial thing for Monarchs was that Blair Scott was able to stay at reserve throughout September where he was able to take extra rides and racked up some big scores. This was of particular importance given the injury to Brian Turner. Blair's score of 13 paid 14 points against Arena Essex in the first leg of the Cup Final could yet prove to be cruicial.
Since Monarchs are unable to change their declared line-up at this stage of the season, this will mean that they will use rider replacement for the Premier League Cup Final second leg at Arena Essex. There will be extra rides for Ross Brady and the reserves Blair Scott and Gary Phelps.
Monarchs only other fixture this season will be the second leg of the Scottish Cup at Armadale. A bit more flexibility is allowed for this match if agreement can be reached with Glasgow. It remains to be seen who will take the number 2 race jacket or if rider replacement will be used. With David McAllan likely to come in at number 6, it would have been nice if Stewart McDonald could have returned to reunite the original starting seven for one last match.