Edinburgh Monarchs 53: Reading Racers 40
Premier League
Lothian Arena, Armadale
Friday 2nd June 2000
Edinburgh won their opening home Premier League fixture against Reading much easier than the scoreline suggests.
Edinburgh took a stranglehold on the match and built up a 20-point lead by heat 13. A heat 14 'golden double' from the visitors reduced monarchs' massive lead. The match was an ill-tempered affair littered with controversy and some strange refereeing decisions.
The Edinburgh top four dominated the meeting and all were unbeaten prior to the last two heats. By then Kevin Little had completed his first-ever paid maximum. Ross Brady missed out on a full maximum when he trailed Castagna and Morris in heat 14. Then Peter Carr and Robert Eriksson were surprisingly beaten by Phil Morris in the final heat.
Monarchs' winning margin would probably have been greater but for machine problems suffered by Blair Scott and Will Beveridge.
Edinburgh introduced their new line-up with Blair Scott back in the team at number six and Christian Henry returning after injury. Reading were at full strength.
Peter Carr lost the toss once more and Reading selected gate position B.
Heat 1: Robert Eriksson, Armando Castagna, Will Beveridge, Paul Clews [57.5]
Robert Eriksson gated and followed Castagna out wide. The Reading pair both went a bit wide and allowed Beveridge to cut through on the inside of bend two. Beveridge held off Castagna until the last lap when the Italian capitalized on a slip on he back straight and pulled off a classy outside pass.
(4-2) (4-2)
Heat 2: Blair Scott, Shane Colvin, Christian Henry [59.6]
Blair Scott gated but appeared very slow. Behind him there was a scramble for position and Norris clipped Henry sending him into the first bend fence before falling. It was a close call but Norris was excluded from the rerun. The second time Scott and Henry gated and held the first two places until Henry's bike developed a misfire and Colvin passed to take second place.
(4-2) (8-4)
Heat 3: Ross Brady, Kevin Little, Krister Marsh [Awarded]
Brady made a good gate and attempted to go around Morris through the second bend. Morris, starting from gate 1, moved Brady so far across that he went into the second bend fence. The crowd were baying for Morris to be excluded but the referee correctly called all four back. Brady took no chances this time and got away from the gate. Kevin Little came through to second place and Morris commenced a furious chase. Morris hit Little coming out of the fourth bend. Kevin managed to regain control but had lost position. The white exclusion light came on immediately but Norris and Little carried on scrapping for second place oblivious to it all. Morris even ignored a black flag waved under his nose Shumacher-style. The inevitable happened and the pair tangled on the second bend. The referee unbelievably awarded the race to Little despite the fact that Brady was way ahead. This appeared to be corrected later.
(5-1) (13-5)
Heat 4: Peter Carr, Shane Colvin, Christian Henry [59.1]
This was an easy win for Peter Carr with Per Wester falling at the second bend, restarting and then failing to finish. Colvin once more got the better of Christian Henry despite Peter Carr hanging around to try to offer some support.
(4-2) (17-7)
Heat 5: Ross Brady, Kevin Little, Armando Castagna [58.4]
Ross Brady made the start ahead of Castagna. Paul Clews tangled with Little near the start lost a chain and retired. He was justifiably peeved not to get a restart. Castagna fell on the second bend and restarted to get a point.
(5-1) (22-8)
Heat 6: Robert Eriksson, Per Wester, Marc Norris [58.6]
Robert Eriksson swept ahead to win by a proverbial mile but Beveridge fell on the second bend and started. This allowed the wobbly looking Wester and Marc Norris to get amongst the points.
(3-3) (25-11)
Heat 7: Peter Carr, Phil Morris, Krister Marsh, Blair Scott [57.6]
Peter Carr was given a hard time for a lap or two by the fired-up Phil Morris before eventually pulling away. Blair Scott held third place but looked well down on power and was passed by Krister Marsh.
(3-3) (28-14)
Heat 8: Paul Clews, Christian Henry, Shane Colvin, Will Beveridge [60.3]
Surprisingly Reading used no tactical substitutes. Paul Clews made the start ahead of Christian Henry and Shane Colvin. Will Beveridge was pottering along in last place with a misfiring engine. Christian Henry had an outside charge to pass Clews only for Clews to come back and take it on the line.
(2-4) (30-18)
Heat 9: Ross Brady, Kevin Little, Marc Norris [58.4]
The unstoppable Brady/Little combination inevitably produced a 5-1 over the weak Wester/Norris pairing. Wester fell again on the second bend and retired.
(5-1) (35-19)
Heat 10: Robert Eriksson, Phil Morris, Krister Marsh, Will Beveridge [58.5]
Eriksson missed the start for once but did a Peter Carr style cut inside to pass Phil Morris and won without problems. Beveridge was again at the back.
(3-3) (38-22)
Heat 11: Peter Carr, Armando Castagna, Paul Clews, Blair Scott [57.6]
Blair Scott fell on the first bend while Carr passed on the third bend. The race was stopped with all four back. Castagna then outgated Carr and even a characteristic inside surge failed to get Carr on terms. He did come back and the riders were side by side for the best part of a lap before Carr pulled away. Blair Scott again toiled in last place.
(3-3) (41-25)
Heat 12: Kevin Little, Phil Morris, Paul Clews [59.6]
There was an air of anticipation when Kevin Little lined up against Phil Morris and few were disappointed. Paul Clews came in as a tactical substitute for Norris. Phil Morris made the start but Kevin Little cut inside on the second bend and hit the front. Morris came back to pass but Little dug deep to get past once more and collect his first maximum in senior speedway. He received the bumps from his teammates.
(3-3) (44-28)
Heat 13: Robert Eriksson, Peter Carr, Armando Castagna, Krister Marsh [57.5]
Krister Marsh came in as a tactical substitute for the struggling Wester. Eriksson made the start and took Castagna wide to allow Carr to come through. Eriksson and Carr then dominated the heat to maintain their run of heat 13 maximums.
(5-1) (49-29)
Heat 14: Phil Morris, Armando Castagna, Ross Brady [59.4]
A double tactical substitution saw Castagna in for Marsh and Morris in for Colvin as a 'golden double'. Castagna made the start from Brady while Blair Scott riding a tight line kept Morris at the back for two laps. Then Blair went too wide allowing Morris through to third but with little chance of catching Brady. Unfortunately Scott clipped a fence near the start finish line and his bike somersaulted spectacularly. Despite the fact that marshals were waving flags furiously Morris carried on racing as Brady and Castagna slowed down. Blair was excluded but appeared to be OK after a long spell on the ground. The shaken Brady had to make the start in the re-run, as he would not have Blair to protect his back. Castagna was first away and although Brady tried cutting inside he could not find enough speed and the Italian cut him off by the third bend. Morris was already close behind and with Castagna able to control the pace, Brady was passed by Morris. Castagna then allowed Morris through to take an 8-1 heat advantage.
(1-8) (50-37)
Heat 15: Phil Morris, Robert Eriksson, Peter Carr, Armando Castagna [58.1]
Neither of the Edinburgh pairing made a particularly good start and Morris emerged ahead off the second bend. With Morris riding a tight line, Carr tried a couple of surges off the inside before dropping back to let Eriksson have a go. Neither seemed prepared for any heroics on the outside in view of previous events, especially with the match well won. Castagna made no impression and hit the second bend fence quite hard without falling off.
(3-3) (53-40)
|
Edinburgh Monarchs |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Robert Eriksson |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
14 |
|
Will Beveridge |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Kevin Little |
2* |
2* |
2* |
3 |
|
|
|
9+3 |
|
Ross Brady |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
Peter Carr |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2* |
1* |
|
|
12+1 |
|
Blair Scott |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
3 |
|
|
Christian Henry |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reading Racers |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Armando Castagna |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2* |
0 |
|
5 |
|
Paul Clews |
0 |
R |
3 |
1* |
1* |
|
|
5+2 |
|
Phil Morris |
X |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
|
15 |
|
Krister Marsh |
1 |
1* |
1* |
0 |
|
|
3+2 |
|
|
Per Wester |
R |
2 |
F |
|
|
2 |
||
|
Marc Norris |
X |
1* |
1 |
|
|
2+1 |
||
|
Shane Colvin |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
Peter Carr was for once given a hard time and had his work cut-out to beat Morris and Castagna in heat 7 and 11 respectively. He surprisingly failed to win heat 15 after Morris went ahead. Eriksson found life a bit easier and seemed set for another maximum until heat 15.
Ross Brady, back using his 1999 engine, produced a welcome return to form and reeled off three unchallenged heat wins before being outfoxed by Castagna and Morris in heat 14. Kevin Little was once more the start of the show for Edinburgh with a deserved first maximum.
The rest of the Monarchs' team all suffered mechanical problems. Blair Scott had a 'flat' engine throughout and couldn't get any speed. This was the same motor that was really flying at the start of the season but hasn't been producing since it went for tuning. Will Beveridge's bike ominously was not on track during the parade as it was being worked on in the pits. He had a good ride in heat 1 but seemed to suffer a persistent misfire thereafter. Christian Henry having been provided with a bike by the club also suffered with a misfire in heat 2. He had a great ride in heat 8 that nearly produced a win.
Armando Castagna was a great disappointment despite a couple of good rides. He looked like the 8.40 rider that his current average suggests. He introduced at the start of the season as an 11.00 point rider who was expected to be up there with the best in the Premier League.
Phil Morris was undoubtedly the star of the Reading team and he alone prevented them from receiving a real hammering. He unfortunately seemed to work himself up during the meeting following his exclusion in heat two. The 'red mist.' descended a time or two. Nevertheless he showed what he could do with a great heat 15 win.
Per Wester was very poor and just couldn't get around the second bend. Clews was unlucky in heat 5 and generally did OK while Marsh was competent. Shane Colvin had three decent rides but Norris only picked up gifts.
Man of the match: Kevin Little
Most exciting rider (certainly not the most popular): Phil Morris
Next meeting: v Glasgow, Premier League, Ashfield on Sunday 4th June 2000
John Lowe