Newcastle Diamonds 44: Edinburgh Monarchs 27
Premier National Trophy
Brough Park, Newcastle
Monday 9th April 2001
Edinburgh's run of wins came to an end in the mud at Brough Park when the injury hit squad were beaten in a match curtailed by rain. Monarchs were without former Diamonds number one Robert Eriksson and free scoring reserve Christian Henry and found the home side too strong especially after losing Jan Andersen to injury early on in the meeting.
Monarchs went behind after conceding a 5-0 in heat 3 and never recovered from that. The tide was stemmed with a heat eight tactical substitution but the depleted Monarchs team had no answer to the strong Newcastle top-six.
There had been heavy rain earlier and the track had suffered as a consequence. Many riders found it difficult to get around and there were a number of fallers. The rain started again around heat eight and by the time heat twelve had been completed a halt was called with the result standing.
Newcastle had James Birkinshaw standing in at number seven. Edinburgh used David Walsh as a guest for Robert Eriksson while Rory Schlein replaced the injured Christian Henry.
Gate position B was used with Edinburgh off 1 and 3 in heat one
Heat 1: David Walsh, Bjarne Pedersen, Richard Juul, Blair Scott [66.2]
David Walsh won from the gate as he did so many times for Newcastle in 1999. Blair Scott riding on his bogy track finished last.
(3-3) (3-3)
Heat 2: Rob Grant, Rory Schlein, Derek Sneddon, James Birkinshaw [67.6]
Rob Grant won ahead of Rory Schlein. James Birkinshaw held third but suffered engine problems and lost position to Derek Sneddon before continuing.
(3-3) (6-6)
Heat 3: André Compton, Kevin Little [Awarded]
Jan Andersen stopped with engine failure and then Ben Shields fell at the back and was excluded.
(5-0) (11-6)
Heat 4: Peter Carr, James Birkinshaw, Jesper Olsen, Derek Sneddon [65.7]
Peter Carr looked unstoppable but there was mayhem behind him. Jesper Olsen fell and restarted while Derek Sneddon fell a couple of times allowing Birkinshaw to take second place.
(3-3) (14-9)
Heat 5: André Compton, Kevin Little, David Walsh, Blair Scott [66.0]
The Compton/Little pairing produced another maximum after David Walsh missed the start.
(5-1) (19-10)
Heat 6: Peter Carr, Bjarne Pedersen, Richard Juul, Rory Schlein [64.4]
Peter Carr won again with Pedersen and Juul taking the minor places.
(3-3) (22-13)
Heat 7: Jesper Olsen, Rob Grant, Ben Shields [Awarded]
Olsen and Grant took an awarded maximum with Jan Andersen falling and collecting Shields. Andersen suffered a twisted knee and took no further part in the meeting.
(5-1) (27-14)
Heat 8: David Walsh, Blair Scott, Richard Juul, James Birkinshaw [67.6]
David Walsh came in as a tactical substitute to replace Derek Sneddon. He won from Blair Scott as the lead was trimmed back.
(1-5) (28-19)
Heat 9: Peter Carr, André Compton, Kevin Little, Rory Schlein [66.1]
Peter Carr took his third win over the previously unbeaten Compton/Little pairing.
(3-3) (31-22)
Heat 10: Bjarne Pedersen, Blair Scott, Richard Juul, Ben Shields [68.4]
Blair Scott came in as a tactical substitute for Jan Andersen. Bjarne Pedersen won his first heat of the evening with Blair Scott second ahead of Juul.
(4-2) (35-24)
Heat 11: Rob Grant, David Walsh, Jesper Olsen, Blair Scott [67.6]
David Walsh gated but was passed by Rob Grant. Jesper Olsen passed Blair Scott to secure another heat advantage for Newcastle.
(4-2) (39-26)
Heat 12: Rob Grant, André Compton, Ben Shields, Derek Sneddon [69.4]
Both teams switched reserves with Grant replacing Birkinshaw and Sneddon came in for Schlein. Grant won to maintain his paid maximum ahead of Compton in deteriorating conditions.
(5-1) (44-27)
At this point the match was called off after a short interval. The abandonment probably came at the wrong time for Monarchs. Peter Carr's tactical substitution had been saved for heat 14 to cover Jan Andersen's ride. With Carr and Walsh both out in heat 13 and likely to be out in heat 15 there was a possibility that the Newcastle lead might have been trimmed.
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Newcastle Diamonds |
|
|
|
|
||||
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Bjarne Pedersen |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
7 |
||
|
Richard Juul |
1* |
1* |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
4+2 |
|
André Compton |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2* |
|
|
|
10+1 |
|
Kevin Little |
2* |
2* |
1* |
|
|
5+3 |
||
|
Jesper Olsen |
1* |
3 |
1 |
|
|
|
5+1 |
|
|
Rob Grant |
3 |
2* |
3 |
3 |
|
11+1 |
||
|
James Birkinshaw |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edinburgh Monarchs |
|
|
|
|
||||
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David Walsh |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
9 |
|
|
Blair Scott |
0 |
0 |
2* |
2 |
0 |
|
|
4+1 |
|
Ben Shields |
X |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Jan Andersen |
E |
X |
|
|
|
0 |
||
|
Peter Carr |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
9 |
||
|
Rory Schlein |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
2 |
||
|
Derek Sneddon |
1* |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
1+1 |
|
David Walsh did a fair job guesting for Monarchs with nine points from four rides. He missed out on a couple of rides that may well have yielded points assuming he made a start or two.
Peter Carr was absolutely unstoppable winning all three rides from the start or the first bend. He was likely to complete a six-ride maximum but was denied three rides.
Blair Scott had one of his better Brough Park meetings with two second places both at the expense of Richard Juul. This remains a track that Blair has still not really come to terms with. Jan Andersen had a disastrous meeting with an engine failure and a nasty fall that ended with a ride in the ambulance. Ben Shields struggled once more but picked up a couple of points, both at the expense of a teammate. Rory Schlein also collected two points, his first in Monarchs' colours.
Rob Grant picked up a four-ride paid maximum by the cunning ploy of avoiding Peter Carr in any of his heats. This is a very impressive for a 16 year-old. Only Carr, Walsh, and to some extent Blair Scott troubled the Newcastle top six with Compton and Little an impressive middle pairing.
Man of the match: Peter Carr
John Lowe