Edinburgh Monarchs 46: Workington Comets 44
Premier National Trophy
Lothian Arena, Armadale
Friday 6th April 2001
Edinburgh pulled off a win against Workington that looked very unlikely at one stage. On a soddened track the Workington riders dominated the early heats winning six of the first eight with only Peter Carr stemming the tide. The visitors had only a two point advantage at this stage but it seemed that Workington had a distinct edge thanks to superior gating. Rusty Harrison had already secured three heat wins and was able to come in for extra rides. In addition Carl Stonehewer was also on a maximum and had three rides still to come.
A real team effort from all the Monarchs riders turned this around with five heat wins in the last seven. Peter Carr scored as convincing a maximum as you are ever likely to see. Jan Andersen weighed in with two heat wins. Christian Henry also caught the eye with two great passes in heats 11 and 12.
The state of the track meant that most heats were won from the gate although there were a few passes in battles for third and fourth place.
Workington were at full strength while Edinburgh used Phil Morris as guest for the injured Robert Eriksson.
Gate position A was in used with Edinburgh off 1 and 3 for the first heat after Carl Stonehewer called wrong.
Heat 1: Carl Stonehewer, Phil Morris, Blair Scott, Barry Campbell [60.7]
Carl Stonehewer gated ahead of Blair Scott. Phil Morris cut inside Scott but couldn't get near Stonehewer. Barry Campbell closed in on his old sparring partner Blair Scott but couldn't find a way through.
(3-3) (3-3)
Heat 2: Rusty Harrison, Derek Sneddon, Christian Henry, James Mann [61.1]
Rusty Harrison made a rapid start from gate one. Derek Sneddon ad a go around the outside but had to settle for second. James Mann slued across the track from the start and was way behind despite recovering.
(3-3) (6-6)
Heat 3: Mick Powell, Jan Andersen, Ben Shields, Lee Smethills [61.3]
Mick Powell made it three out of three wind for the Comets after outgating Jan Andersen. Ben Shields missed the start but was impressive at reeling in Lee Smethills before producing a neat inside pass on the second bend.
(3-3) (9-9)
Heat 4: Peter Carr, Peter Karlsson, Derek Sneddon, James Mann [60.3]
Peter Carr broke the sequence of Workington race wins while Derek Sneddon took third to edge Monarchs into the lead.
(4-2) (13-11)
Heat 5: Carl Stonehewer, Jan Andersen, Barry Campbell, Ben Shields [61.7]
Workington hit back to level after Stonehewer beat Andersen from the start and Barry Campbell got the better of Ben Shields.
(2-4) (15-15)
Heat 6: Rusty Harrison, Phil Morris, Peter Karlsson, Blair Scott [61.5]
Peter Karlsson was first out of the gate but Phil Morris forced his way past on the second bend. Rusty Harrison went for a big one on the outside from gate 4 and had enough speed to sweep past Morris and Karlsson.
(2-4) (17-19)
Heat 7: Peter Carr, Mick Powell, Christian Henry, Lee Smethills [59.8]
Monarchs levelled after Peter Carr easily defeated Mick Powell and Christian Henry took third.
(4-2) (21-21)
Heat 8: Rusty Harrison, Blair Scott, Barry Campbell, Derek Sneddon [61.8]
Rusty Harrison replaced James Mann as a reserve change. Blair Scott went ahead off the second bend but could not shake off the flying Harrison. The Australian Under-21 Champion then produced a great outside pass of Scott on the back straight.
(2-4) (23-25)
Heat 9: Jan Andersen, Rusty Harrison, Peter Karlsson, Ben Shields [62.1]
Jan Andersen finally made a start and it looked as if he was going to be joined by Ben Shields but Harrison blocked him and Peter Karlsson slipped through on the inside.
(3-3) (26-28)
Heat 10: Mick Powell, Blair Scott, Phil Morris, Lee Smethills [61.3]
Mick Powell gated and held off Blair Scott and Phil Morris to preserve the Comet's lead.
(3-3) (29-31)
Heat 11: Peter Carr, Carl Stonehewer, Christian Henry, Barry Campbell [59.9]
This heat featured the long awaited clash between Carr and Stonehewer. Carr took Stonehewer wide on the second bend although Carl cut inside and appeared to edge ahead down the back straight only for Carr to find enough speed to hit the third bend in front. Christian Henry produced a good pass on Barry Campbell to level things.
(4-2) (33-33)
Heat 12: Mick Powell, Christian Henry, Rusty Harrison [61.8]
Edinburgh replaced Derek Sneddon with Christian Henry. This heat looked odds on for a Comets 5-1 with Powell joining Harrison. The two visitors duly gated only for Ben Shields to fall on the second bend. The heat was re-run with Shields excluded but this time Christian Henry came up with a nice pass of Harrison to split the visiting pairing.
(2-4) (35-37)
Heat 13: Peter Carr, Carl Stonehewer, Phil Morris [61.2]
Carr beat Stonehewer away as Morris clashed with Karlsson on the second bend causing the heat to be stopped. In the one controversy of the meeting Karlsson was excluded. Peter Carr beat Stonehewer once more with Morris picking up the crucial point to level things up once more.
(4-2) (39-39)
Heat 14: Jan Andersen, Rusty Harrison, Derek Sneddon, James Mann [62.4]
Derek Sneddon replaced Christian Henry as a reserve change. Rusty Harrison came in for Smethills. Jan Andersen took another win ahead of Harrison and Sneddon. James Mann fell at the second bend and remounted.
(4-2) (43-41)
Heat 15: Peter Carr, Mick Powell, Carl Stonehewer [62.7]
Jan Andersen was penalized for tape touching. He came back in on the 15-metre line costing gate position for Edinburgh. Carr won with ease to secure the narrow victory for Monarchs. Andersen had tried to come back but retired.
(3-3) (46-44)
|
Edinburgh Monarchs |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Phil Morris |
2 |
2 |
1* |
1 |
|
|
|
6+1 |
|
Blair Scott |
1* |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
5+1 |
|
|
Ben Shields |
1* |
0 |
0 |
X |
|
|
|
1+1 |
|
Jan Andersen |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
R |
|
10 |
|
|
Peter Carr |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
15 |
|
Christian Henry |
1* |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
5+1 |
||
|
Derek Sneddon |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
6+1 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Workington Comets |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Carl Stonehewer |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1* |
|
|
11+1 |
|
Barry Campbell |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
Mick Powell |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
13 |
|
|
Lee Smethills |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
|||
|
Peter Karlsson |
2 |
1 |
1* |
X |
|
|
4+1 |
|
|
Rusty Harrison |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
14 |
|
James Mann |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
0 |
||
Monarchs win was a team effort with six riders providing the backing to Peter Carr. The Monarchs Captain was the only home rider to win a heat in the first half of the meeting although Jan Andersen produced a couple of wins later on. The Monarchs middle and lower orders came up with sufficient minor points to keep Edinburgh in contention.
Robert Eriksson was missed badly. Phil Morris did his best but the track was a gaters' paradise and did him no favours. He did beat Peter Karlsson a couple of times including the heat 13 exclusion. Ben Shields finally completed his first heat at Armadale with a good pass of Lee Smethills in heat 3 but found the competition tough in his subsequent heats.
Neither Jan Andersen or Blair Scott produced their form of last week but both battled away for points as did Derek Sneddon. Christian Henry had another good meeting including a couple of notable passes.
Carl Stonehewer started well with two convincing wins but had no answer to Peter Carr. Mick Powell also won all his heats not involving Carr. Peter Karlsson had a disappointing night. It was Rusty Harrison who proved to be the surprise package with three straight wins before he was beaten by Jan Andersen twice and Christian Henry. Barry Campbell fought hard and earned two points from Ben Shields and Derek Sneddon. Neither James Mann nor Lee Smethills ever came to terms with the track.
Man of the match: Peter Carr
Most exciting rider: Christian Henry
John Lowe