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Edinburgh Monarchs v Reading Racers
Premier League, 10 September 2005
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 46
1Ross Brady1*1*20. ..42
2Daniel Nermark2221*. ..71
3Theo Pijper2*011*. ..42
4William Lawson3203. ..80
5Rusty Harrison22*2*22 ..102
6Matthew Wethers3332Fx 0.110
7Robert Ksiezak2*00.. ..21
Reading 43
2Zdenek SimotaFx3311 ..80
3Andrew Appleton11133 1.100
4Mathieu TresarrieuFxFx0Fx. ..00
5(g)Travis McGowan33333 3.180
6Chris Johnson002*0. ..21
7Richard Wolff11102 ..50

* = BP. ^ = TR . ! = TS (15m Handicap). # = TR (Points Not Doubled). & = TS (Points Not Doubled, 15m Handicap).

Edinburgh were at full strength for this match while Reading used R/R at number 1 and used Travis McGowan at number 5 as a guest in place of Matej Zagar who was riding in the Grand Prix at Lonigo. Edinburgh won by a single point at Reading so were favourites for all three points.

Reading must be wondering how they lost this match. They produced 10 race winners to Edinburgh’s five and did nearly all of the passing on a very wet and slippery track. Edinburgh were simply dreadful and relied on reserve, Matthew Wethers, with three race wins and William Lawson with two to challenge the dominance of Reading for whom Travis McGowan went through the card for an impeccable six ride maximum and came within 0.4 of a second of the track record.

Zdenek Simota came to grief on the first bend of heat 1 but Travis McGowan easily won the rerun for a shared heat. Then Edinburgh took two 5-1 heat wins which suggested an easy win. Matthew Wethers and Robert Ksiezak had a convincing maximum in heat 2 and William Lawson and Theo Pijper did likewise in heat 3. In heat 4 Reading got two points back with a 2-4 from McGowan who beat Rusty Harrison and Richard Wolff who came from the back to beat Robert Ksiezak. The score after the opening four heats was 15-9.

Reading continued the fight back with another 2-4 in heat 5 when Zdenek Simota had an easy win from William Lawson with Andrew Appleton passing Theo Pijper for third place. Travis McGowan won heat 6 for a shared heat before Reading made a real pig’s breakfast of Heat 7. In the first running of the heat Andrew Appleton fell on the first corner and, perhaps hoping for an all-four back from the referee, took ages to get to his feet before remounting his bike. Meanwhile Mathieu Tressarieu fell on the fourth bend causing the race to be stopped. The referee allowed Andrew Appleton back in the rerun adjudging him to have been under power when the race was stopped but Matthew Wethers and Rusty Harrison took an easy 5-1 in the rerun to open up an eight point lead. Reading pulled two points back in heat 8 when Zdenek stylishly passed a struggling Daniel Nermark for the win with Richard Wolff again passing Robert Ksiezak for third place. This took the score after eight races to 27-21.

Heat 9 was a real shocker for the Monarchs! Travis McGowan again shot to the front from the gate but he was followed by Chris Johnson, Reading’s reserve, who rode a smooth race to leave Theo Pijper and William Lawson trailing in his wake for a 1-5 which cut Edinburgh’s lead to only two points. In heat 10 Ross Brady led as Andrew Appleton worked his way into second place. Appleton took the wide outside line to pass Brady and win comfortably for a shared race but Edinburgh took a 5-1 in heat 11 when Matthew Wethers and Rusty Harrison both got fliers from the tapes. Zdenek Simota looked a bit huffy about the start and trailed home third as the Monarchs went six points ahead. In heat 12 it was Andrew Appleton’s turn to get a flier from the tapes ruining Matthew Wethers’ maximum hopes. The race was shared and the score after twelve races was 39-33.

Rusty Harrison challenged Travis McGowan briefly in heat 13 but McGowan was too quick for him. Meanwhile Simota took third place as Ross Brady was tailed off badly at the back and the 2-4 had the home side’s nerves jangling with only four points between the teams. Edinburgh clearly were looking to heat 14 to clinch the match and it looked that way when William Lawson and Matthew Wethers roared off for a 5-1. However, Wethers picked up some grip on the fourth bend, spun and fell leaving Lawson to contest the rerun on his own. Even a shared heat would give Reading a chance of a point in the final heat but they couldn’t even mange that in a three man rerun! Mathieu Tressarieu fell for the third time in his four races and was excluded leaving a two man rerun which William Lawson won easily. The 3-2 gave Edinburgh a five point lead with one race to go and Reading were to be denied anything for their efforts. In heat 15 Rusty Harrison passed Travis McGowan down the back straight but having done all the hard work he made a mess of the fourth bend and McGowan was through in a flash to complete a faultless maximum. Rusty Harrison took second place from Andrew Appleton as Reading finished with a 2-4 which was too little too late.

Match Report by Merlin