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Edinburgh Monarchs v Redcar Bears
Premier Trophy (Group), 21 April 2006
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 52
1Henrik Moller2X2*3R 1*.82
2Theo Pijper0332*3 2.131
3Matthew Wethers2*1*312 ..92
4William Lawson3222*2 ..111
6Sean Stoddart000.. ..00
7Derek Sneddon33113 ..110
Redcar 40
1Gary Havelock334^33 ..160
2Richard Juul1020. ..30
3Tomas Suchanek0102. ..30
4Kevin Little131#30 ..80
5Chris Kerr2011. ..40
6Jack Hargreaves2100. ..30
7Daniel Giffard1*1*01. ..32

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

Edinburgh were without Rusty Harrison who was suffering from a chest infection so the Monarchs used R/R in his stead. Redcar were at full strength.

This was the second match in a ‘four matches in four days’ spell for both teams. For Edinburgh it was a night when, missing top scorer Rusty Harrison, Henrik Moller produced a brilliant performance to warm the hearts of the Monarchs fans. Had he not suffered two engine failures whilst leading just before entering the last lap he would have registered a paid 16 point return. Redcar relied heavily on class act Gary Havelock and Armadale specialist Kevin Little but it was a very entertaining match with many passes and a lot of good speedway.

Redcar made a good start. Moller led Havelock into the first turn but Havelock turned hard on the second bend and slipped up the inside to pass Moller and go on to win. Behind this pair Richard Juul rode a good race to keep Theo Pijper at the back so the Bears started with a 2-4. Derek Sneddon won the reserves race for a shared heat but heat 3 was a cracker. William Lawson was soon away for a comfortable race win but behind him there was a titanic struggle between Matthew Wethers and Kevin Little. It ended with a big swoop round the outside by Little on the last two bends which just failed as Wethers pipped him narrowly on the line for second place. The 5-1 wiped out Redcar’s lead and the Monarchs were now two in front instead. Henrik Moller led from the start in heat 4 and it looked like Edinburgh were heading for a comfortable 5-1 when, on the last bend of the third lap, Moller’s fuel tank split and he lost power as he ran out of fuel. This caused him to drift across the bend leaving Derek Sneddon insufficient room to pass. Sneddon crashed into the fence and Chris Kerr following behind came down too. The race was awarded to Sneddon so it was shared 3-3 and the heat 4 score read 13-11.

Heat 5 was another excellent race. Gary Havelock just made it to the corner ahead of William Lawson but several times during the race Lawson got his front wheel ahead of Havelock. However Gary Havelock kept him pinned to the inside of the bends which gave him the greater grip coming off the corners as he went on to win. Matthew Wethers for a good view of the action following the pair of them home for another shared race. In heat 6 Theo Pijper led from the start as Henrik Moller got stuck at the back on the opening two bends. However he soon picked off Chris Kerr and Jack Hargreaves to join Pijper and they then sailed off for a 5-1 to stretch Edinburgh’s lead to 6 points but Redcar pulled two points back in heat 7. A blistering start from Kevin Little and a ride which proved that he had not forgotten the quickest way round Armadale was too good for William Lawson. Tomas Suchanek took third place ahead of Sean Stoddart for a Bears’ 2-4 to cut the gap to four points. Edinburgh restored their 6 point lead with a ‘tapes to flag’ win from Theo Pijper in heat 8 but behind him Richard Juul rode well to fend off the challenge of Derek Sneddon for a 4-2 which took the score after eight heats to 27-21.

Matthew Wethers and William Lawson scored a 5-1 against Chris Kerr in heat 9 to put the Monarchs 10 points ahead then, in the next race Henrik Moller and Theo Pijper did likewise against Kevin Little who was on a TR. However it was only a last gasp pass on the fourth bend which took Pijper past Little who had looked secure in second place for most of the race. So instead of a 4-4 the race resulted in a 5-1 to Edinburgh which virtually sealed the win and bonus point. It was TR time again in heat 11 and, as expected, Gary Havelock wore the black and white helmet cover. This time Havelock was beaten by a fast ‘tapes to flag’ win from Theo Pijper. Derek Sneddon passed Richard Juul for the third place point so the race resulted in a 4-4. Sneddon was out again in heat 12 and won comfortably. However a much better ride from Tomas Suchanek kept Matthew Wethers in third place for another home 4-2 which took the heat 12 score to 45-29.

In heat 13 Henrik Moller outgated Gary Havelock and looked like winning when on the last bend of the third lap he shed his primary chain allowing Havelock to sail past for the win. Matthew Wethers finished second as Redcar took a 2-4. They scored another 2-4 in heat 14 when Kevin Little gated for a fine win as William Lawson could not get near enough to challenge. In the last heat Henrik Moller was again fast away but a clever bend 2 cut back from Gary Havelock took him past for the race win with Pijper and Moller following him home for a shared heat.

Match Report by Merlin