SlicktrackSandy

Am guessing that probably makes sense. If Thursdays don't suit then flying in and out of UK twice a week ( Edinburgh Fridays ) would likely be a non-starter ?

It would probably mean going back to R/R again before too long. Great rider but very unlucky with injuries.

Pretty much inevitable as they will have a fair bit of leeway with points at the end of the month.

It is indeed a tough ask for an inexperienced lad at this level, but he has been given the opportunity as he has come on a fair bit since last year. His mission should he choose to accept it ( and he has ) is to take 2 points from his 3 rides against the more experienced Jacob Hook or Vinnie Foord and it's job done ! Presumably Monarchs do appear to need a 2.00 in the #7 slot as there may be a certain number of points available when the new averages are out at the end of May. Has been stated elsewhere that there could be up to almost 10.00 including Oscar's departing 6.00. If that is the case maybe a further re-jig of the team strength is up for consideration. Or maybe not ?!!

Given that there is unlikely to be any home based rider likely to be available to replace the departed 6.00, maybe we should be looking at another Scandanavian rider ( if not already fully committed ). There may be others of course but examples such as Esben Hjerrild, Casper Henriksson and Rasmus Karlsson would probably fit into the 6.00 category, leaving some points over for a #7 i.e. when the new averages are released ?

Believe that's a fair assessment i.e. with those 3 signings we would have every expectation of reasonable success this year, particularly as we expected Kye & Paco to up their game due their experience of the track. Due to how things are working out just now and with Justin clearly below par with his wrist injury we are collectively not performing as we had hoped. Losing Max our 2 pointer was completely unexpected ( as was with Oscar) so changes are inevitable anyway. Just a question of far the management feel they have to go to get back on track to where we need to be ( and who is likely to be available at this stage of the season ).

It is said that one man doesn't make a team but Victor is certainly challenging that i.e. 10,9,10,19,16,19 !

Am wondering if "portable" floodlights are still available for hire ? Seem to recall that Armadale used to have them when they first started in late 90s. Clearly a hire cost would be involved but if it resulted in more folks attending on Saturday evenings it may well be justified. Just a thought.

100% Victor was vey much our saviour on Friday night and we just managed to scrape through with a win. Hopefully just a one off for Oskar but we have been used to Kye and Paco being consistently inconsistent for some time and 10 points between them was only half of what Victor contributed on his own. Kemp and Kildemand were outstanding for Berwick who may well have had more points had Cook completed 4 rides. The Hagon/Kemp mishap also provided an unexpected gift of 2 points to Monarchs account and helped to tip the balance. A bit good fortune for a change which is always welcome.

Maybe you should rejoice in the fact ? This could be your lucky night ! You never can tell. 😊

No good the team manager criticising riders for being inconsistent when a couple of his own tactical decisions were at variance with what was obvious to most watching.

Yes Matt Marson would make sense too but sounds as if management may want to act sooner.

Would not be averse to giving him a chance at least. A young enthusiastic local Scottish lad is surely worthy of a bit encouragement. Monarchs are likely to be quite strong at #6 all season anyway so Stene's job would "only" be to score 2 points against other reserves and it's job done. Possibly there may be other NL alternatives from further south who may be available and may be willing to travel but question is would anyone else be likely to contribute more than 2 -3 points per match. Just a thought.

The poor racing surface spoiled it as a spectacle really. Berwick appear to have really good track equipment but the preparation was sub standard last night for such an important first meeting. Agree that Bastian Borke looked far from fit and understandably tentative on the bike. Maybe needs more recovery time as everyone knows how good he can be when on song.

Will someone check they haven't sent the carboard copy !

"Flogging a dead horse" springs to mind but you never can tell - miracles can happen ( allegedly ) just not very often !

Or "Call the Polis and wait another week for them (him) to arrive." ☺️

Have nothing against Polish riders, in fact most are great to watch, however am not so sure about celebrating having one when permission for availability from Polska can change almost overnight. Not the riders fault at all but it does leave a sour taste in the mouth especially as it could well happen again in the future. # bum deal for the paying public.

Does that mean he will be out next Friday also for the second leg or is this just a one off ? Kye, Victor, Jonatan & Max eligible to take his rides ? Not the start to the season we would have wished for so a bit extra pressure on the others . NB OK I see it is a one off thats a relief.

Looks to be a decent Friday for a change and hoping for a close and entertaining contest. Edinburgh have a couple of riders new to UK this year so it remains to be seen if they can hit the ground running. Paco did well last year and would expect Kye Thomson to bounce back better after last seasons injuries. Victor looks to be on a bargain average so he should certainly improve on that and captain Sedgy looks to be on decent early form. Has to be said that Tigers have put together an overall strong looking side with an impressive quartet of Harris, Howarth, Flint and Thompson. If Boughen does what many people believe he is capable of then Tigers could be in for a good season. Very impressed with how Dan Thompson has come on recently in both leagues and I bet that some teams are envious as he will be the one to watch in 2025 I reckon. On paper at least it should be a close encounter especially if Monarchs 2 new boys can master a completely new track to them. That could well be key to the final outcome. .

The "Man of Mystery" syndrome strikes again ! At least there's still a decent amount of time to source a reliable replacement. Better to happen now than later I guess.

Would be a real coup if we are permitted to have Victor at reserve. More likely to be Jonatan Rahn I would have thought. Since he is so new to UK tracks I would have Oskar paired with Sedgy. Would also agree that the Kye/Paco pairing did not consistently work well, so my 7 would be : Sedgmen Polis Thomsen Pavlovaara Castagna Rahn James

That may well be the case and there is no denying that such a signing does have an element of chance to it especially on a 6.00. Possibly more so than the signing of a new to UK Scandic 5.00 for instance. However, best of luck to him and the rest of this newly refreshed team for 2025. Certainly a lot of new interest for the fans to follow.

Monarchs have had two Poles in the past that I recall Darek Fliegert 1992 ( Powderhall ) and Michal Rajkowski in 2009 ( Armadale ). Fliegert had his moments as I recall but was a bit up and down overall. Rajkowski was an all action rider who had a run of good scores but don't think he finished the season due to injury, but not certain of that. UK tracks were a bit of a shock to both I think.