German speedway ace Max Dilger frustrated as Open axed

Published on Saturday 1 August 2009 11:35

MAX DILGER stood on the centre green at Armadale last night and groaned: "The weather, it is so awful it just seems to rain all the time."

The Edinburgh Monarchs' new German signing was surveying the waterlogged track which caused the Homecoming Scottish Open to be called off just before the first race.

The event will probably have to be be re-staged in October.

Another Monarch, Andrew Tully said: "It was the correct decision. This was a big meeting and the public don't want to see riders slithering around in the mud."

For Dilger the washout was particularly frustrating as he is now still waiting to make his debut for the capital speedway outfit after he was unveiled as Thomas Jonasson's replacement last week.

Dilger should have taken his bow at Birmingham in midweek, but that match also fell victim to the weather.

The 20-year-old rider however, did manage a brief practice session at the Lothian Arena in the morning and said: "I managed to try out some engines because the ones I use in Germany are too strong.

"Although Armadale is a small track, I like it."

There is a lot riding on Dilger's slender shoulders. If he can score as heavily as Jonasson managed to away from home, then Monarchs still have an outside chance of stopping King's Lynn wresting away their championship crown.

There are not that many German riders who have made their mark in the British Premier League but Dilger is just grateful that Monarchs have offered him the opportunity to put his talents on display.

He said: "I was actually talking to King's Lynn about joining them a few months ago, but they changed their mind and signed a different rider.

"It was then that Monarchs promoter John Campbell phoned and a deal was agreed.

"This is a good chance for me because there are a lot of meetings in the UK and this gives me the opportunity to learn a lot more.

"I was quite surprised that Edinburgh were interested in me, but happy too."

Dilger has ridden in Poland for four years and it was his points scoring for his second division club which impressed Campbell.

"My scores have been very good," said Dilger, "I have been quite consistent and now it has paid off for me."

Although he captured the German under-21 crown in 2008, Dilger confessed: "I think the German title is not at the top of the tree.

"We had some good German riders but not enough and I don't really think it put me in the shop window. It was my Polish scores which were more important.

"This is my best year so far in Poland. I'm scoring points in every meeting."

Dilger is not going to become a star overnight, especially as many of the Premier League tracks will be new to him.

"I have been watching DVDs of Monarchs home and away meetings so far," added Dilger, "and I can see that some tracks are quite similar to what I ride in both Poland and Germany.

"Armadale is small but, after some training, I should be fine. I certainly want to score a lot of points for Edinburgh to try and help them win the league again.

"But I know the Premier League is a hard division and you have to fight for a lot of your points.

"But the more matches I can race, the more experience I should get and this can only benefit me and Edinburgh."

Monarchs teams have traditionally suffered from having riders who cannot get out of the gate quickly enough, thus making passing that much more difficult.

But Dilger laughed and said: "I am a good gater and win most of my races in Germany in Poland from the tapes so, hopefully, I can do the same for Monarchs.

"My goal is to score the points they need. Edinburgh are a good team and I'm glad to be with them, the rest of the side seem a good bunch."

Dilger now looks forward to making his long-awaited debut against Sheffield Tigers at Armadale on Friday.

He added: "I'm desperate to get out on the track and show what I can do. I just hope the rain has stopped by next week."