Speedway: Monarchs count cost of Fisher's final-heat fall

With four non finishers over the course of the meeting, Edinburgh Scotwaste Monarchs were fortunate not to pay a heavy price against Rye House Rockets at Armadale.

It still cost them to a degree, for, while they defeated the Rockets 49-43, Monarchs only collected two league points instead of three.

The winning margin bonus point slipped thorugh their fingers thanks to a needless fall by Ryan Fisher in the last race.

A 5-1 by skipper Matthew Wethers and guest Josef Franc put Monarchs 48-38 in front before the heat 15 finale and all three match points looked reasonably assured.

Fisher and Wethers opposed Rockets' classy duo Linus Sundstrom and Jordan Frampton but, when Fisher flopped out of the start in third place, the Californian's natural inclination to blast round the outside manifested itself and, as has happened so often this season, he tumbled off on the first bend, handing the advantage to his opponents who gratefully sped over the horizon for a deserved 5-1 which left a bitter taste in the mouths of the home supporters.

Fisher was not the only sufferer from 'tumbleitis' as teammate Andrew Tully came to grief twice on the first and second corners and his seemingly unerring habit of coming down on this particular part of the circuit suggests he requires sat-nav to steer himself through safely in future.

Tully said: "My first bike wasn't running so well so I switched to another but I caught a rut in my fourth ride when I came off for the second time, then I rode like an idiot in heat 13 when I finished last.

"A bit of an up and down night."

Kevin Wolbert then lost a chain at the start of heat eight and this cumulative loss of points could have played straight into the hands of a Rye House side who have a liking for Armadale and are nearly always a threat.

Wolbert cut a glum figure on the victory truck and said afterwards: "I had trouble with both my bikes. I was not very happy."

Monarchs boss John Campbell said: "People ask why do we do so well away from home – it's because we finish races!

"At Armadale we just seem to throw away points all the time and our riders seem to think that because we are unbeatable at home, it doesn't matter. But I knew Rye House would give us a run. Their track is similar to ours so it's perhaps just as well that Rockets skipper Chris Neath was caught in a traffic jam and missed his first ride.

"To drop a point wasn't catastrophic because I'm confident about what we'll do for the rest of the season."

Monarchs had to use rider replacement for Tobias Busch, who didn't have a bike for the meeting after wrecking his only machine at King's Lynn in midweek.

The German is now deemed to be withholding his services and has been banned for 28 days.

Campbell added: "I told Tobias, who I feel genuinely sorry for,that we need to sign someone to replace him because we have so many vital matches coming up and we cannot get by with rider replacement.

"He has the ability but not the machinery but, if he gets himself organised over the next month, he could still race for us at some point this season."

This development has opened the door for William Lawson to rejoin Monarchs.

The Auchterarder rider, who quit Elite League Belle Vue Aces,would slot in at reserve to partner Arlo Bugeja, who made his debut last night.

Bugeja scored one point and said afterwards: "It's great to be a Monarchs rider, but I wish I had done better."

Sundstrom and Frampton, who pulled off a six-point tactical race win in heat eight, which gave Monarchs a jolt at the time, always kept the Rockets in touch, and the latter was fully worthy of his top scorer status after racking up 15 points from his five outings.

Neath who picked up five, which included a win in his last ride, said: "We have been struggling in recent weeks.

"Coming to Armadale is always tough, especially with Monarchs flying high at the top of the league, but I'm happy with how we rode. It was a good performance, just a pity I missed a few heats because of traffic."

Monarchs: Franc 12, Fisher 12, Wethers 11, Wolbert 7, Tully 6, Bugeja 1.

Rye House: Frampton 15, Sundstrom 11, Neath 5, Ekberg 5, Hughes 3, Branney 3, Starke 1.

"I rode like an idiot in heat 13 when I finished last. A bit of an up and down night"

Andrew Tully