GOOD LUCK TO CRAIG AND CLAUS

NEWS Thursday 30th May 2013, 4:49pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

It’s the eve of the annual Premier League Pairs with a good number of Scotwaste Monarchs’ fans heading south for the weekend which also includes the British Grand Prix at Cardiff.

There can’t be much doubt that our pairing of Craig Cook and Claus Vissing are amongst the favourites for the event – though at the same time being favourites doesn’t mean much, as results over the years have shown!

Craig’s form this season has been superb, and he has dropped just 5 points in 40 rides in the League Cup and Premier League so far.

Claus welcomes back his Danish engine after experimenting last weekend, and rides on what was his home track last season.

Our opposition in the sectional qualifiers comes from Workington, Sheffield, Plymouth and Leicester. Comets are the holders and field Richard Lawson and Rene Bach, formidable performers though the Dane is having a disappointing time at the moment.

The Yorkshire Tigers will not have Stead, and field Richard Hall and Ricky Wells. Not amongst the favourites perhaps but Hall did eliminate us last year with a last-bend pass! Keep the outside line blocked against him.

Plymouth’s pair should be Proctor and Lemon if Ty is fit, otherwise who knows, because Ricky Kling is the next in line, and he’s been missing too recently.

The Leicester duo are Lasse Bjerre and Kevin Doolan, who actually ride as a pair for the Lions.

Any of these pairings could qualify, it just needs some good gating, though we’d have to say our pair are well capable of making the semis.

The other section consists of Somerset, Glasgow, Ipswich, Scunthorpe and Berwick. In the league you could only say that Somerset and Ipswich have been amongst the leading clubs so far, though that’s not the same as the Pairs of course.

However if pressed into a prediction, they would probably be the two who were favourites – Doyle and Grajczonek for the Rebels, Barker and Lanham for the Witches.

It all looks like a pretty interesting showcase of Premier League Speedway. We hope all travellers have a great weekend (including Craig on parade for the British GP) and our first Pairs win since 1986 would be a nice bonus.