Three points needed

NEWS Wednesday 25th May 2022, 7:00pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

After a dramatic week which saw good performances home and away against Redcar plus the sad news that the sport will cease at Armadale at the end of the season, life doesn't get any easier for the What the Fork Monarchs who must face Birmingham Brummies without key reserve James Sarjeant.

Circumstances dictate that he is not easy to replace and the man standing in will be Greg Blair, heat leader for the Berwick Bullets National League team.

Birmingham themselves have had an up-and-down year but this included an excellent win at Oxford when Justin Sedgmen made his debut with 14 points. "Sedgy" was one of the heroes in 2014-5 when Monarchs won their last two league Championships, and although he has not had a great time in the interim it is obvious from his early results that he has realised only his best form will do.

Brummies have other ex-Monarchs in Claus Vissing at no. 1, and their captain Ashley Morris, and a strong guest in Glasgow's Tom Brennan, one of the UK's brightest prospects, replacing the injured Josh Auty. They also track an interesting new Australian James Pearson at reserve, and he has been impressing. He is well known to Jacob Hook from their encounters back home.

Team manager Alex Harkess says "Last week I was delighted for our five fit riders against Redcar, they all chipped in with points and that's something I don't think we've seen this season. By the end of the night I was delighted. We need more of the same this week against Birmingham. once again there are some familiar faces. Sedgy's back and doing well, and Claus Vissing and Ashley Morris we know well. They also have a very handy guest facility which makes them more of a force than they might otherwise be."

As with all Armadale matches this season, Friday's match will be Live Streamed. Details on www.edinburghmonarchs.co.uk

FRIDAY'S MATCH:

Friday 27th May: Edinburgh Monarchs v Birmingham Brummies (Championship), Armadale, 7:30pm

WTF MONARCHS: Sam Masters (capt.), Lasse Fredriksen, Kye Thomson, Paco Castagna, Josh Pickering, Jacob Hook, Greg Blair (guest).

CURTIS-SPORT BRUMMIES: Claus Vissing, Stefan Nielsen, Justin Sedgmen, Ashley Morris (capt.), Tom Brennan (guest), James Shanes, James Pearson

Saturday 28th May: British Youth Championship 2nd round at Armadale, 2:30pm – also Live streamed.

30 heats of action in competitions at 125cc, 250cc and 500cc level featuring the stars of the future and including some Monarchs Academy prospects.

Full Result Details