Captain Sam wins the Farewell event

NEWS Sunday 16th October 2022, 2:14am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Home captain Sam Masters was a very deserving winner of the 2022 Ratho Coaches Scottish Open, the meeting billed as the Farewell to Armadale. Sam would have won all his heats but for a lost chain while leading his second ride, which made things a little harder than they should have been.

Clutching the Trophy for the second time (he won previously in 2014), Sam said "It's great to win this here, because without this club I don't think my career would be where it is today. I hope they will find a way to continue."

The track had been affected by much rain in the days leading up to the meeting, though mercifully the day itself was better than the forecast suggested. However the rain did arrive in time for the semi-final, and the two stagings of the final itself were in very wet conditions. The holder of the trophy Richie Worrall complained that it wasn't reasonable to decide the winner in such bad conditions (and he had a point) but most people felt it more satisfactory to race it to a conclusion.

In any case Masters would have had an unbeaten evening but for that heat 8 chain loss, so there can't be any doubt that he deserved the title. Second place went to World no. 6 Dan Bewley, who delighted everyone with his willingness to compete when he isn't riding regularly in the UK this year, and third was Richie Worrall.

The other finalist was Josh Pickering who slid off in the mud in the first running of the final. Josh had made it through by winning the semi-final against a hard pressing Chris Harris, Justin Sedgmen and Richard Lawson.

These seven were fairly well clear of the rest of the field. Craig Cook would surely have been a contender but for the SCB ban following his failure to arrive at Plymouth for a match (Cook nevertheless attended the meeting), and a heat 8 crash deprived the event of Kye Thomson (head knock) and Lasse Fredriksen (hand injury) after a multiple first bend pileup which also involved Masters and Max Clegg.

This made it a busy night for reserves Ace Pijper and Gregor Millar.

There were some good heats during the evening, plus a number of processions. Often the better heats were contested by the lower scoring riders. Kye Thomson had an exciting third-to-first burst in his opening ride, and Aaron Summers had a fine win from the back in heat 11.

Dan Bewley was not dominant on his return to Armadale (he was a Monarch, and a complete novice in 2016!) but he was always worth watching, never more so than in his race with Sam Masters in heat 12. Some of Dan's passing attempts on the wide line were breathtaking but Sam held on.

Richie Worrall won his first four heats with some typically powerful first turn work, but he was beaten by Masters and Sedgmen in heat 20. Sedgy clearly showed throughout the evening how much improved his form is this year.

Many former Monarchs attended the event and to be honest, the on-screen interviews with these guys were often just as interesting as the racing itself.

So everyone left at the end of a long night feeling satisfied with the event – but wondering if it really will be the final time we see Speedway at Armadale Stadium.