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Last Updated: Nov 28th, 2010 - 10:22:29 |
The Edinburgh Monarchs were crowned Premier League Champions after gaining all four points on offer as they defeated the Stoke Easy Rider Potters 51-41 at Loomer Road last night.
The Potters were up against it right from the start as Ryan Fisher and Matthew Wethers took a maximum 5-1 in the opening heat over Taylor Poole and Frank Facher.
Stoke were fortunate to level the scores in the next race after William Lawson fell on the third turn of the first lap allowing Lubos Tomicek and home skipper Ricky Wells to take maximum points over Ashley Morris.
The Monarchs were back in front in heat three though as Kalle Katajisto and Kevin Wolbert teamed up for a 5-1 in the race of the night as Lee Smart terrorised the Edinburgh pairing passing Wolbert at the beginning of the final lap as he then hunted Katajisto down as Smart attempted to pass Katajisto Wolbert dived up the inside to take second place back from Smart on the line in a blanket finish as the Monarchs lead 11-7.
The Potters fell further behind in heat six at the second time of asking after Taylor Poole was pushed wide by Andrew Tully forcing the youngster into the air fence, after medical attention Poole took his place in the rerun which Tully took victory in after passing Facher on the third lap with Morris keeping Poole at bay. The Monarchs piled on the pressure as they got closer to clinching the title as the impressive Katajisto and Wolbert partnership again took maximum points over Wells and Jeremia Thelaus to open up a ten point lead for Edinburgh as the Potters trail 26-16 after seven heats.
Easy Rider Potters team manager Malcolm Vasey gave reserve Lubos Tomicek a tactical ride in heat eight which took three attempts to complete. First of all Taylor Poole came to grief on the first turn and was excluded and then Matthew Wethers fell on the second lap while leading and he was also excluded. Tomicek who was suffering with a back problem during the meeting made no mistake in the second rerun as he headed home William Lawson for a Potters 6-2 heat advantage. The Potters mid meeting rally continued in heat nine as Ben Wilson took victory for the Potters with Andrew Tully just holding off a late challenge from Smart who had managed to overhaul Morris for a Stoke 4-2 as the Potters trail by just four points as Edinburgh lead 26-30 after nine races.
Edinburgh stem the tied though as Wolbert and Katajisto gain their third maximum heat win of the night over Poole and Facher to extend the Monarchs lead to eight points.
The Monarchs sealed the Premier League title in heat thirteen as Ryan Fisher and Andrew Tully gained a 4-2 over Frank Facher and Tomicek to push them onto forty five points on the night as the celebrations began for the Scottish outfit.
Wells and Smart gain a consolation 5-1 in heat fourteen over the previously unbeaten Katajisto and Lawson before the Monarchs finished the meeting off in style as Fisher and Kevin Wolbert both completed paid maximums as they took maximum points over Smart and Ben Wilson to take a 51-41 victory over the Potters.
Easy Rider Potters team boss Malcolm Vasey congratulated the Monarchs on their title victory as he said “Edinburgh are a quality side and showed why they are league champions and the best in the league this year. I felt we did well and kept the hunt during the meeting and made a match of it tonight but with riders like Ryan Fisher, Kevin Wolbert and Kalle Katajisto all in form they had the edge on us and deserved the victory. If it had been any other team against us tonight I really do feel we would have won. Many supporters may have wondered why I may not have used Lubos as much as I might but we had kept quiet about the fact Lubos was suffering from a bad back and rode through the pain barrier tonight and we used him sparingly. Taylor had the stuffing knocked out of him after his falls and Frank also ended up on his second bike and it was not set up for around here. I do still feel we can still qualify for the Young Shield but we now have to take points in our remaining home fixtures.”
Stoke 41: Lubos Tomicek 13+1, Ricky Wells 8+1, Lee Smart 7+1, Ben Wilson 6+1, Frank Facher 4, Taylor Poole 2, Jeremia Thelaus 1+1
Edinburgh 51: Ryan Fisher 13+2, Kevin Wolbert 13+2, Kalle Katajisto 8+1, Andrew Tully 7+1, William Lawson 5, Matthew Wethers 3, Ashley Morris 2
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