Injury hit Birmingham Monarchs Cycle Speedway team crashed out of the British Team Championships at Wolverhampton last Sunday in a rain effected local derby.

Birmingham went down fighting 107-73 to the star studded Wednesfield side in a quarter final tie. The Monarchs, similar to their motor speedway counterparts, the Birmingham Brummies, were hit by a pre-match injury crisis which saw them without key riders Dean Sambrook, Andy James and Carl Winwood.

The Monarchs called in promising youngster Aarron Deery, together with veterans Bob Prince and Phil Widdas to plug the gaps in a much weakened combination. They were already without new Polish ace Dominik Rycharski, who was eligible.

The persistent heavy rain in the Wolverhampton area relented as the match commenced but the Monarchs were soon saturated by a Wednesfield onslaught and only the ace gating Marcus Wadhams, in taking heats 2 and 8, repelled both his opponents and the heavy conditions.

The inclement weather did return, causing a brief delay, and it was the homesters who were more at ease with the conditions, jumping into a 51-39 interval lead as the Monarchs struggled to find support for the immaculate Wadhams.

Any hopes of a Birmingham revival were soon dashed early in the second period. They conceded three successive maximum heat reverses to the on-song Wolverhampton outfit as any hopes of continuing this seasons cup run ended.

Chris Timms, after a hesitant start, showed his mettle by winning heat 13 and Wadhams displayed his class by zipping to another race win in heat 17 as the Wednesfield men emerged comfortable winners.

Top national stars Wadhams and Timms were offered some support by Deery and Prince, whose 7 point returns showed little reward for their efforts.

The Monarchs, with the return of their injured riders, together with superstar Rycharski, can now concentrate all their efforts on their challenge for the Midland League. They are currently riding high in the league table and look set to challenge hard for the title in the second part of the season.

Birmingham point scorers:
1 Chris Timms          14
2 Aarron Deery           7
3 Marcus Wadhams   18
4 Nathan Groves         6
5 Mark Winwood      10
6 Paul Timms              7
7 Phil Widdas              3
8 Bob Prince                7