lucifer sam Posted May 2, 2013 Report Share Posted May 2, 2013 (edited) BLACKBIRD FLIES IN FOR SCORPIONS DEFENDING PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions have signed 26-year-old Lewis Blackbird. He will replace Josh Bates at reserve, starting with the two Premier League meetings against the Edinburgh Monarchs during the bank holiday weekend. The Scorpions travel north of the border to Armadale tonight (Friday), before entertaining the Monarchs at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Bank Holiday Monday (3pm). There are 30 heats of action on Monday, with the Scunthorpe Saints entertaining the Sheffield Prowlers in a National League challenge match in the second half. Both Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey and team manager Dave Peet have praised Josh Bates’ efforts for the club. Godfrey says: “Josh has done a fantastic job while he's been with us and if the rest of the team had performed as we'd hoped, we would not be contemplating making changes. “Unfortunately, we are very weak and vulnerable at reserve and we had to shore that up. Ryan Douglas is on an assessed five-point average and can't be replaced, not that we would want to replace him anyway because we see a long-term future in Ryan. “The signing of Josh was always perceived to be a gamble, by both camps, from his side as well as ours, and it's not worked out due to the fact that while I'd love us to be able to carry one rider, we can't carry two. “We did talk about this before we signed him and although it will be a blow to him, I don't think it should be a shock. He will bounce back, I like the kid, I think he's great and it's just unfortunate for him at this time that in our current position, we have to make a change.” Peet says: “Ryan and Josh have been trying their best, but it was obvious we just needed a bit more strength at reserve. Against Workington in the Sky match, we scored paid 4 at reserve while the Comets scored paid 16. “That, in turn, places extra pressure on the top five. It’s very hard to win meetings, when the reserves are not scoring that many points between them. “Josh is a good lad and we wish him the very best. He’s only 17 and he’s got a big future in front of him in this sport. In some ways, he’s got an old head upon young shoulders. “It’s never a nice thing for a rider to be released, but as one door closes, another can open. I’m sure he’ll still get some opportunities in the Premier League this season – he has been on the pace and has taken the odd prize scalp.” Lewis Blackbird (the son of former Belle Vue rider Carl Blackbird) started this season riding for Leicester, but became available after the Lions moved for Australian Robert Branford. Blackbird scored 10 points for Leicester in the Lions’ 44-46 defeat at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Good Friday. Peet adds: “Lewis will give us that little bit extra at reserve. “Had he not been excluded from Heat 15 of the Good Friday match for exceeding the two-minute allowance, I think Leicester may have won that match, because he was flying.” Godfrey believes Blackbird’s prowess around the Eddie Wright Raceway will suit both rider and club. He says: “Signing Lewis brings to the table a guy who can win races at Scunthorpe and if he can win races at Scunthorpe, then hopefully that will transpose into winning races away because confidence breeds confidence. “If you've got a home track you can do well on, you should push on away. Speedway is all about confidence. “We've seen enough of Lewis to know that, at this time, he is right for Scunthorpe Speedway.” The Edinburgh Monarchs have been one of the most successful clubs in the Premier League in the last decade – winning the league title three times (2003, 2008 and 2010). They are usually highly competitive around the Eddie Wright Raceway, and a Scunthorpe vs Edinburgh meeting is always full of plenty of good racing. After home draws in the Premier League against Ipswich and Workington, the Scorpions will be looking to take all three points from Monday’s clash – and will also be looking for points from the away meeting tonight. Armadale was a happy hunting ground for the Scorpions in 2012. They won 54-39 in the regular league meeting, and then took what proved an invaluable point in a narrow 42-48 loss in a Play-Off group match. Monday’s adult admission price for the double-header is £16. It’s just £2 more than a single Premier League meeting at the Eddie Wright Raceway, for 15 extra heats of action. The circuit rightfully won the award last season for being the best racetrack in the Premier League, so a full and exciting day of racing is ahead. Premier/National League Double Header Admission Prices: Adult: £16.00 Student/OAP: £14.00 Child (10 - 16): £5.00 Child (0 - 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £37 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-16) Match Programme: £1.00 Teams for Bank Holiday Monday (English unless stated): Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Josh Auty, 2. Thomas Jørgensen (Denmark), 3. Michael Palm Toft (Denmark), 4. Ashley Birks, 5. David Howe, 6. Ryan Douglas (Australia), 7. Lewis Blackbird. Edinburgh Monarchs: 1. Craig Cook, 2. Derek Sneddon (Scotland), 3. Theo Pijper (The Netherlands), 4. Max Fricke (Australia), 5. Claus Vissing (Denmark), 6. Marcel Helfer (Germany), 7. Jozsef Tabaka (Hungary). Scunthorpe Saints: 1. Lee Dicken, 2. Matt Williamson, 3. Benji Compton, 4. Tommy Fenwick (Scotland), 5. Josh Bates, 6. Lee Geary, 7. Conor Dwyer. Sheffield Prowlers: 1. Tamas Sike, 2. Chris Widman, 3. Shane Waldron, 4. Nathan Greaves, 5. Steve Jones, 6. Lee Payne, 7. Jordan Tyrer. Edinburgh Monarchs at EWR Ave Ave Best Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Performance Craig Cook PL 9 39 62 1 6.36 6.46 16 from 6 rides (2011) Max Fricke DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR Marcel Helfer DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR Theo Pijper PL 4 18 22 3 4.89 5.56 10 + 2 from 5 rides (inc 4 pts T/R (2012)) Derek Sneddon PL 7 29 23 4 3.17 3.72 7 from 4 rides (2011) Jozsef Tabaka PL 2 10 15 3 6.00 7.20 12 + 1 from 7 rides (2012) Claus Vissing PL 3 9 13 0 5.78 5.78 7 from 4 rides (2012) Other Notes Craig Cook 2012 Premier League Riders Champion. 2009 National League Riders Champion. Member of Workington's Young Shield Winning Teams in 2009 and 2010. Member of Buxton's National League Championship, KO Cup and National Trophy Winning Teams in 2010. Named as a 'doubling-up' rider with Belle Vue for the 2013 Elite League season. Named as one of the two meeting reserves for this year's British Grand Prix at Cardiff in June. Max Fricke 2013 Australian Under-21 Champion. Riding in his debut Premier League season. Marcel Helfer German international who has ridden for his country at full and under-21 level in World Team Cup competitions. Riding in his first full Premier League season. Theo Pijper Member of Edinburgh's Premier League Championship Winning Team in 2003. Member of Glasgow's Premier League Championship Winning Team in 2011. Member of Swindon's Elite Shield Winning Team in 2009. Derek Sneddon Member of Armadale's Conference Trophy Winning Team in 2005. Member of Edinburgh's Premier League Championship, Premier Trophy and Play-Off Winning Teams in 2008. Member of Newcastle's Premier Trophy, KO Cup and Play-Off Winning Teams in 2010. Member of Newcastle's Premier Shield Winning Team in 2011. Jozsef Tabaka Hungarian International who is returning for his third spell as an Edinburgh rider. Claus Vissing Member of Somerset's League Cup Winning Team in 2012. Made his British League debut in 2007 at Premier League level with Stoke. Edinburgh Monarchs' 2013 Results 30 March 2013 CH A L Edinburgh 45 Berwick 47 05 April 2013 CH H W Edinburgh 59 Glasgow 31 12 April 2013 KOC H W Edinburgh 58 Leicester 31 13 April 2013 KOC A L Edinburgh 44 Leicester 46 (On agg:- W 102 - 77) 20 April 2013 LC A W Edinburgh 48 Berwick 42 26 April 2013 LC H W Edinburgh 55 Berwick 37 Edinburgh Monarchs' Results at EWR 26 May 2008 PL W Scunthorpe 39 Edinburgh 53 25 May 2009 PL L Scunthorpe 49 Edinburgh 44 11 July 2009 PT SF W Scunthorpe 44 Edinburgh 46 31 May 2010 PL W Scunthorpe 41 Edinburgh 48 02 May 2011 PL L Scunthorpe 46 Edinburgh 44 29 August 2011 PL(Ph 2) L Scunthorpe 50 Edinburgh 41 07 May 2012 PL L Scunthorpe 55 Edinburgh 37 30 September 2012 PLPO SF L Scunthorpe 59 Edinburgh 34 (stats courtesy of John Eyre) Edited May 2, 2013 by lucifer sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdodger Posted May 3, 2013 Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 weather forcast looking good for bank holiday,30 heats of speedway for£16(or in my case£14)got to be good!can't wait to see scorpion's first league home win. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC Rides Again Posted May 5, 2013 Report Share Posted May 5, 2013 A meeting we can all look forward to without checking the weather for change. Are many Monarchs fans making the journey south? I will be bringing junior with me for only her second ever meeting, so don't let us down you scorpions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCOTLAND1314 Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Good luck to both teams today. It could well be a cracker of a meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekimba Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 sitting here at work wondering what is going on at Scunthorpe 5 falls in the first 6 races and now Vissing withdrawn with a shoulder injury, can it get any worse ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCB Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 sitting here at work wondering what is going on at Scunthorpe 5 falls in the first 6 races and now Vissing withdrawn with a shoulder injury, can it get any worse ? TBF, We're talking Vissing here who could crash on a perfect track, thats 2 and the heat 2 fall was a crash. As for the others, it's speedway, rider can and do fall. 17 points down, a heat leader pulled out injured and yet Edinburgh still manage to sneak a point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Blobby Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Great point by the boys in the blue & gold looked down and out and fought back brilliantly!!! Cookie take a bow 18 point max flying at the minute. Hope Vissing's injury isn't to bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young51 Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Really proud of the boys in blue & gold To get a point today after being so far behind,and losing Claus so early is really good going Hopefully Claus is ok and was withdrawn from the meeting as a precaution.I'm not usually one to call for changes,but Marcel Helfer has really struggled this season when i thought he would kick on after a few promising races last year.You can't second guess what a rider's thoughts are but sometimes after a good heat 2 he doesn't look interested tbh..!Something for the promotion to think about surely?On a positive note that was another great show by Wee Jo Tabaka,and Cookie must be one of the best riders in the Premier League presently..superb stuff!It must be said that i'd fancy him to accumulate more points than Bomber in Cardiff in a few weeks time if he was given the chance..Just a wee thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulco Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Really proud of the boys in blue & gold To get a point today after being so far behind,and losing Claus so early is really good going Hopefully Claus is ok and was withdrawn from the meeting as a precaution.I'm not usually one to call for changes,but Marcel Helfer has really struggled this season when i thought he would kick on after a few promising races last year.You can't second guess what a rider's thoughts are but sometimes after a good heat 2 he doesn't look interested tbh..!Something for the promotion to think about surely?On a positive note that was another great show by Wee Jo Tabaka,and Cookie must be one of the best riders in the Premier League presently..superb stuff!It must be said that i'd fancy him to accumulate more points than Bomber in Cardiff in a few weeks time if he was given the chance..Just a wee thought... Pretty sure he's the best rider in the PL at present . Be interesting to hear a Scuuny supporter's take on things today . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCOTLAND1314 Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Sounds like an absolutely terrific comeback from the Blue & Gold today. Cookie sounded like he was a class apart. Theo solid. Wee Joe tremendous score after a poor start. Excellent to see wee Max get a few good points as well including a paid win in heat 14 over a flying Birks to effectively get The Monarchs a point!! Hopefully Claus is ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifaxtiger Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 (edited) Sounds like an absolutely terrific comeback from the Blue & Gold today. Cookie sounded like he was a class apart. Theo solid. Wee Joe tremendous score after a poor start. Excellent to see wee Max get a few good points as well including a paid win in heat 14 over a flying Birks to effectively get The Monarchs a point!! Hopefully Claus is ok. Cook was very impressive indeed - I am not sure what he was riding but he was a lot faster than everyone else, winning a couple of heats by almost half a lap. Even when beaten from the gate by Howe he was in front after only a lap or so. Nasty crash involving Vissing and Auty. As they came out of the 4th bend Vissing picked up grip and fell and Auty smashed into him. I was amazed to see Auty get up and walk away immediately, and almost as amazed to see Vissing get up after a few minutes and walk back to the pits. It was announced that he had a shoulder injury. Very hot ( ) today and the track suffered for it, particularly on the 3rd bend where there was a big blue groove by the end. Gating was all important in the second half of the meeting and Monarchs made a few quick starts when it mattered. Tabaka was also impressive and Fricke promising, Blackbird putting some points in at reserve for Scunny where they have been absent in the past. Edited May 6, 2013 by Halifaxtiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montie Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Cook really did to the business today,fast from the traps and could make passes with ease when needed,went past Howe on the black and white as if he wasn't there,be very surprised if he isn't top of the PL averages come end of season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Scunny were well on top, built up a good lead, but as the meeting wore on (and as the track dried and wore out), the Monarchs started gating and adapted to the condtions better. Edinburgh derserved their point. Not the best of meetings... Fantastic show from Craig Cook though, was a class apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclone Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Could the home fans give their assessment of Marcel Helfer's performance today. Reason I ask, is that so far his home form has been abysmal, but some folk reckon he will do better on away tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC Rides Again Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Could the home fans give their assessment of Marcel Helfer's performance today. Reason I ask, is that so far his home form has been abysmal, but some folk reckon he will do better on away tracks. Helfer was as poor as Josh Bates has been for Scunny, and we made the change at reserve this week - say no more. As for the rest of the meeting, although it's great to watch speedway in the sun slapping on the lotion the track really suffered and the racing was not of the highest quality. Edinburgh hung in after a terrible start and credit to them, but Scunthorpe will be smarting that they did not secure all three league points. Craig Cook untouchable today. At least Scunthorpe won't have to ride against him EVERY week ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylorj Posted May 6, 2013 Report Share Posted May 6, 2013 Really proud of the boys in blue & gold To get a point today after being so far behind,and losing Claus so early is really good going Hopefully Claus is ok and was withdrawn from the meeting as a precaution.I'm not usually one to call for changes,but Marcel Helfer has really struggled this season when i thought he would kick on after a few promising races last year.You can't second guess what a rider's thoughts are but sometimes after a good heat 2 he doesn't look interested tbh..!Something for the promotion to think about surely?On a positive note that was another great show by Wee Jo Tabaka,and Cookie must be one of the best riders in the Premier League presently..superb stuff!It must be said that i'd fancy him to accumulate more points than Bomber in Cardiff in a few weeks time if he was given the chance..Just a wee thought... Jo Tabaka did a fantastic for us on Saturday , he rode his socks off a great little rider 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC Rides Again Posted May 7, 2013 Report Share Posted May 7, 2013 I must mention the work done at the starting area to even up the gates, well done Rob and the track staff - much better than in recent weeks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proud panther Posted May 7, 2013 Report Share Posted May 7, 2013 Cook was awesome. Improves every season. Wish Panthers had made more effort to sign him when he rode for us a couple of years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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