Workington Comets 47 Edinburgh 43

Workington Comets got their season up and running with a hard-fought home victory in the Championship Shield.

It’s been a delayed start for the Comets, as Friday’s Shield clash at Edinburgh had been rained off along with two previous planned meetings with Glasgow.

Team manager Tony Jackson said: “It was good to start the season with a home win after such a delayed start.

"Everybody seems to have been affected and only a third of the scheduled fixtures across the country have been actually completed.

“We had a decent crowd for the first competitive match and they saw some good racing and, from our point of view, it was pleasing to have the match won ahead of the final race.

“Edinburgh have a very good top two in Ricky Wells and Erik Riss and we knew it would be tough in the last, so to have the points wrapped up by then was very good.

“Both our guests did well, particularly Bradley Wilson-Dean who came through from the back for a number of his points.”

Edinburgh would feel pleased to go home with a point after they took a 5-1 from the final heat of the night.

Wells, a former Comet was the inspiration for Edinburgh, winning five of his six rides for a 17-point haul, the top-scorer on the night.

“As a former rider, he would come with a point to prove and he did very well. Edinburgh had five heat advantages and Ricky was involved in them all,” said Jackson.

His only defeat came in his first outing when he was out-gated by Rasmus Jensen, who enjoyed a particularly successful night with three heat wins and a Workington top score of 11 points.

“When Rasmus was with us two years ago, his best performances were away from Derwent Park. So to see him start the season with probably his best home performance was very encouraging,” said Jackson.

Workington had to employ two guests who both did well. Former Workington rider Charles Wright and Bradley Wilson-Dean provided solid contributions of seven and eight respectively with one win apiece.

Jensen and returning number one Rene Bach had helped the Comets to a 4-2 in the opening heat, with the next three all being shared.

The highlights were a fine third bend pass by guest Wilson-Dean to win the reserve race and a very stylish ride from Erik Riss to beat Nicolas Klindt in the fourth.

When Wells beat Dan Bewley in the fifth to initiate a 4-2, the teams were level with the prospect of a tight battle for the points.

That’s exactly what transpired and it was finally a 5-1 in the penultimate heat from Dan Bewley and guest Wilson-Dean that made sure Workington would win the meeting.

Edinburgh’s consolation was a good one, though, as they grabbed a consolation point with a convincing 5-1 in the last through Wells and Erik Riss.

Workington fans now have to wait until Friday, May 4 for the Comets next meeting when they host Berwick Bandits at Derwent Park. The return will be at Shielfield the following night.

Match Facts

Workington Comets 47

1. Rene Bach - 1, 2, 2’, 2 = 7+12.

2. Ramsus Jensen - 3, 1’, 3, 3, 1 = 11+13.

3. Charles Wright (Guest) - 2, 0, 2, 3 = 74.

4. Dan Bewley - 1’, 2, 0, 3, 0 = 6+15.

5. Nicolai Klindt - 2, 3, 2, 0 = 76.

6. Kyle Bickley - 0, 1, 0, = 17.

7. Bradley Wilson-Dean (Guest) - 3, 1’, 2’, 0, 2’ = 8+3

Edinburgh Monarchs 43

1. Ricky Wells - 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 = 17

2. Max Ruml - 0, 1, 1, 1 = 3

3. Mark Riss - 3, F, 0, 1’ = 4

4. Joel Andersson - 0, 2, 1, 0 = 3

5. Erik Riss - 3, 3, 1, 1, 2’ = 10+1

6. Matt Williamson - 2, 0, 2, 1 = 5

7. Josh Pickering - 1’, 0, 0, = 1+1

Heat-by-heat

Heat 1: Jensen, Wells, Bach, Ruml 4-2, 64.0

Heat 2: Wilson-Dean, Williamson, Pickering, Bickley 3-3 (7-5), 65.2

Heat 3: Re-Run: M.Riss, Wright, Bewley, Andersson 3-3 (10-8), 64.4

Heat 4: E.Riss, Klindt, Wilson-Dean, Pickering 3-3 (13-11), 64.8

Heat 5: Wells, Bewley, Ruml, Wright 2-4 (15-15), 65.0

Heat 6: E.Riss, Bach, Jensen, Williamson 3-3 (18-18), 65.3

Heat 7: Klindt, Andersson, Bickley, M.Riss - Fell 4-2 (22-20), 65.4

Heat 8: Jensen, Wilson-Dean, Ruml, Pickering 5-1 (27-21), 65.1

Heat 9: Re-Run: Wells, Wright, E.Riss, Bewley 2-4 (29-25), 66.0

Heat 10: Jensen, Bach, Andersson, M.Riss 5-1 (34-26), 66.1

Heat 11: Wells, Klindt, Ruml, Bickley 2-4 (36-30), 66.6

Heat 12: Wright, Williamson, M.Riss, Wilson-Dean 3-3 (39-33), 67.5

Heat 13: Wells, Bach, E.Riss, Klindt 2-4 (41-37), 67.7

Heat 14: Bewley, Wilson-Dean, Williamson, Andersson 5-1 (46-38), 68.6

Heat 15: Wells, E.Riss, Jensen, Bewley 1-5 (47-43), 67.6