Workington Comets 51-42 Edinburgh Monarchs

A performance fit for a king saw Workington Comets beat in-form Edinburgh Monarchs with some of the most thrilling racing of the season so far.

Craig Cook and Mason Campton beat returning former Comets No.1 Ricky Wells to the first bend of the opening heat and, while Cook motored into the distance, Campton expertly kept his friend in third for a perfect start for the hosts.

Matt Williamson continued to dominate at reserve as he pegged back Max Clegg in the second heat and set his fastest time round Derwent Park, while Rob Shuttleworth was all over the back of the Monarch and swung past him on the second lap to rapturous applause.

Ty Proctor and James Sarjeant left the away duo for dead at the start in heat three but the latter fell away as Josh Pickering and Erik Riss sped through to turn a home 5-1 into a draw.

Sam Masters bullied his way to the front of heat four but Thomas Jorgensen slotted in behind him and Rob Shuttleworth was a distant third as Mitchell Davey retired to keep Comets eight points up.

Wells got his trademark flying start in heat five as Sarjeant gave chase but Proctor wound up last and couldn’t make up any ground on Mark Riss as the visitors claimed their first heat advantage.

Cook shoved his old team-mate Masters out into the dirt in heat six with Campton close behind but the Monarch quickly reeled in the latter and set about chasing down Workington’s No.1 to no avail.

Heat seven was pulled back with all four riders after Jorgensen twitched at the start. The Dane got a clean getaway in the rerun to set his quickest time as a Comet and it proved vital as Williamson retired to share the points.

The away side blasted away from the line in heat eight but Comets got a second chance as all four riders were brought back for the restart when Campton hit the deck.

The Monarchs repeated the feat in the rerun but Campton charged past Davey and batted away his attempts to pass him back to limit Edinburgh to a 4-2 as they trimmed Comets’ lead to six points.

Proctor made up for his previous start with a blistering one in heat nine but Masters was lurking and zipped past him in front of the grandstand while Sarjeant again got out of the gate in third but struggled to pull away from Clegg and only just held his position.

Erik Riss got a blinder of a start in heat 10 but Cook veered up the inside of him and wheeled away while Campton was steady in third to restore Workington’s eight-point lead.

Wells missed the start completely in heat 11 but quickly made up ground on Jorgensen, who was briefly last himself before a breath-taking surge up the middle to join Williamson at the front before the Monarch picked his pocket on the final bend in one of the races of the season so far.

Williamson almost did it again in the following race but Erik Riss had a point to prove on a tactical ride and was too quick for the Comet, while Proctor was left at the start as his chain flew off to allow Davey into third for an Edinburgh 7-2.

That result made heat 13 very interesting and the visitors looked like blowing the meeting wide open as Masters and Wells gated on a 5-1.

Comets captain Cook had a rare off-race but Jorgensen was on hand to save the hosts’ skin, bursting around the outside of the Edinburgh pair to keep Workington five points ahead.

A 3-3 in heat 14 would win the meeting for Workington but they looked like doing it in style with a 5-1 as Williamson and Sarjeant rocketed away from the line.

Mitchell Davey had other ideas and blasted from back to front, but the home pair stood firm for a 3-3 to take all three points.

The Monarchs were still well in with a chance of taking a point from the meeting

Cook was eager to make up for his previous ride as he bolted to the front in the final heat, while Jorgensen produced a stunning pass on Masters to leave the visitors empty-handed and get the Comets faithful on their feet.

HEAT-BY-HEAT

1. Craig Cook – 3, 3, 3, 0, 3 = 12

2. Mason Campton – 2*, 1, 2, 1 = 6+1

3. Ty Proctor – 3, 0, 2, R = 5

4. James Sarjeant – 0, 2, 1*, 2 = 5+1

5. Thomas Jorgensen – 2, 3, 1, 3, 2* = 11+1

6. Matt Williamson – 3, R, 3, 2, 1* = 9+1

7. Rob Shuttleworth – 2*, 1*, 0 = 3+2

1. Ricky Wells – 1, 3, 2, 1*, 0 = 7+1

2. Mark Riss – 0, 1, 3, 0 = 4

3. Erik Riss – 1*, 2, 2, 6^ = 11+1

4. Josh Pickering – 2, 1*, 0, 0 = 3+1

5. Sam Masters – 3, 2, 3, 2, 1 = 11

6. Max Clegg – 1, 0, 0 = 1

7. Mitchell Davey – 0, R, 1, 1, 3 = 5

HEAT 1 – Cook, Campton, Wells, M Riss – 62.7, 5-1

HEAT 2 – Williamson, Shuttleworth, Clegg, Davey – 63.8, 5-1, 10-2

HEAT 3 – Proctor, Pickering, E Riss, Sarjeant – 63.3, 3-3, 13-5

HEAT 4 – Masters, Jorgensen, Shuttleworth, Davey – 63.1, 3-3, 16-8

HEAT 5 – Wells, Sarjeant, M Riss, Proctor – 63.3, 2-4, 18-12

HEAT 6 – Cook, Masters, Campton, Clegg – 62.9, 4-2, 22-14

HEAT 7 – Jorgensen, E Riss, Pickering, Williamson (retired) – 63.7, 3-3, 25-17

HEAT 8 – M Riss, Campton, Davey, Shuttleworth – 64.6, 2-4, 27-21

HEAT 9 – Masters, Proctor, Sarjeant, Clegg – 64, 3-3, 30-24

HEAT 10 – Cook, E Riss, Campton, Pickering – 64, 4-2, 34-26

HEAT 11 – Williamson, Wells, Jorgensen, M Riss – 66.6, 4-2, 38-28

HEAT 12 – E Riss (tactical ride), Williamson, Davey, Proctor (retired) – 65.1, 2-7, 40-35

HEAT 13 – Jorgensen, Masters, Wells, Cook – 65, 3-3, 43-38

HEAT 14 – Davey, Sarjeant, Williamson, Pickering – 66.4, 3-3, 46-41

HEAT 15 – Cook, Jorgensen, Masters, Wells – 64.4, 5-1, 51-42