Speedway and Motorsport

On Friday they visited Armadale for the first leg of their KO Cup Quarter-Final against the Edinburgh 'Scotwaste' Monarchs.

Armadale has not been the Rebels most favourite place over the preceding years, as they have suffered a string of comprehensive defeats at the West Lothian circuit.

They arrived minus injury victim Jordan Frampton and Stephan Katt, who was in Russia, fulfilling a commitment made prior to his return to the Rebels camp. Katt's place was taken by Conference guest, Jay Herne, and Frampton was covered by rider replacement.

The Monarchs were also depleted by the loss of Ronnie Correy, with a leg injury. He will also miss the return fixture on Monday. His place was taken by guest Stanislaw Burza, and Ricky Ashworth will stand in on Monday.

The Rebels kept it fairly tight over the first seven heats, with four 3-3's, including wins from Magnus Zetterstrom (2), and Emil Kramer, interspersed by 4-2 advantages for the home side, giving them a 6-point lead.

It may have been closer still had referee Jim McGregor not harshly excluded Simon Walker in Heat 6 for leaning on Derek Sneddon in the first bend. Most of those at the track felt that Walker had been hard done by, as Sneddon was giving as good as he got, and an 'All Four Back' would have been a more appropriate action.

The home side pressed home their advantage in Heat 8 with a 5-1 heat win from Sneddon and Wethers, with Simon Walker spinning off when chasing.

Walker was out again in the next, and made amends for that fall with a win, but it could have been even better had Ritchie Hawkins not lost control with the pair on a 5-1.

It wasn't long before the Rebels struck back with five unanswered points, after the Monarchs pair were both excluded from Heat 10, with Burza having an engine failure, and Sneddon crashing out with a fall.

The final five heats were closely fought, with the home side just edging them 10-points to 9.

The Rebels provided three of the winners in these heats, with Zorro taking two wins, and Emil Kramer taking the final heat, followed home by his skipper, restricting the Monarchs lead to just 7-points.

The Rebels' top two provided the main bulk of the points but they were ably supported by Danny Warwick (7+1) with another fine performance from the reserve spot.

That must rank as the best ever Rebels performance at Armadale, and one that sees them in a very strong position for the return leg, especially as that match will see the return of Stephan Katt, and Jordan Frampton to the Rebels line up.

If the Monarchs previous visits to the Highbridge circuit are anything to go by, the Rebels should be booking their place in the semi-finals on Monday evening.