Speedway – Fredriksen follows in legends footsteps

The late, Norwegian-born, Oyvind Berg was a part of one of Edinburgh Monarchs’ best teams which rode in the top league in the world.

He was signed by Ian Hoskins for Monarchs’ final season at Old Meadowbank in 1967.

And the star-studded line-up also included legends in Scottish-born Doug Templeton and George Hunter.

Monarchs finished a highly-credible fourth in the league that year and in 1966 they also boasted the late Reidar Eide, a five-time Norwegian champion.

Now, more than 50 years later, Monarchs have gone back to Scandinavia to sign Norwegian prospect Lasse Fredriksen.

The 22-year-old desperately wants to follow in the footsteps of his Norwegian countrymen and said: “ I feel really ready for it.

“I have lacked meetings so coming to the UK will be the answer, riding much more.”

He understands that the tight, Armadale track is difficult to ride but Fredriksen said: “If I can practise on it I will get to know the lines. I like the small technical tracks better than the long ones and I’ve always done better on the smaller.”

He joins 21-year-old Aussie newcomer Kye Thomson, who only started riding in 2016, and who is a good friend of Josh Pickering, one of Monarchs’ heat leaders along with Sam Masters and Richie Worrall.

The other members of the new-look side are James Sargeant, who had a successful short spell with Monarchs last season, and Auchterarder-based Willie Lawson, a former British youth champion.