Edinburgh Monarchs Academy opened their WSRA National League campaign with a convincing 57-33 win over Middlesbrough at Armadale.
Five of their six riders on the night were in double figures, which included an impressive debut from James Shanes who scored 13+1.
Having replaced the injured Vinnie Foord, Shanes dropped his only point to Ace Pijper in Heat 5, with the Tigers skipper reeling off four wins before losing out to Shanes and Jordy Loftus in Heat 15.
Shanes said: “I was persuaded by Scott (Wilson) to come and I am glad I did, the team and everyone was lovely. It’s been a good day really. The last race with Ace was good, I lost my steel shoe but I really enjoyed my riding.”
Loftus (12+1), Dayle Wood (11+1), Ben Whalley (10+3) and Jamie Halder (10+2) were all in the big points for the home side too, with Pijper scoring 13 for the visitors.
The sides meet again at the ECCO Arena on Saturday with the Tigers again tracking Seth Norman as a guest for Nathan Ablitt who is ruled out with a speedway injury.
MIDDLESBROUGH: Ace Pijper, Alex Spooner, Jade Mudgway, Stene Pijper, Seth Norman, Harry Sadler, Charlie Southwick.
EDINBURGH: Jordy Loftus, Jamie Halder, Connor Coles R/R, James Shanes, Dayle Wood, Ben Whalley, Anika Loftus.
Meanwhile, Josh Pickering (pictured), a former Edinburgh Monarchs captain, and youngster Ryan Ingram, were the home heroes as Scunthorpe Scorpions secured a dramatic 49-41 win over Glasgow Tigers at the Eddie Wright Raceway in the Cab Direct Championship.
Pickering, now skipper of Scorpions roared to another 15-point maximum with numerous bursts from the back whilst 16-year-old Ingram, in his first season of senior racing, played a vital role in the closing stages.
Ingram was disqualified from his first ride for a fall but he scored 11+2 from his remaining five outings, winning Heats 12 and 14 and then partnering Pickering to a maximum in Heat 15 ahead of Tigers stars Kyle Howarth (13+1) and Leon Flint.
Glasgow’s team manager, Cami Brown, said: “It’s obviously a very frustrating defeat because we were in the mix and got into good positions to win the meeting.
“They got a 5-1 in the last heat which makes the scoreline look more comfortable for them. But trailing by just two points with three races to go I felt we could get something from the meeting.
“It’s just hard to take because I felt we were so close to getting a vital away win. It was there for the taking. The priority now is to make sure we get the aggregate point in the return fixture at Ashfield.”
