MATCH REPORT: Monarchs carry on run

Birmingham carried on the impressive run this season as they took the points back to Perry Barr after a tough encounter with Coventry.

Heat one saw honours shared as Nathan Groves took the flag for Birmingham with Drewett and Pietak filling in behind. Heat two saw some great team riding as Andy James rolled back the years and took the win with skipper Chris Timms taking second for a 7-3 for the away side.

Heat 4 saw the home side get their first win of the afternoon and close the gap to two points between the sides as Konrad Pietak took the win though a tough pass by McLaughlin on Hodgkinson could of seen the Coventry veteran excluded on another day. Heat five saw Birmingham claim a 6-4 as Mark Winwood to beat Polish rider Dominic Rycharski as Paul Timms got the better of Drewett with a fine pass. Heat six saw the Andy James and Chris Timms pairing take a second 7-3 maximum for Birmingham this time over Kyle Roberts who was right behind for the four laps and Tom Sensicall.

Heat nine just before the interval saw the third maximum 7-3 this time Steve Hodgkinson taking the win with Chris Timms second and putting Birmingham 51-39 ahead at the break.

Heat ten saw Coventry claim their first 7-3 of the day as Sensicall and Rycharski lowered the colours of Paul Timms and Andy James. Then a 6-4 in the next heat saw the Warwickshire side get to six points behind as Myke Grimes took the flag ahead of Millward and Carl Winwood. Heat twelve saw Birmingham stop the rot with Chris Timms passing Konrad Pietak on the last corner of the last lap to take a 6-4 for the Monarchs. Heat fourteen saw the away sides final 7-3 as Paul Timms took the win with Scott Millward fitting i just behind. Coventry hit back with a 7-3 themselvess but then shared heats meant that Birmingham took the win 94-86.

The final heat saw drama as Mark Winwood and Myke Grimes touched with Grimes taking a tumble with Scott Millward hitting the rider with nowhere to go. The re-run saw Millward and Sensicall clash in the first bend and both riders went down but both dusted themselves off and completed the final heat.

In the combination fixture Coventry took the win with Josh Marsh looking impressive with 17 points. Birmingham had Chris Callow and Ewan Hancox who both are looking sharp and getting better with every meeting. Fresh from the British Youth League yesterday Emily Pitt and Marc Phipps both looked good, Phipps even did some fine team riding in his final race.

Coventry 86: Pietak 16, Drewett 7, Grimes 16, Lawrence 7, Roberts 12, Sensicall 9, McLaughlin 5, Rycharski 14

Monarchs 94: Groves 14, M.Winwood 13, C.Timms 17, James 13, Millward 14, C.Winwood 7, Hodgkinson 6, P.Timms 10

Coventry 70: Williams 13, Sawridge 5, Dickinson 3, Barnett 13, Marsh 17+1, Morris 12+1, Walters 7+1

Monarchs 60: Callow 15+1, N.Timms 4, Widdas 10+1, Hancox 12+1, Stevenson 5, Phipps 4+1, Pitt 4, R.Winwood 6