Dan's the man as Edinburgh Monarchs star wins season opener
Edinburgh Monarchs fans got a taste of what new No.1 Dan Thompson will bring to the table this season after the 21-year old won the annual Ben Fund Bonanza meeting.
The Fund and registered charity's main purpose is to benefit current and former speedway riders, and their families, following serious or life-changing injuries whilst racing for a British speedway club or representing Great Britain on the international circuit.
This year's event was staged at Ashfield, home of Monarchs' arch-rivals the Glasgow Tigers and where Thompson spent the 2025 season.
However, he has crossed the M8 divide for 2026 and underlined his credentials with a superb victory on Saturday night.
"It was good," the Englishman said afterwards. "I have been flat out riding every day last week so I felt super fresh and really good on the bike. I had a good race with Bomber (Chris Harris) early on and that made me realise I had enough speed to try and challenge for the meeting.
"The gates were tough, two and three weren't as good early on, but I finished with two gate fours and that kind of helped me. It was good to be back in front of the fans, and it's such a great cause to support, so I'm happy to win it.
"It's always a confident boost to do well in the these pre-season meetings. I've already done a few overseas so that kind of set me up for racing here. I'm feeling good, feeling confident. I linked up with everyone at Edinburgh on Friday which was good, but I have to say thank you to Glasgow for last season."
Thompson's Monarchs team-mates Australian duo Justin Sedgmen and Kye Thomson also fared well, the former finishing joint top scorer after 20 qualifying heats but coming up short in the final with a fourth-placed finish behind Thompson, Kevin Juhl Pedersen, and Peter Kildemand.
Thomson, who suffered a first heat two-minute disqualification, finished on seven points, just a couple off a semi-final berth.
All in all it was a successful evening for the Monarchs trio, who will now look forward to the visit of the Berwick Bandits on Friday as the BSN Series gets underway.