Edinburgh Monarchs hero Craig Cook returns - and he's fitter, faster and hungrier than ever
Edinburgh Monarchs legend Craig Cook will return to the club for the 2027 British speedway season.
It will be the Englishman's third stint with the Capital outfit, the 39-year-old enjoying a trophy-laden spell that culminated in back-to-back league titles in 2014 and 2015 before a second spell in 2023.
The Cumbrian turned out for hometown club the Workington Comets last season but it's the Monarchs where he has enjoyed his most productive years on the shale.
Cook admits the last few years haven't quite gone to plan, but he's ready to show he still has what it takes to mix it with the best in the Championship.
"I can be honest and say I haven't been in the right mindset and there are reasons for that," Cook explained. "I have done a lot of work on things and I have never been fitter physically and that helps with other stuff as well.
"Last year was a little different. There was other stuff going on that won't happen at Edinburgh. When you deal with Edinburgh you know what you are going to get and you can crack on with your season without things hanging on top of you.
"Since I finished with Workington I have kind of put my head down and got myself into the gym. I have lost a substantial amount of weight and I feel the fittest I have probably since 2015.
"I am too good a rider to let everything slip through my fingers, so I have given myself a kick up the arse, put my head down and have been working hard to get myself ready.
"I thought I might need to wait and see what happens with regards a team spot, but after all the work and effort I have put in I thought it would be a shame if I didn't end up with a club. I sent John (Campbell) a message and things came about quite quickly. We came to an agreement pretty easily. It is great that I am back and I am looking forward to it."
Cook is heading to Australia next month to compete in friend - and former Monarch team-mate - Justin Sedgmen's testimonial in Mildura. He also plans to do some testing ahead of the new season getting underway in the spring.
Cook will join Kye Thomson, Jonatan Grahn, Jordy Loftus, and new reserve Ben Whalley, in donning the blue and gold with Monarchs expected to announce the final two positions in due course.
"I am going to Australia in December and doing some racing and testing and getting myself ready for the new season," Cook said. "With the team that John has told me, it is really exciting.
"It is a different direction next year, with no offence to anyone from last season, but Kye maybe didn't always have the back up in heats 13 and 15. He will definitely have that next season. The team looks completely different to the last few years and it will have that firepower and backup at the top with the young guys at the bottom getting better as well."
Meanwhile, Whalley's performances for champions the Edinburgh Monarchs Academy in the National Development League certainly caught the eye of co-promoters Campbell and Alex Harkess. The New Zealand youngster impressed so much in British speedway's third tier he was handed a mid-season spot with Monarchs’ rivals the Plymouth Gladiators. The 23-year-old is now desperate to make the most of his opportunity.
"I wanted to come to a club where I could build up from the NDL to the Championship," Whalley said. "The call to go to Plymouth came earlier than I expected and it was tough especially coming in when others had started from the beginning.
"So this year I am looking forward to having a team spot from the start of the season. I will start at the same time as everyone else.
"I have that experience now and I think it will be only two tracks in the Championship I won't have ridden at and they are both northern, so I'll get plenty of opportunities at them this year.
"It is my starts, I know I am as fast as anyone else and in the NDL I knew I could pass if I didn't make it but, in the Championship, everyone is so fast that you can lose the race in the first 20 yards so that is what I will be working on most as I know if I get out in front I can win races."