Star man Victor Palovaara helps Edinburgh Monarchs shoot down Berwick Bandits
Victor Palovaara's whopping 19 points from seven rides helped secure the Edinburgh Monarchs their first home victory of the 2025 speedway season.
The Capital side defeated the Berwick Bandits 46-43 in their third and penultimate BSN Series clash, but it's the visitors who pick up the additional bonus point following their win over the Monarchs 47-43 in the reverse fixture at Shielfield Park last weekend.
The Blue and Gold have already suffered two defeats on home shale so far, both coming against fiercest rivals the Glasgow Tigers in the Scottish Cup and BSN Series.
But they came up trumps last night thanks to their faultless Swedish reserve, Palovaara taking a maximum seven rides and winning six of them. The 31-year-old was beaten just once by a opposition rider when he finished third behind Peter Kildemand in heat 13.
He has certainly been a trump card for the Monarchs, but it won't be long before he switches into the main body of the team. Despite the victory, Monarchs will now have to win at Ashfield on Friday night and take the aggregate bonus point if they are to stand any chance of progressing to the semi-finals. However, a first home win of the season will be a real confidence booster having lost three heat-15 deciders in recent weeks. The Bandits are also no pushovers with a solid looking 1-7 and a side strongly tipped to make the end-of-season play-offs.
Polish rider Oskar Polis has been a revelation since signing for the club in the winter with some strong performances, but the 28-year-old struggled to find any real speed. Justin Sedgmen took a nasty tumble in heat 13 but still chipped in with 10 while Kye Thomson also scored solidly with five, paid eight. The league campaign gets underway in just under a fortnight's time when reigning champions the Poole Pirates make the trip to West Lothian.