Edinburgh Monarchs skipper seals Scottish Open title in fitting Armadale Stadium finale

Speedway fans flocked to Armadale Stadium to say a fond farewell to the famous old ground.

Fittingly, Edinburgh Monarchs legend and current team captain Sam Masters emerged victorious as the stadium hosted the 2022 Scottish Open - the final event staged at the 83-year-old venue.

Or maybe it isn’t.

Despite the Monarchs being given notice to vacate their home since 1997 earlier this year, their plans for a new stadium have so far proved fruitless after a bid to purchase land in Livingston was rejected by West Lothian Council.

Ultimately, that leaves the short-term future of the club very much in the air with co-promoter Alex Harkess admitting the only viable option is to negotiate with Armadale Stadium owners, the Cochrane family, to allow the club to return for the 2023 season as they puruse other options.

So it was under that uncertainty that the Farewell to Armadale 2022 Scottish Open was hosted.

If it does indeed prove to be the ground’s last hurrah then it was a fitting end as Monarchs legends flocked to West Lothian to be part of the day - either on the track or mingling with the sizeable crowd.

Fortunately the rain held off for the most part, only falling in time for the semi-finals.

Masters proved to be the ace all night, missing out on a maximum only due to a chain loss in his second ride, while world no.6 Dan Bewley performed well as the star attraction.

The Grand Prix ace rarely rides in the UK now but was a budding youngster when he donned the yellow and gold of Edinburgh in 2016.

He claimed second place behind Masters in a final that saw Josh Pickering slide off in the mud while Richie Worrall impressed with four heat wins and took third ahead of Pickering.

But the action off the track was often just as