AARON SUMMERS is winning his battle to regain full fitness following a horror crash in Germany three weeks ago which left the Edinburgh Monarchs reserve speedway rider looking as if he'd gone ten rounds with Ricky Hatton.
The youngster was competing for Australia in a World Under-21 Team Cup round when he was knocked off his bike by an out-of-control Polish rider.
Summers suffered facial injuries and bruised ribs.
But he has continued to ride through the pai
n barrier for Edinburgh, spurning advice that a short lay-off would perhaps have been more prudent.
And he was today preparing for the league tussle with rivals Birmingham Brummies at Armadale tonight.
Summers' scoring rate has dipped a little as a result and he failed to register in Monarchs' heavy 60-32 defeat at the Isle of Wight on Tuesday.
But Summers, who finished runner-up to John Branney in a junior individual challenge meeting at Belle Vue in midweek, insists he is on the mend at long last.
"I'm still a bit sore. The Isle of Wight track was a bit bumpy, which caused me a little discomfort, and my ribs felt a bit painful afterwards.
"But, when I'm not racing, they feel all right."
Despite Monarchs' hefty reverse against the Isle of Wight they retain joint leadership of the championship alongside Somerset Rebels who were thrashed 68-25 at King's Lynn on Wednesday. It was only the Rebels' second defeat in 14 matches. Summers added that it was long odds Monarchs would end their losing jinx against the Islanders, but denied defeat was a setback.
He said: "It was all down to gating and getting into that first corner in front. A lot of us struggled and there was no real passing as such. We went there hoping we might have won because this is the attitude we all have, team spirit is so good.
"In truth it wasn't a meeting we had targeted as winnable and we have already forgotten about it."
Summers fared better at Reading Racers 48 hours earlier with Monarchs beating the Berkshire side 48-41, their first home defeat in the league at Smallmead.
"That was a great result," said Summers, "I rode a lot better there. The track was far smoother and wasn't so harsh on my ribs."
Having already triumphed in Birmingham, Monarchs should complete the double over their Premier Trophy Final opponents.
The Brummies have endured an astonishing injury run this season and have had their entire team ruled out at one time or another.
Manager Graham Drury, in a bid to lift the curse on his squad, enlisted the help of a psychic medium before their home clash against Reading on Wednesday. He said: "By putting our riders into a trance their psychological thoughts and confidence will be improved."
Unfortunately his squad still seemed to be in a trance when they took to the track as Reading triumphed 49-40..
Monarchs were given a real scare at Armadale last week when Rye House Rockets took the match down to the wire. Monarchs scraped home 47-46 and the collective sigh of relief in the pits was almost palpable.
While many believed the wet conditions deprived Monarchs of any home advantage, Summers said: "I don't think that was the case. It was down to the fact that Rye House are a really good team. They are pretty strong and are always going to fight hard to win as well."
Summers, like his team-mate Thomas Jonasson, still hasn't mastered the tight turns of the Lothian Arena circuit. But Summers says he is slowly learning what the fastest route to the chequered flag is. "I do feel a lot more comfortable at Armadale now," he said. "I've been trying out a few different engines lately to see what one works best."
It seems highly unlikely that Birmingham will replicate Rye House's effort, despite the fact they will be at full strength for the first time in weeks.
Summers added: "I don't think that will make any difference. We are all riding so well at home right now, I think we'll win all right.
"But, just because we have already won at Birmingham doesn't mean we will take them for granted. If you start to think along those lines, that's when you can easily lose matches.
"We need to keep the pressure on at the top of the league. The title looks to be between ourselves and Somerset, although King's Lynn and Workington are also in the mix.
"We aren't worried at what the other teams are doing or not doing. We are just concentrating on getting on with our own job."
The full article contains 789 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
