Julie Lewis Memorial Preview – Thursday 30th March – 7:30pm start
The new speedway season is finally upon us, and the SG Petch Bears start their season with the annual Julie Lewis Memorial meeting, in memory of former office manager from both Cleveland Park and the Media Prima Arena, Julie Lewis.
This year sees a slight change to the format, with the meeting returning to a senior event with a 16 man field to be raced over 20 heats. There will be no semi finals or finals, with the top scorer after the 20 heats the winner. If there are any ties, then a run off will take place. Fans are advised that the meeting will start at 7:30pm sharp, with the parade taking place at 7:20.
It has been a busy winter for the Bears, with Brian Havelock leaving and Kevin Keay taking over the reins. Bears team manager Jitendra Duffill has also taken a larger role within the club, and he cannot wait for the season to get started:
“I always planned on putting together a side that could challenge for silverware and just as importantly a side that would entertain. I honestly believe that we have achieved that and I know that if the fans get behind us we will see some of the most exciting speedway in the country. Redcar is a great club and one that is very close to my heart…..I feel that there are some very good times ahead of us and the atmosphere surrounding the club at the moment is unreal.”
The lineup for the meeting is certainly an exciting one, with 5 of the Bears competing against a number of ex-Bears and riders putting themselves in the shop window for a team place. Unfortunately Charles Wright is riding for his parent club Somerset, and popular German Tobias Busch has an ice speedway meeting and will both be missing. With the likes of Aaron Summers, Ty Proctor and Ulrich Ostergaard all competing it is sure to be a exciting meeting which Duffill is certainly looking forward to:
“This meeting and next week’s challenge against the Russ Hodgson Select will be good practice for our boys. There will be no pressure on any of them but I know that they are all riders who want to win every race they take part in so I don’t expect any of them to be taking things easy. Our boys won’t have it easy though as the field is full of riders with a lot of experience around the Media Prima Arena and I’m expecting a very close and exciting contest. I’d love to see a Bear on top of the rostrum so please get behind our boys and make some noise.”
Full lineup for the meeting (in riding order):
Ben Morley, Aaron Summers, Theo Pijper, Tero Aarnio, Ty Proctor, Richard Hall, Jason Garrity, Jonas B Andersen, Matthew Wethers, David Howe, Ben Barker, Ellis Perks, Ulrich Ostergaard, Jacob Bukhave, Danny Phillips, Coty Garcia. Reserves – David Wallinger, Ryan Burton