Julie Lewis Memorial lineup revealed
An exciting and familiar line up has been assembled for the upcoming Julie Lewis Memorial. Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ Bears start their season on Thursday 5th April with a 16 rider individual meeting dedicated to long time club servant Julie Lewis. All 16 riders will take 5 rides each in a 20 heat format with the top scorer on the night being declared the overall winner.
This meeting will feature all seven of the 2018 Redcar Ecco Finishing Bears squad; Ben Barker, Jordan Stewart, Jonas B Andersen, Mikkel B Andersen, Matej Kus, Tobias Busch and Theo Pijper. The fixture is aimed at giving them some competitive track time before the League Cup campaign starts the following week.
Invitations have been accepted by 9 other riders to join them and all have experience of riding the Media Prima Arena, with 7 of them having represented the club at some time in the past. Team Manager Jitendra Duffill has assembled the line up. He explained:
Our aim was to give our boys some competitive track time against a field which reflected the abilities throughout our side. It is important to test all 7 riders in our side and to do that we needed a mixed field comprising of Championship League heat leaders, second strings and reserves. The line up I have assembled will do that will be a good test for our newcomers without adding any pressure on the night.
Amongst the favourites to take the title will be former Bears riders Stevie Worrall, Aaron Summers and Ty Proctor. Stevie Worrall is one of Britain’s rising stars and made his mark in both the Premier League and on the international stage with Team GB in 2017. Aaron Summers and Ty Proctor are track specialists and both are very fast around the Media Prima Arena.
Joining them are rising British talents Nathan Greaves, Matt Williamson and Danny Ayres. All 3 made great strides in 2017 and Ayres and Greaves in particular will be keen to impress as they look to secure a Championship League side for 2018.
Completing the line up are another 3 former Bears; Coty Garcia, Jacob Bukhave and Jye Etheridge. Argentinian Coty Garcia spent much of 2017 with Redcar and will be race sharp after spending most of our winter competing back home. Dane and Redcar Bears asset Bukhave is keen to impress and was in very close contention for a Bears team spot in 2018. Bukhave was impressive and scored well in his 2 appearances here last year. Jye Etheridge lines up for Berwick again this year after making huge strides in 2017. He was outstanding on his last visit to the Media Prima Arena and was unfortunate to pick up an injury on the same day.
Local rider and 2018 Buxton team member David Wallinger will take the first reserve spot as the Redcar promotion continue to keep a close eye on his progress. Wallinger made a few appearances for the Bears in 2017 and made very good progress with Stoke in the National League.
This meeting promises to be an exciting opener to the 2018 season. Said Duffill:
We wanted to open with a proper 16 rider individual. I have never been a fan of previous 12 riders formats and we have listened to feedback from our supporters which have reflected my views. Every competitor will take 5 rides with the top scorer being declared the winner. We believe that this individual format is what spectators want and it also represents value for money as people will see an extra 5 heats of Speedway for their money in comparison to a league or cup fixture.
The 2018 Redcar Bears have their Press and Practice day on Saturday 31st March with team bonding and ‘Meet the Riders’ the day before.
Tapes up for the Julie Lewis Memorial will be at the usual start time of 7.30 on Thursday 5th April. Complete line up (riding order to be confirmed);
Complete Line Up;
Ben Barker
Jordan Stewart
Jonas B Andersen
Mikkel B Andersen
Matej Kus
Tobias Busch
Theo Pijper
Aaron Summers
Stevie Worrall
Ty Proctor
Matt Williamson
Nathan Greaves
Coty Garcia
Danny Ayres
Jye Etheridge
Jacob Bukhave
R1 David Wallinger
R2 TBC