Bears in Derby win!
Redcar Ecco Finishing Bears continued their recent good form, with a fine 52-38 win over local rivals Newcastle at the Media Prima Arena on Thursday night.
The Bears started slowly on the night, and were down 1 rider after Mikkel B Andersen took a nasty fall in heat 2. He spun round on bend 3 whilst leading, and great riding by both Matthew Wethers and Carl Wilkinson to lay their bikes down helped avoid any further injuries to the Dane. After 5 heats the Diamonds led by 4 points, although they themselves were down a rider after a controversial heat 6 clash between Barker and Tero Aarnio. The Bears man made a move up the inside and appeared to make contact with Aarnio, who hit the second bend airfence hard. The referee though adjudged the Newcastle man to be at fault and excluded him.
From that point on the Bears took control of the meeting, and never looked like losing. Some great racing from Barker, Nike Lunna and the sponsors man of the match Thomas Jorgensen ensured the 3 points went to the Bears, despite some spirited performances from Stuart Robson and Matej Kus in particular.
Bears manager Jade Mudgway was delighted with his teams performance:
Well what a brilliant win after a shaky start. With the track in perfect condition, they all got to it. Newcastle gave us a good fight but our Bears wanted it more. I can’t single out one rider for a stand out performance they all put there bit in. And there is nothing better than getting one over Newcastle. I would like to send a get well soon to both Tero Aarnio and Mikkel B Andersen both having heavy crashes tonight.
Redcar Bears : 52
1. Ben Barker — 2, 2′, 3, 2′, 3 = 12+2
2. Nike Lunna — 1′, 3, 1, 2′ = 7+2
3. Dimitri Berge — 0, R, 3, 3 = 6
4. Jonas B Andersen — 2, 2, 2′, 2 = 8+1
5. Thomas Jorgensen — 3, 3, 2, 3, 1 = 12
6. Mikkel B Andersen — Fx WITHDRAWN = 0
7. Jordan Stewart — 3, 0, 1, 3, R, 0, 0 = 7
Newcastle Diamonds : 38
1. Stuart Robson — 0, 3, 2, 3, 1′, Xt, 0 = 9+1
2. Ludvig Lindgren — R/R (TA-3, MK-1, SR-2, AM-1)
3. Matej Kus — 3, 1, R, 1, 2, 2 = 9
4. Ashley Morris — 1, 2, 0, 1, 1 = 5
5. Tero Aarnio — 3, 2, Fx WITHDRAWN = 5
6. Carl Wilkinson — 2, 1, 0, 1 = 4
7. Matthew Wethers — 1′, 1′, 0, 1, 0, 3 = 6+2