Killer Kerr Kerminates the opposition!
Lewis Kerr was the 2021 winner of the Teesside Silver Helmet as he took the crown in an exciting encounter at the Media Prima Arena. Kerr was joined on the podium by Redcar’s Charles Wright and Leicester’s Kyle Howarth.
Paul Starke opened up with a win in heat 1 with Kerr in second as the Kent man made the perfect start only to be hampered with bike problems later in the meeting. Heat 2 saw Chris Harris Open up his account with a fine win whilst Norick Blödorn swooped past Josh MacDonald to take 2nd in an impressive opening race for the German youngster.
Howarth and Wright both made their claims for the title during the early knockings as they took wins in heats 3&4. The seventh race of Redcar’s season finale saw Erik Riss take the win from his Birmingham teammate Chris Harris whilst Kerr suffered engine problems and was forced to retire from the race. Next, we saw a special moment as Aaron Summers won his final race on British soil in heat 8, we wish Aaron all the best as he heads back to Australia with his young family.
Kerr continued to add to his tally in heat 11 as he took second behind his Bears teammate Wright who was looking unstoppable throughout qualifying. Kerr, Luke Becker and Jake Allen confirmed their places in the semi-final with wins in 19,16&14 respectively whilst Kyle Howarth continued on his merry way to the final with a heat 17 win. Chris Harris suffered a vital engine failure in heat 18 which ultimately scuppered his chances of finishing in the top two.
The final qualification race saw arguably the race of the night as live stream favourite Norick Blödorn went toe to toe with Charles Wright for four laps as the German ended an impressive debut evening with second and a respectable 7 point haul.
After 20 races Wright and Howarth finished in the top 2 and thus directly qualified for the final which meant the semi-final lineup read Redcar’s Jake Allen, Lewis Kerr, Berwick’s newest acquisition Chris Harris and the USA’s Luke Becker. Kerr made another jet propelled gate to roar home for a comfortable win whilst Chris Harris could not get the better of Luke Becker as the Redcar debutant also secured his place in the grand final.
The first staging of the final saw Becker come to grief on the opening bends with his machinery damaged but the referee invited all 4 riders back in the re-run, much to the delight of the Redcar crowd! Becker came to the tapes on new machinery but Kerr made another fantastic gate to take the win despite Wright pushing him hard all the way with Kyle Howarth topping off the podium in 3rd.
Kerr was understandably delighted to take the win, “Tonight was brilliant, we had to dig deep early on after my retirement as I was only on 4 points after 3 rides but we kept going to get through to the semi-finals. I couldn’t believe my luck when they left me gate 3 in the final, I felt fast tonight and I’m chuffed!”
Kerr also staked his claim to continue his Redcar career next season, “I’d love to return to Redcar in 2022, since I’ve joined it’s been a dream and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it!”
Tonight’s well attended meeting was Ben Duffill’s last ever meeting as Redcar promoter, Duffill has worked tirelessly to serve his club as team manager and promoter over the last 12 years and everyone connected with the club sends their sincere best wishes to Ben for his next chapter in life.
Teesside Silver Helmet
- Paul Starke = 7
- Zaine Kennedy = 6
- Lewis Kerr = 10 WINNER
- Aaron Summers = 6
- Norick Blödorn = 7
- Ty Proctor = 0
- Chris Harris = 10
- Josh MacDonald = 3
- Luke Becker = 10 4TH
- Kyle Howarth = 11 3RD
- Jake Allen = 10
- Jye Etheridge = 1
- Simon Lambert = 7
- Charles Wright = 15 2ND
- Erik Riss = 10
- Leon Flint = 6
- Elliot Kelly = 0
- Alex Goldsborough = 1