Pirates prevail against brave Bears
Redcar were defeated 48-42 by the Poole Pirates despite a superb effort at Wimborne Road. The battling Bears fell behind for the first time in heat 14 as Poole struck back to back 5-1’s to seal a 6 point advantage. Richard Lawson top scored for Poole with 13 whilst Danny King hit a superb 15 for Redcar.
Redcar started the meeting in fantastic style with a 5-1 as Danny King (in as rider replacement), won the race whilst Danyon Hume, also a former Pirate, hit the front leaving bend 2 and left both Poole men in their wake to give the “Agilia” Bears the best possible start.
Heat 2 saw another heat winner for the Bears as Jason Edwards took his customary white line position to hold off Kyle Newman. However, despite Jake Mulford’s best efforts to pass Adam Roynon, he was unable to make a pass which resulted in a shared heat.
Heat 3 saw the first shared heat but it was another Bears winner as Charles Wright rode into the sunset for his opening win but with Connor Bailey unable to pass either Cook brother, Redcar could not extend their lead.
Nevertheless, Redcar extended their lead with a heat four 4-2 as King won his second race from 2 outings and with Mulford comfortably defeating Roynon, Redcar’s dream start continued as they stretched their lead to six points after the opening 4 heats.
After the opening track grade, Poole registered their first heat advantage in heat 5 as Ben Cook took the win but Wright ensured the Pirates could not record a 5-1 as he passed Zach Cook on the backstraight of lap 2 to limit the damage to a Poole 4-2. Heat 6 saw another Pirates 4-2 as Steve Worrall won comfortably to bring an end to King’s winning run but the Bears man passed Kyle Newman on the backstraight of lap 3 to ensure Redcar still led after 6 heats with the score standing at 17-19 to Redcar.
After a shared heat 7 won by Lawson, Poole levelled the tie with their 3rd 4-2 of the match as Ben Cook won and with Newman keeping Edwards at bay for 3rd, Poole were level. After a shared heat 9 won by the superb Danny King, Charles Wright made a virtuoso pass up the inside of Worrall on the opening bend of lap 3 to take the win and ensure Redcar remained on terms with the hosts.
After Lawson took his tally to 8 points from a possible 9 in a shared heat 10, Wright made it an impressive paid 10 from his first 4 outings as he won heat 12 which was the 4th shared race on the bounce! The first staging of heat 13 saw Poole gate but with Lawson, Worrall and Hume hitting bend 3 of the opening lap together, Worrall ran out of room and was excluded from the re-run after taking a trip to the Wimborne Road shale.
However, the heat 13 re-run was delayed slightly after Worrall’s bike got stuck between the air fence and the mesh behind the air fence, something that is rarely, if ever seen in Speedway! The re-run saw King make a superb start off the unfavoured gate 4 to win and with Hume 3rd, Redcar retook the lead on the seaside.
However, Poole are not the reigning league and cup winners for nothing and they showed their true fighting spirit with a pair of back to back 5-1’s in heats 14 & 15 to take a 48-42 win with all eyes now focusing on the second leg at the ECCO Arena on Saturday.
Redcar co-promoter Jade Mudgway was delighted with his side’s effort with the Kiwi keen to look at the bigger picture despite the two 5-1’s in the closing stages, “ I think you’ve got to look at the match as a whole, we did a great job, everyone worked hard and got stuck in. Jake Mulford also gated well tonight and that is something he has been missing recently so that was an encouraging sign.”
Mudgway also issued a rallying cry for the loyal home support to get behind the boys for Saturday’s crucial 2nd leg, “ Poole go just as well at the ECCO Arena so we will have to be on our game right from the off. We can do this, we are on course for another final so the fans, as they always do, need to get behind the boys and make themselves heard on the terraces!”
Poole = 48
1. Steve Worrall = 8+1
2. Anders Rowe R/R = 5+1
3. Ben Cook = 10+2
4. Zach Cook = 6+2
5. Richard Lawson = 13
6. Kyle Newman = 10
7. Adam Roynon = 1+1
8. Sam Hagon DNR
Redcar = 42
1. Erik Riss R/R = 7+1
2. Danyon Hume = 7+2
3. Charles Wright = 12+1
4. Connor Bailey = 2
5. Danny King = 15
6. Jason Edwards = 5+1
7. Jake Mulford = 1