Powerful Poole too strong for Redcar

Poole sailed through to the BSN Series final as they defeated the “Agilia” Bears 52-38 (100-80 on aggregate) to end Redcar’s winning start at home in 2023. Charles Wright hit 13 for the Bears whilst Ben Cook scored a superb 15 for the Pirates.

Redcar started the meeting in positive fashion with an opening heat 4-2 to cut the aggregate deficit to 4 points as Lewi Kerr took the win whilst Danyon Hume held 3rd ahead of Kyle Newman to give the hosts a positive start. However, heat 2 saw the positive start turned on it’s head as Poole hit a 5-1 in the 3rd staging of the race after the referee deemed the opening 2 attempts to be unsatisfactory. Adam Roynon and Kyle Newman gated and left the Bears in their wake to put the Pirates into a 7-5 lead.

Heat 3 saw Redcar level on the night as Wright won comfortably whilst Connor Bailey secured a battling 3rd place after passing Zach Cook on lap 2.

After a shared heat 4 won by Danny King, Poole hit the front again with a 4-2 of their own in another race which had to be restarted. In the initial staging, Steve Worrall was warned for moving at the start despite initially looking to have impeded himself with the Bears looking like they were in an advantageous position. Nevertheless, Worrall took full advantage of the re-run to win and with Bailey (despite his best efforts) unable to pass Zach Cook, Poole were back in front.

After Kerr won a shared heat 6, Poole hit their 3rd heat advantage as the formidable Cook brothers combined for a damaging 5-1 despite Danny King’s best efforts. King, a former Pirate passed Ben Cook on lap 2 but was unable to make the pass stick and the former British Champion was ultimately re-passed to put Poole into a superb position as they found themselves 12 points up on aggregate. Heat 8 was another tough one for Redcar as Ben Cook won and with Roynon 3rd ahead of Jake Mulford, Poole’s position was growing stronger as each heat passed.

Heat 9 saw Poole inflict another 4-2 on Redcar as Richard Lawson won despite strong pressure from Wright throughout and with Newman securing 3rd, Poole were 10 points ahead on the night and in command. Heat 10 saw Redcar’s BSN Series hopes all but go up in smoke as they conceded yet another 5-1 with Kerr unable to land a blow on either Cook brother as the visitors romped into a 37-23 lead at the ECCO Arena.

Heat 10 saw a hugely controversial moment with the Bears looking likely to gain a rare heat advantage. As the riders entered bend 3 of lap 1, Redcar were on a morale boosting 5-1 with King in a comfortable lead and Jason Edwards holding 2nd. However, Edwards moved slightly from the kerb and Worrall saw a passing opportunity but instead looked to have taken out Edwards with the Bears reserve crashing into the fence. Much to the amazement of the crowd and the Redcar management, Edwards was deemed to be the cause of the stoppage and was excluded from the re-run. The re-run saw King win despite educated pressure from Worrall throughout.

Heat 12 saw Redcar secure only their 3rd heat advantage as Wright won yet again after passing Newman on the 4th bend of lap 1 with drama to follow towards the end of the race. Mulford, who was squeezed out on the opening bends, carried on at the back but was more than half a lap behind the Pirates. However, Newman suffered mechanical problems on bend 2 of the final lap which allowed the persevering Mulford to come round for 3rd and keep Redcar’s extremely slim hopes of a draw alive.

The Pirates extinguished any hopes of an unlikely comeback with a heat 13 5-1 as Worrall won comfortably whilst Lawson got the better of King after a tough battle for 2nd in the first half of the race. Heat 14 saw another Cook heat winner (the 4th out of 7 overall) but with Redcar’s Bailey & Edwards packing the minor placings, the Bears ensured they did not fall even further behind.

Nevertheless, the Bears ended the meeting on a heat advantage at least as Wright won but a determined ride from Ben Cook saw him round King on the run to the line to secure 2nd and prevent Redcar from hitting a 5-1 in the whole meeting.

Redcar = 38 (80)

1. Lewis Kerr (G) = 7
2. Danyon Hume = 3
3. Charles Wright = 13
4. Connor Bailey = 3
5. Danny King = 9
6. Jason Edwards = 1+1
7. Jake Mulford = 3

Poole = 52 (100)

1. Steve Worrall = 10
2. Anders Rowe – R/R
3. Ben Cook = 15
4. Zach Cook = 8+2
5. Richard Lawson = 9+1
6. Kyle Newman = 4+2
7. Adam Roynon = 6+1