Glasgow edge out Bears in Pairs
The Redcar “Agilia” Bears were edged out in the Grand Final of the Cab Direct Championship Pairs as Glasgow took the title. Redcar, who were the reigning champions, were only defeated by Glasgow throughout the qualifying heats but unfortunately for the Bears, Glasgow gained another heat advantage in the final with a 6-3 success to claim the title.
Redcar started the meeting in superb style but not before some alarming drama for the Redcar skipper Charles Wright. The first staging of heat 4 saw Wright and Scunthorpe’s Simon Lambert collide with Lambert hitting the deck but all 4 riders were invited back for the re-run. The second attempt saw Wright on one wheel exiting bend 2 with the skipper losing his chain. The following seconds saw Wright fall with Ryan Douglas doing extremely well to avoid the 2019 British Champion.
Nevertheless, Wright was invited back for the re-run after the referee spotted Wright moving on the start line and after some medical attention for the Redcar heat leader, he arrived back at the tapes for the heat 4 re-run. The final staging of heat 4 saw King make a superb gate and with Wright joining King at the front, Redcar had the perfect 7-2 start in the 4-3-2-0 pairs points format.
Redcar’s pairing then doubled their tally to 14 points after another 7-2 heat advantage in heat 9. The Bears pairing comfortably saw off Plymouth’s Kyle Howarth in the early stages with King picking up his second win of the evening.
Heat 14 saw the heat of the night as Glasgow gated on a 6-3 with Benjamin Basso leading and Chris Harris in 3rd. However, King was battling with Harris for 3rd whilst Wright was building up speed on Basso. Entering the final lap, both Bears were in hot pursuit of the Tigers but Harris held on to secure 3rd but Wright remarkably passed Basso on the final to secure Redcar 4 precious points.
Redcar’s final qualification heat against Birmingham gave Redcar the opportunity to draw level with Oxford in the battle for top spot after 18 heats of qualifying. Again, the “Agilia” Bears gated and secured a relatively comfortable 7-2 heat advantage with Wright taking his 2nd win of the night.
With qualification over, Redcar and Oxford were unable to be separated with a coin toss determining who would face the 4th placed side, Poole in the semi-final. The coin toss saw Redcar call correctly with the ECCO Arena side coming out to face the Pirates in the semi final.
The semi final saw Richard Lawson gate but Wright soon swooped around the former Bear to take the lead whilst King was sat in 3rd. After an early battle with Ben Cook, King then powered on to pass Lawson on the final lap to earn Redcar another 7-2 and their place in the Grand Final.
The second semi final saw Oxford’s Sam Masters win but with 2022 Bear Lewi Kerr at the rear after a stunning battle with Harris and Basso, Redcar had the task of downing Glasgow in the Grand Final.
The Grand Final saw Basso gate with both Bears packing into the all important minor placings but entering lap 2, Harris passed King and despite the 37 year old’s best efforts, he was unable to pass ‘Bomber’ as Redcar’s reign ended with the Tigers taking the 2023 crown.
Qualification results
Glasgow Tigers = 23
Chris Harris – 4, 3, 3, 2 = 12
Benjamin Basso – 2, 4, 2, 3 = 11
Poole Pirates= 17
Richard Lawson – R, 0, 3, 3 = 6
Ben Cook – 3, 2, 4, 2 = 11
Oxford Cheetahs = 25
Sam Masters – 4, 3, 0, 3 = 10
Lewis Kerr – 3, 4, 4, 4 = 15
Edinburgh Monarchs = 14
Luke Killeen – 0, 2, 0, 0 = 2
Josh Pickering – 2, 3, 4, 3 = 12
Birmingham Brummies = 14
Troy Batchelor – R, R, 2, 0 = 2
Justin Sedgmen – 3, 4, 3, 2 = 12
Berwick Bandits = 15
Leon Flint – 2, 2, 3, 0 = 7
Jye Etheridge – 4, 0, 2, 2 = 8
Scunthorpe Scorpions = 17
Ryan Douglas – 2, 3, 4, 4 = 13
Simon Lambert – 0, 4, 0, 0 = 4
Redcar Bears = 25
Charles Wright – 3, 3, 4, 4 = 14
Danny King – 4, 4, 0, 3 = 11
Plymouth Gladiators = 12
Kyle Howarth – 2, 2, 2, 2 = 8
Max Perry – 0, 0, 0, 4 = 4
Grand Final result:
Grand Final: Basso, Wright, Harris, King. (Redcar 3-6 Glasgow)