Sizzling Scorpions beat Bears
The Redcar “Agilia” Bears went down 52-38 in their opening BSN Series fixture of 2024 against a strong Scunthorpe side at the Eddie Wright Raceway. Ex-Bear Jake Allen hit a fantastic paid 14 for Scunthorpe whilst Charles Wright hit a superb 16 for Redcar.
After the meeting was delayed by 30 minutes to allow for some remedial work to be done on the track, Danny King bolted from the favoured gate 4 to win heat 1 comfortably, but with Jason Edwards hampered by seeing a red light, the spoils were shared in Redcar’s opening heat of the season. The Scorpions then took the lead for the first time with a 5-1 in heat 2 as both Nathan Ablitt and Luke Harrison passed Ben Trigger to secure Scunthorpe’s first maximum heat advantage.
Heat 3 saw drama at the start as Michael Palm-Toft flipped his bike at the tapes with the Dane then excluded from the re-run. The restaging saw Palm-Toft’s compatriot, Jonas Knudsen take a very impressive tapes to flag win from the helpful gate 4, and with Connor Bailey in 3rd, the Bears halved the deficit to 2 points after three races in Lincolnshire.
Allen got off to a great start by winning heat 4 as he and Wright shared numerous passes but the Australian made it stick for the win whilst Trigger regained 3rd after initially being passed by Harrison to ensure another shared heat. Palm-Toft bounced back from his spill to win heat 5 with all the action behind the Dane as Simon Lambert and Jason Edwards exchanged positions with the Bears man sneaking 2nd on the line, much to the delight of the travelling Bears contingent.
The sixth race of Redcar’s maiden fixture of the season saw Connor Mountain fall whilst in 2nd with a re-run ordered by the referee. The re-run saw Wright win impressively over a hard charging Kyle Howarth, and with Jake Mulford in 3rd, Redcar once again reduced the arrears to 2 points at 19-17. However, the 2 point lead was increased to 6 as the hosts hit a 5-1 courtesy of Ablitt and Allen after Knudsen came to grief on lap 2 with the race awarded to the Scorpions.
Nevertheless, the “Agilia” Bears kept plugging away with Redcar securing a 4-2 heat advantage as the ever improving Jason Edwards took the win, and with Ben Trigger in a solid 3rd, Redcar were within striking distance of their hosts once again.
Ahead of heat 9, Palm-Toft was forced to withdraw from the meeting with the Scunthorpe man suffering the effects of his earlier spill with Nathan Ablitt replacing the ex-Bear in heat 9. Wright took yet another win in heat 9, but with Mulford unable to make an impression on Lambert in 3rd, Redcar remained 4 behind.
The Scorpions then began to stamp their authority on proceedings as Connor Mountain and Kyle Howarth combined for a comfortable maximum to send the Scorpions 8 ahead. The 11th race saw disaster strike for Redcar as King dropped a chain coming out of the start. Nevertheless, Edwards rode admirably to pass Ablitt and seriously challenge Allen for the win with the Scorpions number 5 just holding on to send Scunthorpe’s lead into double digits at 10 points.
Bears boss Gavin Parr then played his tactical card as he drafted in the skipper to partner Trigger in heat 12. However, despite Wright winning his 3rd heat of the night, Trigger was passed by the game Luke Harrison to ensure Scunthorpe remained 10 ahead and in charge. Heat 13 saw Howarth take a nasty tumble with the Scorpions sitting on a maximum heat advantage when the race was stopped. The re-run saw Allen take the win despite Wright’s best efforts in 2nd.
Scunthorpe officially secured the 2 BSN Series points with a heat 14 5-1 as Ablitt rounded off a terrific night with his 3rd heat win, and with Lambert in 2nd, the Scorpions extended their lead to 14 with the aggregate point now the main focus of both sides. The final race of the night saw Wright win superbly, but with Edwards at the back (despite an admirable effort) the Bears found themselves on the end of a 52-38 defeat to start their BSN Series campaign.
Scunthorpe Scorpions : 52
1. Kyle Howarth = 7+2
2. Connor Mountain = 6+1
3. Simon Lambert = 8+2
4. Michael Palm Toft = 3
5. Jake Allen = 13+1
6. Nathan Ablitt = 12
7. Luke Harrison = 3+2
Redcar Bears : 38
1. Danny King = 4+1
2. Jason Edwards = 7
3. Connor Bailey = 2
4. Jonas Knudsen = 4
5. Charles Wright = 16
6. Jake Mulford = 1
7. Ben Trigger = 4+1