Pirates beat battling Bears

The Redcar “Agilia” Bears performed superbly to hit their highest points total at Wimborne road and take the Poole Pirates all the way to a last heat decider. Poole eventually took a hard fought 47-43 win with Tom Brennan hitting 13 for the hosts whilst Jason Edwards continued his upward momentum with a 12 point return. 

Poole’s Richard Lawson took an opening heat win but with Charles Wright and Connor Bailey packing into the minor places, the Bears did not concede a heat advantage in the first race. Heat 2 saw the Bears strike the first blow as Jake Mulford took the win, and with the ever improving Ben Trigger holding off Sam Hagon for 2nd, the Bears took the lead in Dorset. 

Jason Edwards secured his first win of another superb evening as he passed Zach Cook on the opening lap for the win. Cook then dropped to 3rd but suffered mechanical issues on the last lap, gifting Dan Gilkes 3rd which gave Redcar an early 6 point advantage on the south coast. 

After a shared heat 4 won by Ben Cook, Charles Wright showed why he is adored by the Bears faithful as he passed both Tom Brennan and Zach Cook to win the race and preserve Redcar’s 6 point advantage on away soil. Poole then struck their first heat advantage of the meeting as the ex-Bear Richard Lawson took the win ahead of Justin Sedgmen, and with Tobias Thomsen in 3rd ahead of Ben Trigger, the Pirates reduced the gap to 4. 

After Edwards took his second win from 2 outings in a shared heat 7, Redcar re-established their six point buffer as Connor Bailey yet again took a heat 8 success, and with Mulford in 3rd ahead of Vinnie Foord, Redcar were in the driving seat at Wimborne Road. 

Nevertheless, the Pirates are not at the top of the Cab Direct Championship for nothing, and their top scorer on the night, Tom Brennan took the win, and with Zach Cook in second ahead of Sedgmen, Poole were back within 2 of Redcar. Next up was heat 10, and Redcar, from a position of strength, found themselves behind as Lawson and Thomsen combined for a 5-1 to take a 2 point advantage heading into the final third of an entertaining encounter. 

Heat 11 saw the Pirates barrage continue as Ben Cook took the win whilst the new British under 21 champion, Sam Hagon held off Charles Wright for 2nd to send the Pirates 6 ahead heading into the interval. Despite Gavin Parr bringing in Wright as a tactical substitute, Brennan took the win, but Redcar did halt the Poole barrage as they packed the minor placings in a shared heat. 

Heat 13 saw huge drama as Lawson led from the gate with the race looking all set for a 3-3. However, to the surprise of the entire stadium, Lawson shed a chain on bend 1 of the final lap which let both Wright and Sedgmen through for an unexpected maximum to close the gap to 2 points. 

After Edwards won a shared heat 14 from the gate, we had a last heat decider on the final leg of our southern tour. The final race saw the electrifying Edwards gate, but with Wright not looking likely to pass Lawson, a shared race was on the cards. However, Brennan dived up the inside of Edwards entering the last lap to give Poole a 47-43 success in a hard fought Cab Direct Championship clash. 

Poole Pirates = 47

1. Richard Lawson = 10

2. Tobias Thomsen = 5+1

3. Tom Brennan = 13

4. Zach Cook = 4+3

5. Ben Cook = 8+1

6. Sam Hagon = 7+1

7. Vinnie Foord = 0

Redcar Bears = 43

1. Charles Wright = 11

2. Connor Bailey = 4+1

3. Dan Gilkes = 2+1

4. Jason Edwards = 12

5. Justin Sedgmen (G) = 7+1

6. Ben Trigger = 2+17. Jake Mulford = 5+1