Bears beat spirited Gladiators

The Redcar “Agilia” Bears kept their faint play-off hopes alive with a battling 48-42 win over a stubborn Plymouth Gladiators at the ECCO Arena. Charles Wright hit a paid maximum (11+1) for the hosts whilst Danny King top scored with 14. The Gladiators were led superbly by the ever improving Dan Thompson who hit 14. 

The evening began with Wright taking a comfortable heat 1 win, and with Jordan Jenkins battling his way into 3rd, the Bears opened proceedings with a 4-2 heat advantage. The reserves race saw Jake Mulford show incredible tenacity as he passed Joe Thompson on the last lap for the win, but with Ben Trigger at the back, Redcar had to settle for a shared heat on Teesside. 

Heat 3 saw the Redcar guest, Danyon Hume gate, only for Dan Thompson to pass the 2023 Bear for the win, and with Jason Edwards at the back, Plymouth drew level. Heat 4 saw the visitors take the lead as Ben Barker marked his latest return to the ECCO Arena with a hard fought win over Danny King, but with Mulford at the back behind Jacob Hook, the Bears had work to do to overcome the tenacious Gladiators. 

The 5th heat of an entertaining evening’s action brought the first 5-1 for the Bears. Hume and Edwards led from the gate and team rode superbly to hold off Drew Kemp for the maximum heat advantage to hit back in impressive style. 

Heat 6 saw disaster strike for the Bears as Jordan Jenkins fell on the opening bends with the Brit excluded from the re-run, leaving Wright as the sole Bear. Nevertheless, this did not faze the skipper as he won extremely comfortably to maintain Redcar’s two point advantage. King recorded his first win in heat 7, but with Trigger at the back, a share of the spoils looked likely. However, Plymouth’s Patrick Baek drifted wide on the final bend which gave Trigger 3rd and extended Redcar’s advantage to four points. 

After a shared heat 8 won by Plymouth’s Alfie Bowtell, the visitors hit back in style in heat 9 as Barker won at a canter, and with Joe Thompson holding off Edwards for 2nd, the visitors once again drew level. Heat 10 saw Wright dazzle as he used his years of experience to chase down and pass Dan Thompson for the win, and with Jenkins 3rd, Redcar once again had a narrow lead at the ECCO Arena. 

Heat 11 saw King take another win, and with Trigger passing Bowtell for 3rd, the “Agilia” Bears doubled their advantage to four points. Heat 12 saw Hume end an impressive evening with a win, but with Mulford at the rear, the Bears still had to be wary of a late Gladiators onslaught. 

Nevertheless, Wright and King hit a heat 13 5-1 which gave the Bears an eight point advantage to put Plymouth on the brink of defeat. The penultimate race saw the Thompson twins gate on a 5-1 but Edwards was not to be denied as he passed Joe Thompson on the final bend to secure the three points for Redcar. 

The final race saw King cap off an excellent evening with another win, but no heat advantage was forthcoming as Plymouth packed the minor placings for a shared heat to end the evening. 

Redcar = 48 (95)

1. Charles Wright = 11+1 (Paid Maximum)

2. Jordan Jenkins (G) = 4

3. Danyon Hume (G) = 8

4. Jason Edwards = 5+1

5. Danny King = 14

6. Ben Trigger = 2

7. Jake Mulford = 4+1

Plymouth = 42 (85)

1. Drew Kemp (G) = 5+1

2. Alfie Bowtell = 5

3. Dan Thompson = 14

4. Patrick Baek = 1

5. Ben Barker = 7+1

6. Joe Thompson = 8+2

7. Jacob Hook = 2+1