Bandits beat Bears in bruising encounter
Berwick picked up a vital 48-42 Cab Direct Championship win over the Redcar “Agilia” Bears at Shielfield Park. The Bandits were hampered pre-meeting with Craig Cook withdrawing through illness whilst the Bears were dealt a major blow in heat three when Danny King took a heavy fall with the in-form Brit withdrawing from the remainder of the meeting.
Berwick guest Kyle Howarth top scored with paid 15 from his six outings whilst Charles Wright struck 13 for the Bears.
Redcar started the meeting in fine fettle as Wright gated, and with Drew Kemp in 2nd and Jake Mulford 3rd, the Bears looked set for an early 4-2 until Kemp suffered electrical issues, allowing Mulford through for 2nd and a Redcar 5-1.
Heat two saw Jody Scott ride a committed opening couple of bends to take the lead, and with Jack Smith going too wide, Ace Pijper came through for 3rd on the opening bends of lap one, Redcar had a 9-3 advantage after only two heats in the Borders.
However, heat three saw disaster strike for Redcar as King (who had just dived under Kemp for the lead) take an extremely heavy fall with Danyon Hume and Simon Lambert doing extremely well to lay their bikes down. After returning to the pits and seeking medical attention, King withdrew from the meeting with a suspected wrist injury.
The re-run saw Kemp win, but with Lambert separating the Bandits, it limited the damage to a 4-2, which was Berwick’s first heat advantage. Heat four saw Erik Riss gate, but with Howarth on the faster outside line, he took the lead, and with Smith 3rd, Berwick were within two of Redcar.
Berwick stormed into the lead with a 5-1 in heat five as Kemp won, and with Hume in an equally convincing 2nd, the hosts had the momentum. Nevertheless, heat six saw Redcar level matters as Riss won, and with Scott 3rd ahead of Hagon, the Redcar supporters had their 3rd heat advantage to cheer.
After back to back shared heats won by Howarth and Hagon respectively, Berwick hit their second 5-1 to storm into a four point advantage as Kemp and Hume once again combined to this time hold off Riss to re-establish a Bandits lead, but this time it was a four point advantage.
Heat 10 saw a battle for the lead and the 3rd spot as Riss led, but with Howarth building speed out towards the fence, he passed Riss on the run to the line, and with Hagon doing the same to Lambert, an away 4-2 turned into a home 4-2 and a six point lead for Berwick.
Nevertheless, Redcar kept battling as Wright lowered the impressive Howarth’s colours with an imperious heat 11 success, and with a battling Mulford holding 3rd, the Bears reduced the arrears with Berwick now 35-31 ahead.
Heat 12 saw more drama as Hume led, but with the Berwick skipper being chased by Lambert the race was far from over. However, attention turned to the battle for 3rd with Scott looking quicker as he pounced to get on the outside of Smith, but with both reserves tangling and coming down heavily, the race was stopped.
With both riders eventually rising to their feet, Scott was excluded from the re-run. The re-run saw Lambert endear himself to the Redcar away following with a win to keep the visitors within striking distance.
Heat 13 saw Redcar receive a boost as Howarth touched the tapes, and with the guest now coming off 15m, and with the Bears facing rider replacement Hagon from the tapes, a level meeting looked like a real possibility.
However, despite both Bears gating, Hagon passed Riss entering lap four, and with Howarth passing Riss at the very same spot on the run to the line, Berwick rescued a 3-3 to remain four ahead.
Heat 14 saw Berwick secure the spoils as Kemp won, and with Smith holding off Pijper for 3rd, the Bandits had secured their second win of the season over the Bears.
The final heat saw Wright win, but with Lambert pulling up at the back, the Bandits secured a six point win, and an advantage for the aggregate bonus point.
Berwick Bandits = 48
- Craig Cook R/R
- Sam Hagon = 7
- Danyon Hume = 9+2
- Drew Kemp = 13+1
- Kyle Howarth = 14+1 (G)
- Dayle Wood = 2
- Jack Smith = 3+1
Redcar “Agilia” Bears = 42
- Charles Wright = 13
- Jake Mulford = 5+3
- Simon Lambert = 9 (G)
- Danny King = 0 (Withdrawn)
- Erik Riss = 8
- Jody Scott = 6
- Ace Pijper = 1