Battling Bears down the Gladiators!
REDCAR returned to winning ways as they overcame a resilient Plymouth side 47-43 at the ECCO Arena in the MAXiCab KO Cup semi-final first leg. In a ding dong battle, the Bears struck the decisive blow in heat 14 as Jake Mulford and man of the match Jody Scott hit a big 5-1 to give Redcar a priceless lead ahead of the second leg at the Coliseum on Saturday.
The aforementioned Scott backed up his under 21 silver medal with another brilliant display as he hit 12+2 whilst Redcar number one Nicolai Klindt struck 13 against his former side. The Gladiators were led superbly by ex-Bear Danny King (12+1) and British legend Scott Nicholls (11+2) ahead of a mouthwatering second leg tonight.
Heat one saw Ace Pijper hit the deck on the first bend, with all 4 men invited back for the re-run. The re-run saw the visitors start strongly with a heat advantage as King won, and with Joe Thompson 3rd, the Bears had work to do.
However, heat two saw the Bears reserves start with a maximum heat advantage despite the ECCO Arena debutant Anze Grmek making the gate. However, Mulford showed great tenacity to pass the Slovenian, and with Scott riding the boards, he passed the Plymouth man to clinch 2nd and send the home fans wild.
The third race of another entertaining evening on Teesside saw Plymouth gate on a 5-1, but Simon Lambert limited the damage as he passed Daniel Klima for 2nd, but the Brit could do nothing about his fellow countryman Ben Barker who took the win to level the meeting.
After Nicholls won a shared heat four, the Gladiators re-took the lead in heat five with the first maximum heat advantage. King showed his old employers the fastest way around the ECCO Arena, and with Thompson 2nd, the travelling ‘Bar Bandits’ were dreaming of an away win.
Nicholls once again proved age is just a number as he took a tapes to flag win in heat six, but with ex-Bear Tom Spencer at the back, the four point gap remained. Jake Allen registered his first win of the evening in heat seven, and with Mulford 3rd (despite pressuring Barker for the paid win), the Bears halved the deficit.
Heat eight saw Redcar turn the tables on Plymouth as Scott won with ease, and with Pijper holding off Thompson, the 2025 BSN Series winners regained the lead. However, the Gladiators responded with a maximum of their own as Grmek won, and with Nicholls slotting in behind his partner, the momentum once again swung, this time in favour of Plymouth.
Klindt took his first chequered flag of the evening in heat 10, but with both Barker passing Pijper for 2nd, Redcar had to settle for a 4-2 to level proceedings.
After a shared heat won by the evergreen King, the Bears looked set to land a major blow to Plymouth’s hopes of semifinal success as Lambert gated, and with Scott 2nd, Redcar looked set for their 3rd 5-1. However, after Scott passed his partner, Lambert suffered a devastating puncture, turning a Bears four point lead back to a level meeting.
After the fast starting Klindt won a shared heat 13 to end both King’s and Nicholls’ maximum hopes, Redcar hit a huge blow in heat 14. Mulford led from the gate, and with Scott exiting the 2nd bend ahead of Barker, things were looking promising. However, Barker passed Scott and set his sights on Mulford. Nevertheless, Scott was not done and he crept up the inside to pass the ex-Bears skipper, and with the exciting young Brit holding on in the drag race to the line, Redcar had a four point lead, much to the delight of the home faithful.
The final race saw Klindt take a classy win, but with Scott 4th despite pressuring Nicholls, Redcar had to settle for a four point advantage ahead of tonight’s 2nd leg with a MAXiCab KO Cup final place on the line.
Redcar Bears = 47
- Nicolai Klindt = 13
- Ace Pijper = 4+2
- Simon Lambert = 4
- Jason Edwards = 0
- Jake Allen = 6+1
- Jake Mulford = 8+1
- Jody Scott = 12+2
Plymouth Gladiators = 43
- Danny King = 12+1
- Joe Thompson = 4+1
- Daniel Klima = 3
- Ben Barker = 8
- Scott Nicholls = 11+2
- Anze Grmek = 5+1