Brilliant Bears dismantle Tigers
Redcar produced a superb team display as they defeated the much fancied Glasgow Tigers 53-37 in the first leg of the KO Cup quarter finals. It was a night of jaw dropping speedway and the perfect way for the “Agilia” Bears to bounce back after their BSN Series home defeat to Poole. Charles Wright top scored for the Bears with 13+1 whilst Tom Brennan hit 10 for the visitors.
Glasgow actually started the tie in the ascendency as they opened proceedings with a 4-2 as Chris Harris won comfortably whilst Danyon Hume rode well to hold off Marcin Nowak for second. Heat 2 saw Jake Mulford gate well and fly around the outside of the Glasgow pairing on the opening bends to take a fantastic win and with Jason Edwards passing Ace Pijper on bend 3 of the opening lap, Redcar levelled at 6-6.
Heat 3 saw the first superb race as Wright won but all the action was behind the Bears skipper as Connor Bailey and Claus Vissing battled for 2nd. Bailey held 2nd for the opening couple of laps until the experienced Vissing cut back underneath Bailey entering lap 3 but Bailey was not done as 1 lap later, the “Tornado” re-passed the Dane forcefully to join Wright for a Bears 5-1.
Heat 4 saw Brennan open his account with a win but the action was again happening for the minor placings as Mulford, (who initially held 3rd but was passed by Pijper) re-passed the young Tiger to ensure Redcar’s 4 point lead remained intact. The 5th race of an entertaining evening saw another Bears 5-1 as the rejuvenated Bailey took a superb victory from the gate but the Brit was indebted to his teammate Wright who rode a superb defensive race to fend off the hard charging Chris Harris to send the Redcar support wild as they stretched their lead to 8 points.
In stark contrast to 6 days ago, Redcar were gating and guest number 1 Steve Worrall took his first win of the night whilst Hume passed Lee Complin the early knockings to send Redcar’s lead into double digits.
However, the double digit lead didn’t last long as Glasgow secured their second heat advantage after another brilliant race. Ben Basso took the win but he was made to work for it after the Dane was initially passed by King exiting bend 2 of the opening lap. Nevertheless, the entertaining Glasgow man squeezed through the smallest of gaps near the 4th bend air fence of lap 1 to re-pass King and take the win and with Vissing riding the kerb to hold off Edwards, Glasgow reduced the arrears to 8 points at the ECCO Arena.
After a shared heat 8 won by Hume after a superb battle with Pijper, Redcar re-established their 10 point lead as Wright won again and with Bailey in 3rd, the Bears were setting their sights on a sizeable first leg lead. Heat 10 saw Worrall win again as both Bears gated but Basso limited the damage for the shell shocked visitors as he passed Hume on bend 4 of lap 1 to ensure Glasgow did not concede a 5-1 but another Redcar heat advantage saw the hosts build their lead to 12.
The race of the night followed in heat 11 as the Tigers recorded a much needed heat advantage. Glasgow’s Nowak & Harris gated on a 5-1 but King was buzzing behind both Tigers for much of the race. King brilliantly cut under Bomber on bend 3 of lap 3 before Bomber repaid the compliment on the first bend of the final lap only for the determined King to gain a huge amount of drive exiting bend 2 and would have passed Nowak without clipping the Pole. However, King did manage to split the Tigers pairing on the run to the line as all 3 men finished within 12 inches of each other!
Heat 12 saw another barnstorming battle as Basso and Wright swapped places for the lead numerous times with the young Dane lowering the skipper’s colours. However, with Mulford unable to pass Pijper, Glasgow cut the lead to 8 points, the closest they had been since heat 8! However, Redcar weren’t in a giving mood and Glasgow’s hopes of a comeback were ended as Worrall and King combined for a surprisingly comfortable 5-1 as Harris retired with machinery issues whilst Brennan was cut adrift from the Redcar duo.
The night was just getting better and better for the Bears as they hit their 4th 5-1 of the match in heat 14 as the impressive Bailey won again whilst Edwards claimed second to extend Redcar’s lead to a remarkable 16 points. Heat 15 saw Wright claim another win but with Worrall at the rear, Redcar’s lead remained at 16 points ahead of the second leg at Ashfield on Tuesday.
Redcar Bears = 53
1. Steve Worrall (G) = 8+1
2. Danyon Hume = 7
3. Charles Wright = 13+1
4. Connor Bailey = 9+1
5. Danny King = 9
6. Jason Edwards = 3+1
7. Jake Mulford = 4+1
Glasgow Tigers = 37
1. Chris Harris = 5
2. Marcin Nowak = 5+1
3. Benjamin Basso = 9+1
4. Claus Vissing = 2
5. Tom Brennan = 10
6. Lee Complin = 2
7. Ace Pijper = 4