Glasgow outgun battling Bears
Redcar we’re defeated 51-39 by Glasgow in an entertaining Cab Direct Championship encounter at Ashfield. Redcar suffered some misfortune but ultimately fell short with a Chris Harris hitting a faultless 15 point maximum whilst Charles Wright scored 10 for the Bears.
The Bears looked to have started superbly as Danyon Hume and Danny King gated on a 5-1 but Chris Harris passed both Bears on laps 3&4 respectively to take the win but with the Bears under no pressure from Marcin Nowak, we had a shared opening race.
Heat 2 saw an impatient Ace Pijper break the tapes with the young Brit left with no other option than to go off 15 metres in the re-run. The re-run saw a close opening as Jason Edwards and Lee Complin banged elbows with the Bears man coming out on top and with Luke Harrison (on his Championship debut) in a comfortable 3rd, the Bears had their noses in front at 7-5.
Heat 3 saw the Tigers level it up with a 4-2 of their own as Claus Vissing won but with Connor Bailey racing cleverly to keep Tom Brennan in 3rd to ensure Redcar did not fall behind. Heat 4 saw catastrophe for Redcar as Wright led and looked set for the win until the Redcar skipper suffered an engine failure on bend 3 of the opening lap which gifted the Tigers a 5-1. The maximum advantage for the Tigers gave the play-off hopefuls a 14-10 lead on home soil.
Glasgow extended their advantage to 6 but heat 5 was not without controversy after Danyon Hume took a heavy fall after being left with no room by Vissing with all 4 riders extremely close together on bend 4 of the opening lap. To the amazement of the Bears promotion, Hume was excluded from the re-run with King the lone Bear. The re-run saw Vissing take another impressive win but with King passing Brennan at the end of lap 1, the damage was limited to a 4-2.
Glasgow stepped on the accelerator with a heat six 5-1 as Harris won whilst Nowak kept Wright (on his 2nd bike) behind him to send the Tigers into a commanding 10 point advantage.
After heat 7 was shared, the Bears hit back with a fabulous heat eight 5-1 as Edwards got to the kerb and Hume joined him around the outside to complete a relatively comfortable 5-1 and suddenly, Redcar were within 6 of the Tigers.
Heat 9 was shared after Wright lowered Vissing’s colours whilst Glasgow hit a 4-2 in heat 10 as Harris won whilst Nowak kept Bailey at the rear to edge Glasgow further ahead. However, the Bears were not done yet as the impressive Hume won heat 11 but a 5-1 could not be secured as Ben Basso passed King on lap 2 to limit the damage for the hosts.
Gavin Parr used his tactical substitute in heat 12 as Wright won whilst Bailey had a superb scrap with Pijper for 3rd with the Bears man passing Pijper on the final lap to bring Redcar within 4 of their hosts. Heat 13 saw more bad luck for the Bears as Danny King’s clutch burnt out, causing the Bears number 1 to demolish the tapes with Jason Edwards replacing King in the re-run.
The re-run saw Harris win yet again but with Basso behind Wright, the meeting was still there to be won with Redcar 6 behind. Heat 14 ended Redcar’s lingering hopes of victory as Vissing passed Riss entering lap 2 to take the win and with Edwards at the back. Glasgow secured the 2 league points.
Heat 15 saw Harris secure a superb maximum with the win, and with Vissing passing Wright on lap 2, Glasgow secured a 12 point win on home soil.
Glasgow Tigers = 51
1. Chris Harris = 15
2. Marcin Nowak = 4+1
3. Tom Brennan = 5+1
4. Claus Vissing = 13+1
5. Ben Basso = 9
6. Lee Complin = 2
7. Ace Pijper = 3+1
Redcar Bears = 39
1. Danny King = 5
2. Danyon Hume = 7+1
3. Connor Bailey = 4+1
4. Erik Riss = 6
5. Charles Wright = 9
6. Jason Edwards = 5+1
7. Luke Harrison (G) = 2