Bandits beat Bears in see-saw encounter!

Redcar were defeated in a see-saw contest 47-43 by the Berwick Bandits. The Bandits guest, Richard Lawson hit 12+2 for the hosts whilst Charles Wright continued his superb season with 12+2.

The meeting began with the hosts hitting a 5-1 as Lawson gated, with Danyon Hume joining ‘The Law’ at the front, and despite educated pressure from Charles Wright, he was unable to pass a determined Hume which gave the hosts the perfect start in the Boarders. However, the Bears immediately hit back with a heat 2 maximum 5-1 as Ben Trigger took his first heat win as a Bear, and with Jake Mulford second, Redcar drew level, much to the delight of the large travelling contingent.

The see-saw start to the meeting continued in heat 3 as the Bandits hit their 2nd maximum as Jye Etheridge and Drew Kemp led from the tapes to take the win, despite the best efforts of Jason Edwards to pass the former Poole Pirate. In the early stages, it was becoming apparent that gates 2 and 4 were a significant advantage.

After a shared heat 4 won by the Berwick skipper, Rory Schlein, the “Agilia” Bears levelled proceedings as their guest, Dan Thompson took a comfortable win, and with the skipper following comfortably in second, things were neck and neck, much like the meeting at the ECCO Arena 24 hours earlier.

Another 5-1 followed in heat six as the impressive Hume won whilst Lawson held off Barker’s attempts at passing the Poole man on the Shielfield banking to ensure the Bandits took charge of the meeting.

Heat 7 saw drama as Edwards and Schlein collided on the first bend of the opening lap with Edwards taking a nasty looking fall with the Bears man requiring medical attention. However, after a few minutes, Edwards rose to his feet to take his place in the re-run, despite damage to his first bike. Ahead of the re-run, many onlookers were surprised to see Schlein invited back for the re-run with the former British champion deemed by many to be the cause of the stoppage. The re-run saw an adrenaline fuelled Edwards take a superb win, despite being under severe pressure throughout from Schlein, and with Connor Bailey in 3rd, Redcar reduced the arrears to 2 points.

After heat 8 was won by the impressive Redcar guest, Thompson in a shared race, Berwick re-established their 4 point advantage with a heat nine 4-2 as Etheridge and Kemp passed Barker on the backstraight of lap 1, but the battling Barker stuck to his task to limit the damage for Redcar as he passed Kemp to ensure the hosts did not hit their 4th maximum heat advantage.

Heat 10 saw the Bandits put themselves firmly in control of proceedings as Hume continued to haunt his old side with another win, and with Lawson keeping Bailey behind him, the hosts led by 8 points, the biggest margin of the night.

After the Australian Schlein won a shared heat 11, the Bears hit back courtesy of their tactical substitute Charles Wright as he stalked Etheridge and made a brilliant outside pass on the final bend to take a much needed win, and with Bailey in 3rd, Redcar were back within 6.

The overworked Wright was out again in heat 13, with the skipper making a brilliant gate to take the win, whilst Barker held off Schlein for 3rd to continue the Bears fightback, with the gap now at four points with only two heats remaining. Heat 14 saw Edwards take another superb heat win, but with Trigger at the back, Redcar remained 4 adrift. Nevertheless, Edwards is a joy to watch on track with the Bears man becoming a better rider every time the Bears supporters see him take to the track, much to the delight of the Redcar promotion and the Edwards camp.

The final race saw another last heat decider for the Bears. However, Redcar could not force a super heat as Lawson won the race in a shared heat to give the Bandits another 47-43 win and the 3 Cab Direct Championship points on offer.

Bears co-promoter Jamie Swales was naturally disappointed with the result, with the former rider also keen to point out how his side had ran ‘one of the contenders for the title’ very close on their home track, “ If it wasn’t for the home form we have had, we would have probably come away from tonight’s meeting quite happy as anybody can see that Berwick are one of the top teams this season and we ran them to a last heat decider.”

Berwick = 47 (94)

1. Richard Lawson (G) = 12+2
2. Danyon Hume = 10+1
3. Jye Etheridge = 8
4. Drew Kemp = 6+1
5. Rory Schlein = 8
6. Freddy Hodder = 0
7. Bastian Borke = 3+2

Redcar = 43 (86)

1. Charles Wright = 12+2
2. Dan Thompson (G) = 9+1
3. Connor Bailey = 3
4. Jason Edwards = 7
5. Ben Barker (G) = 5
6. Jake Mulford = 3+1
7. Ben Trigger = 4+1