Bears beat plucky Plymouth!
REDCAR boosted their play-off hopes with a 54-36 win over the Plymouth Gladiators. Bears skipper Charles Wright continued his stellar season with 14 whilst Nicolai Klindt hit 11 for the visitors.
Plymouth’s hopes were hit with a huge blow in heat three as both Ben Barker and Joe Thompson crashed heavily on the opening bends, with both withdrawn from the remainder of the meeting.
Plymouth started with a heat advantage as their guest, Tobias Thomsen won, and with Klindt 3rd, the visitors had the early lead. However, heat two saw the Bears level matters as Jake Mulford won, and with Ace Pijper 3rd, Redcar registered their first heat advantage.
Heat three saw disaster strike for Plymouth as Ben Barker locked up and suffered a heavy crash, and with Joe Thompson taking avoiding action, both were forced to withdraw with injury.
After a lengthy delay, Leon Flint and Jason Edwards rode to a comfortable 5-1 ahead of reserve replacement Kai Ward. After a shared heat four won by Danny King, Redcar extended their lead to six points as Edwards won, but with Klindt passing Flint on lap two, he limited the damage for his side.
Heat six saw a superb race as Wright passed Nicholls for the win, and with Jody Scott passing Alfie Bowtell for 3rd, Redcar secured their 4th heat advantage to open up an eight point lead on Teesside.
After Klindt won as a tactical substitution in a shared heat seven, heat eight saw a nasty crash as Pijper reared and then tangled with Bowtell with the referee excluding Pijper from the re-run. The re-run saw Plymouth halve the deficit as Thomson won, and with Bowtell 2nd, Redcar still had the Gladiators on their tail.
After Nicholls took his maiden chequered flag of the night in a shared heat nine, Redcar re-established their eight point advantage as Scott made an electric gate, and with Wright cruising round all three competitors, Redcar were in command at the ECCO Arena.
Heat 11 saw Klindt win, but with Thomsen 4th, the visitors could not eat into Redcar’s lead. Heat 12 saw Edwards win with relative ease, and with Pijper passing the game Kai Ward for 3rd, Redcar’s lead grew to 10 points.
Heat 13 saw Wright and King emerge on the exit of bend four in a 5-1 position, and that was the way it stayed despite pressure from Klindt, and with another Redcar maximum heat advantage, the Bears had secured the two league points.
Flint capped off a successful guest appearance with a win, and with Mulford passing Bowtell for the paid win, Redcar’s advantage grew further with the aggregate point up for grabs tomorrow.
The final heat saw Wright win, but with Klindt passing Edwards, Redcar could not gain a heat advantage but the hosts did secure a sizeable 18 point advantage for the aggregate point at Plymouth tonight.
Redcar Bears = 54
1. Charles Wright = 14
2. Jody Scott = 4+1
3. Jason Edwards = 10+1
4. Leon Flint (G) = 8+1
5. Danny King = 8+2
6. Jake Mulford = 8+2
7. Ace Pijper = 2+1
Plymouth Gladiators = 36
1. Nicolai Klindt = 11+1
2. Tobias Thomson (G) = 6
3. Ben Barker = 0
4. Joe Thompson = 0
5. Scott Nicholls = 9
6. Alfie Bowtell = 9
7. Kai Ward (G) = 1