Brilliant Bears secure play-offs!
REDCAR made it six league wins on the spin for the first time since 2013 and secured 3rd place in the Cab Direct Championship table with a stunning 43-45 away win at Scunthorpe.
Redcar, who head into the play-offs in scintillating form, picked up their first win at the Eddie Wright Raceway since 2017. Charles Wright hit paid 13 for the “Agilia” Bears with Luke Harrison once again starring for the hosts with paid 11.
Redcar started the meeting in superb fashion as Jody Scott took a mightily impressive heat 1 win, and with Wright profiting from Zaine Kennedy suffering an engine failure (after he had initially passed Wright) the Bears had made the perfect start at the Eddie Wright Raceway.
However, heat two saw the Scorpions level up as Jake Mulford and Ace Pijper both struggled from the gate, handing Scunthorpe the initiative and they secured a 5-1 to make it 6-6 on the night.
Scunthorpe took the lead for the first time as Harrison continued his impressive breakout season with a heat win, and with Connor Mountain 3rd, the hosts had a slim advantage.
After a shared heat four won by Danny King, the Bears retook the lead in heat five as Wright won and with Scott impressing with a paid win to remain undefeated by an opponent, the large travelling contingent celebrated Redcar’s second maximum heat advantage.
With King seeming to relish the dirt on the track, he won heat six, but with Mulford being passed by both Scorpions, Redcar could not extend their lead.
Heat seven saw Jason Edwards and Antti Vuolas hit the deck on bend one, and with the referee deeming the Finnish guest as the primary cause of the stoppage, Edwards was the lone Bear in the re-run. The re-run saw Jake Allen win, but with Edwards keeping Scorpions guest Ben Trigger in 3rd, he ensured Redcar did not fall behind, with a home 4-2 levelling the meeting.
Heat eight saw major drama in both of the first two runnings. Firstly, with the race in the melting pot as all four were close together entering the final bend of the opening lap, Pijper’s front wheel appeared to be taken away and the race was stopped. Surprisingly, the referee chose to exclude Pijper, with the SCB official deeming Pijper fell without any other infringement.
In the second running, Scott made a superb move to lead, but with the young Brit losing control of his machine on bend two of lap two and hitting the fence, he was excluded from the third re-run but thankfully, Scott was up and okay.
The final re-run was a simple 5-0 to Scunthorpe, giving them a vital five point lead in their race to avoid the wooden spoon. King made it three straight wins as he passed both Mountain and Harrison to win heat nine impressively, but with Mulford 4th, the Bears remained five adrift.
Heat 10 saw Vuolas come to the party with a win, and with Edwards 3rd ahead of Steve Worrall, the visitors reduced the arrears to three points. Allen continued his superb evening’s work with a heat 11 win as he used his home track expertise to hold off Wright, but with Trigger 4th, the Scorpions could not move further clear.
After Harrison won a shared heat 12, Wright produced fireworks in the next race as he moved from 3rd to 1st off bend two of the second lap to win, but with King 4th, the Bears remained behind.
Heat 14 saw further controversy in it’s second staging after Mountain flipped his bike at the start of the first running and was excluded. The second staging saw Pijper try to move into second ahead of Simon Lambert on bend three of the opening lap, but the Bear seemed to catch the Scorpions skipper. However, the referee excluded Lambert, leaving two Bears in the re-run.
After Vuolas (1st) and Pijper (2nd) hit a Redcar 5-0, heat 15 saw Vuolas lead, but despite Harrison passing the Finn, a 3-3 was enough to give Redcar another win ahead of the play-offs and important cup semifinals.
Scunthorpe Scorpions = 43
1. Steve Worrall = 4+1
2. Zaine Kennedy = 6+1
3. Luke Harrison = 10+1
4. Connor Mountain = 4
5. Jake Allen = 10
6. Ben Trigger (G) = 3+1
7. Simon Lambert = 4+1
Redcar Bears = 45
1. Charles Wright = 12+1
2. Jody Scott = 6+1
3. Jason Edwards = 7
4. Antti Vuolas (G) = 7+1
5. Danny King = 9
6. Jake Mulford = 2
7. Ace Pijper = 2+1