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Voting is now open for the 2019 Redcar Agilia Bears rider of the year award. The award will be presented to the winner at the End of Season party, and will be a new name on the trophy after Ben Barker took home the prize the last two seasons.

Head to our Home page to cast your vote for your favourite rider! Will it be British Champion Charles Wright? Or Championship riders champion Erik Riss? Michael Palm Toft has been a model of consistency all season, whilst Jordan Stewart has had another great year and excelled in the Championship Pairs. Kasper Andersen has been Mr Entertainer and a great mid-season addition, whilst Nathan Greaves consistent points from reserve have been crucial. Tom Woolley has become something of a cult hero, and has scored important points in big meetings for the Bears. Not forgetting of course Tom Bacon, who made heat 1 his own at the start of the season before suffering an injury.

Redcar Agilia Bears will take an 8 point lead into the second leg at Leicester a week on Saturday, as they defeated the Lions 49-41 in the first leg on Friday night.

In front of a big crowd at the Media Prima Arena, the Bears started the meeting well. After Lion skipper Scott Nicholls shot out of the gate to win Heat 1, Nathan Greaves and Tom Woolley then combined for a 5-1 in heat 2 to give the Bears the lead. Jordan Stewart and guest Richard Lawson then combined for another 5-1 in heat 3 to put the Bears in charge.

The same pairing combined for another 5-1 in heat 5 to extend the Bears lead to 12 points and at that point the Bears looked fully in charge. The Lions though, led by the impressive Ryan Douglas steadied the ship with a number of shared heats to ensure the Bears could not extend their lead. The Lions then reduced the deficit with what could be an important 5-1 in heat 14, with Ty Proctor and Connor Mountain getting the better of Jordan Stewart and the unfortunate Nathan Greaves who took a nasty tumble.

That led to an all-important Heat 15, with Charles Wright and Erik Riss coming up against the impressive Douglas and Scott Nicholls. Douglas made a superb gate, and held off early pressure from Wright for the victory, with Riss coming home in third place to ensure a shared heat and a 8 point lead for the Bears. It certainly leaves the tie very finely poised for the second leg, where both teams will be confident of progressing.

Redcar Bears = 49

1. Charles Wright : 1*, 2, 3, 3, 2 = 11+1
2. Kasper Andersen : 2, 1*, 3, 0 = 6+1
3. Richard Lawson (G) : 2*, 3, R, 3 = 8+1
4. Jordan Stewart : 3, 2*, 2, 1 = 8+1
5. Erik Riss : 3, 3, 3, 0, 1* = 10+1
6. Tom Woolley : 2*, 0, 0 = 2+1
7. Nathan Greaves : 3, 0, 1, 0, EX = 4

Leicester Lions = 41

1. Scott Nicholls : 3, R, 2, 1*, 0 = 6+1
2. Ellis Perks : R, 1, R = 1
3. Kyle Howarth (G) : 1, 2, 2, 2 = 7
4. Ty Proctor : 0, 1*, 1*, 3 = 5+1
5. Ryan Douglas : 1*, 3, 3, 2, 3 = 12+1
6. Joe Lawlor : 1, 0, 1 = 2
7. Connor Mountain : EX, 2, 2, 1*, 1*, 2* = 8+3

Due to the updated October averages, Leicester are now unable to use Richard Lawson as a guest for the injured Richie Worrall. The Agilia Bears have taken advantage of this to book the ex-Bears number 1 as a guest for the injured Michael Palm Toft for Fridays play-off semi final against the Lions. The Bears also welcome back reserve pair Tom Woolley and Nathan Greaves back into the side.

Leicester have now booked Sheffield man Kyle Howarth to guest for Worrall, and he is a rider who also goes well around the Media Prima Arena.

Promoter Jitendra Duffill is hopeful that the weather is kinder than last week!

“My fingers are crossed for better weather this week. I’m sure that both sides are extremely keen to get this semi-final under way and its been a bit of a frustrating time having to delay this meeting by a week. We made an early call to cancel last week’s fixture and it proved to be the correct decision as the rain came just after noon and never stopped after that. It’s always difficult making a call that early because you can end up looking a little silly if the forecast proves to be inaccurate.”

The Bears are hopeful of attracting a big crowd for this weeks meeting and next weeks KO Cup Final against Newcastle. As such, the Bears have improved the viewing facilities and medical cover for the next two weeks. Duffill explains the reasoning:

“We are hoping that this meeting attracts a big crowd, so we have made provisions to improve viewing facilities here at the Media Prima Arena to allow for that. We will fencing along the back straight, which is there to allow you to view from that area if you want to. The view from there is just brilliant and will ensure that every one of you to get a great view of the action. We will be keeping the fencing in place for next week’s KO Cup final too, so don’t be afraid to bring along a friend or recommend us to somebody you know and please keep sharing our posts on social media!

I’ve also arranged for an extra paramedic to be present this week; I promised you all a few weeks ago that I would provide extra medical cover for any event likely to attract a good crowd. This should minimise any delays that may be caused by a rider needing medical attention and I’ll put additional medical cover in place for the KO Cup Final too.”

It should be a cracking night of speedway on Friday with two excellent teams doing battle. Please bring a friend if you can, and remember all 16 and under go free with a paying adult!

Redcar: Charles Wright, Kasper Andersen, Richard Lawson, Jordan Stewart, Erik Riss, Tom Woolley, Nathan Greaves

Leicester: Scott Nicholls, Ellis Perks, Kyle Howarth, Ty Proctor, Ryan Douglas, Joe Lawlor, Connor Mountain.

Tonight’s scheduled trip to Leicester in the Play Off Semi-Final has been postponed. We will let you know a restaging date once known.

Tonight’s Play Off Semi-Final against Leicester has been postponed due to a waterlogged track and a poor weather forecast.
Heavy rain over the last week has left the Media Prima Arena sodden and with more rain forecast for this afternoon, the decision has been taken to make an early call.
Promoter Jitendra Duffill added, “We needed a full day of dry weather to get our track into good shape and it’s looking very unlikely that will happen. I don’t want to run the most important meeting of the season in poor conditions and I don’t want to inconvenience travelling riders and supporters by cancelling last minute.”
The meeting has been rearranged to take place next Friday 4th October, with the usual start time of 7.30PM.

The Agilia Bears are very pleased to announce that both Nathan Greaves and Tom Woolley are back to full fitness and will take their places in Redcar’s side for both legs of this weeks Play Off Semi-Final against Leicester.
Promoter Jitendra Duffill said, “Both Nathan and Tom gave us the news today that they are fit and they can’t wait to get back on track. We always suspected that Tom would be OK, but we are pleasantly surprised by the quick recovery that Nathan has made from his leg injury. We told Nathan that he had to be 100% before returning to the saddle, so he has been training in the gym to test his leg and pelvis. He has had no repercussions from that and is feeling as strong as ever, so I’m delighted to have him and Tom back. It would have been a tragedy for either of them to miss out as they have both played vital roles in getting us here in the first place. They are desperate to help us to our first Play Off Final and they deserve to be a part of it. It’s just a shame that we will still be missing Michael Palm Toft, but that’s Speedway I guess. “

Duffill also expressed his gratitude to Broc Nicol who had agreed to guest for the Bears; “Huge thanks go to Broc Nicol for his offer of help and also to the Sheffield promotion for their sportsmanship in allowing him to guest for us. I spoke to Broc this morning and explained the situation to him and he completely understands, which I’m grateful for.”

With the S G Petch Suite being booked by the main meeting sponsors. We will be opening up main The Bruce Forrester Lounge for fans. The offer will be the same as the usual S G Petch Suite offer. 
For an extra £10 you will get a Free Programme, Pie & Peas & a Hot Drink and a centre green visit for 2 heats. 
Its a big meeting & if you want to watch from the comfort of the main lounge contact Ian Drinkel as soon as possible. as we already have a few bookings.
Lets hope we can get through to a final next weekend and have an even bigger meeting to watch then.

Mob 07827293866  email indrinkel@msn.com

The Redcar Agilia Bears can now release their line up for this week’s Play Off Semi-Final against Leicester and are able to reveal dates for the KO Cup Final and Teesside Silver Helmet.

The Agilia Bears have secured the services of American talent Broc Nicol for both the home and away legs to replace Nathan Greaves who is still recovering from leg and pelvic injuries sustained recently at Newcastle. Scunthorpe’s Jake Allen will guest for the Bears at Redcar and Edinburgh’s Josh Pickering will feature at Leicester; both replace Michael Palm Toft who has a fractured bone in his back and will miss the remainder of the 2019 season. Tom Woolley is recovering well from his collar bone injury and is expected to return to the side on Friday.

Promoter Jitendra Duffill added, “I’d like to thank the riders who have agreed to guest for us this week and also to the promotions who hold their contracts for allowing us to speak to them. We had originally booked Jake Allen to cover for Michael both home and away as we wanted the same rider to represent us over both legs of the Semi-Final. However, Jake is now unavailable on Saturday as his Premiership club are racing on the same evening as of yesterday, but we have been fortunate that Josh Pickering is available and willing to help. Using guests is never your preferred situation, but it has allowed us to field a team over both legs that is as strong as it would have been before injuries became a problem.”

Duffill also revealed that Nathan Greaves is recovering faster than expected from his injuries and is hoping to race again soon. He told us, ”I’ve been in touch with Nathan regularly and I’m really happy to say that his injuries are not as serious as we initially thought they were. Nathan knows that he must be nothing short of 100% to resume racing, so he will come to Redcar for a practice first, to prove to both us and himself that he is fully fit before returning to the side”

It has also been confirmed that dates have now been set for the KO Cup Final against Newcastle and for the Teesside Silver Helmet. Redcar will stage the 1st leg of the cup final at home on Friday 11th October, with the 2nd leg taking place in Newcastle on Sunday 13th October. The Silver Helmet will take place on Friday 25th October and will round off the Bears season.

Duffill explained, “The Play Off’s must to be completed before the KO Cup final, so we race this week against Leicester and then Friday 4th October is reserved for the Play Off final, should we make it. Ideally, I would have liked the 2nd leg of the KO Cup to have been at home, but that wasn’t fair on Newcastle, who are already having to wait 2 weeks for us to finish our Play Off fixtures and originally wanted to race this week. A compromise had to be made somewhere.”

The Agilia Bears will host their end of season party and presentation evening the night after the Silver Helmet, on Saturday 26th October. This will take place at The Hub, situated within Teesside University on Southfield Road, Middlesbrough. Tickets are £15 for adults and £7 for under 16’s, include a hot meal and can be purchased 3 ways; from the club’s race office at the MPA, by making contact via Facebook or through Claire James (07706 143971) or Janice Jackson (07727 029231).

Redcar Agilia Bears Team

Friday@ Redcar
Charles Wright, Erik Riss, Jake Allen, Jordan Stewart, Kasper Andersen, Broc Nicol, Tom Woolley.

Saturday @ Leicester
Charles Wright, Erik Riss, Josh Pickering, Jordan Stewart, Kasper Andersen, Broc Nicol, Tom Woolley.

Remaining Fixtures

Friday 27th September – Redcar V Leicester PO Semi-Final 1st Leg @ 7.30pm
Saturday 28th September – Leicester V Redcar PO Semi-Final 2nd Leg @ 7.30pm
Friday 4th October – Reserved PO Final @ 7.30pm
Friday 11th October – Redcar V Newcastle KO Cup Final 1st Leg @ 7.30pm
Sunday 13th October – Newcastle V Redcar KO Cup Final 2nd Leg @ 6.30pm
Friday 18th October – Reserved @ 7.30pm
Friday 25th October – Teesside Silver Helmet @ 7.30pm

Also:
Saturday 26th October – End of Season Party and Presentation Evening @ 7pm The Hub, Teesside University, Southfield Road, Middlesbrough

Congratulations to Glasgow duo Craig Cook and Rasmus Jensen on winning the Championship Pairs at Somerset last night.

The Bears pair of Erik Riss and Jordan Stewart missed out on the Semi-Final with 19 points, but it was a battling effort by the pair with Stewart scoring an impressive 13 points including two heat wins.

The Bears started off with a 7-2 maximum in their first outing over Berwick, before recording a 6-3 win over Eastbourne to leave themselves looking well placed. However, a 7-2 reverse at the hands of Newcastle left the Bears with a big job to qualify. Despite Jordan winning the Bears last heat, the Birmingham pair of Ellis and Aarnio managed to keep Erik at bay and ensure the Bears missed out on the Semi-Final.

Good luck to Agilia Bears pair Erik Riss and Jordan Stewart, who will be representing the Bears in the Championship Pairs tonight at Somerset.

Stewart will be taking the unfortunate Michael Palm Tofts place, after he suffered season ending injuries at Newcastle.

Good luck lads!

We also wish all our supporters a safe journey to Somerset and Cardiff this weekend, where Bears skipper Charles Wright will take his place at the British GP.