Category: Bears News

A depleted Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ Bears side fell to a heavy defeat at Newcastle on Sunday night, losing 64-26.

With Tobias Busch forced to miss the meeting through illness, things got even worse for the Bears with the problems at Stansted Airport due to the weather. Lightning strikes on Saturday night and Sunday morning caused issues with flights arriving and departing the airport, which unfortunately meant that the flight Jonas and Mikkel B Andersen were due to catch was delayed by a number of hours, resulting in them not getting back to the UK in time for the meeting.

Due to league rules, they could only be replaced by National League guests. At such short notice, it was tough to get riders but the Bears would like to thank local lads Josh Embleton and Gavin Parr for stepping in to cover. This did make the Bears task much more difficult, and indeed promoter Kevin Keay took to the microphone to apologise to both sets of fans for the situation.

Ben Barker continued his improved form, top scoring for the Bears with 13 points. Ludvig Lindgren top scored for the Diamonds with 13+1.

A full scorecard will appear later.

The Redcar Bears management received word from the Andersen brothers , Jonas and Mikkel, that their flight back to England from Denmark has been delayed and that it is unlikely they will arrive back in time for tonight’s derby match at Newcastle . Having already been informed that Tobias Busch is ill and unable to ride the Bears are desperately trying to find replacements to fill the void this has created . The rules state that Rider Replacement can be used for Busch but only National League standard riders can be used to replace the missing brothers meaning the Bears will be fielding a very under strength team. The management are extremely frustrated but can do nothing about flight delays and would like to apologise to fans from both clubs for this situation but with only a few hours before the match begins finding any replacements is proving extremely difficult.

Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ Bears make the short journey up the A19 tonight, to take on the Newcastle Diamonds (6:30pm start).

The Bears, who are at full strength for the trip, will be hoping for an improved performance after the heavy defeat against Lakeside on Thursday. Matej Kus will hoping for an upturn in fortunes on his return to his old club, whilst reserve Jordan Stewart will be looking to continue his excellent form.

Newcastle are without the services of Lewis Rose and Stuart Robson. In-form David Howe comes in for Rose, with popular Aussie Kevin Doolan guesting for Robson.

Safe trip to any of our fans making the short journey tonight!

Redcar (from): Ben Barker (captain), Jonas B Andersen, Tobias Busch, Matej Kus, Theo Pijper, Mikkel B Andersen, Jordan Stewart
Newcastle (from): Kevin Doolan (guest), Ludvig Lindgren (captain), David Howe (guest), Tero Aarnio, Matthew Wethers, Carl Wilkinson, Ashley Morris

Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ Bears fell to a disappointing 53-37 defeat to Lakeside at the Media Prima Arena on Thursday night.

In what was very much a meeting of two halves, the Bears started off on fire – with two 5-1’s in the opening two heats. That was as good as it got for the Bears though, and despite keeping it close till heat 8 fell apart in the second half of the meeting against a strong Lakeside team. Indeed, Jordan Stewarts heat win in heat 8 was the last win for a Bears rider as the Hammers took control.

The meeting was marred by a nasty crash in heat 5. Jonas B Andersen lifted on bend two, and had nowhere to go but into the side of Ben Morley. The ex-Bear then hit the fence hard and a lengthy delay ensued whilst the paramedics looked over the Essex lad. He went to hospital with suspected wrist damage – everyone at Redcar wishes Ben all the best in his recovery.

For the Bears, Ben Barker top scored with 10+1, supported by sponsors rider of the night Jordan Stewart with 8+1. The impressive Adam Ellis top scored for Lakeside with 13, with Wajtknecht getting 11+2 and Lawson 11+1. 

Bears promoter Kevin Keay was disappointed with his sides performance:

Extremely disappointing and frustrating result. We need to take a serious look at the side and see what we need to do to improve the situation as quickly as possible as we will not put up with performances like we saw tonight, tough decisions may need to be made very soon.

Co-promoter Jitendra Duffill echoed Keay’s thoughts:

I left feeling very dejected tonight. To be 8 points up after 2 heats and lose by 16 is simply unacceptable. Congratulations to Lakeside who were by far the better side and they showed exactly why they are one of the league favourites. However, it has again highlighted some huge areas of concern for us and I will have to make some very tough decisions over the next few days. We simply cannot go on as we are. Apologies again to our supporters, I can assure you that we will do everything we can to try and fix this and are looking at all of our options.

Redcar Bears = 37

1. Ben Barker – 3, 2, 2, 0, 2 = 9
2. Theo Pijper – 2′, 1′, 1, R = 4+2
3. Jonas B. Andersen – 2, X, 0, 1′ = 3+1
4. Tobias Busch – F, 1, 2 = 3
5. Matej Kus – 3, 0, R, 1 = 4
6. Mikkel B. Andersen – 3, 2, 1, 0 = 6
7. Jordan Stewart – 2′, 0, 3, 2, 1, 0 = 8+1

Lakeside Hammers = 53

1. Nick Morris – R, 3, 3, 3 = 9
2. Ben Morley – 1 = 1 WITHDRAWN
3. Adam Ellis – 3, 3, 1, 3, 3 = 13
4. Kyle Newman – 1, 1, 3, 2′ = 7+1
5. Richard Lawson – 2, 3, 3, 2′, 1 = 11+1
6. Zach Wajtknecht – 1, 2′, 2, 1, 2′, 0, 3 = 11+2
7. Alfie Bowtell – 0, 1′, 0, 0 = 1+1

Following on from last week’s thrilling win over Glasgow, the Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ Bears take on Championship new boys the Lakeside Hammers at the Media Prima Arena on Thursday night (7:30pm start).

Last week’s victory was a much needed boost for the Bears, with Jordan Stewart in particular having a fine night at reserve. Both Stewart and Mikkel B Andersen have been improving as the season goes on, and co-promoter Jitendra Duffill is delighted with the progress they are making:

I was both pleased and relieved to get our league campaign at home off to a good start last Thursday with a win over Glasgow. We got contributions from everyone which was encouraging, but special mentions for Matej Kus for making arrangements to get here at late notice and to our ‘official’ new assets Mikkel B Andersen and Jordan Stewart for their outstanding performances. Both Mikkel and Jordan showed just why I was so keen to have them both here this year and I hope people are starting to understand why it has been worth persevering. Both will only get better and although we would all love to see them score highly every week, we have to be conservative with our expectations and try not to put too much pressure on them at this stage.

Despite the victory on Thursday night, the Bears again struggled on the road – losing at Glasgow on Friday night. The one bright spot of that night though was the excellent performance of number 1 Ben Barker. The Bears captain has battled hard all season, without getting the points his efforts deserved. Duffill hopes this marks a turning point for the popular Barker:

Glasgow away on Friday was another disappointment and our form on the road is a concern. For now my priority is to get us winning at home every week and that should see things improve away from home. One major positive to come from last Friday was the performance of Ben Barker. Ben has struggled to find enough speed from his bikes so far  but anyone watching him every week could not deny that the effort and bravery are still there and it was only a matter of time before things turned around. I hope that will be the turning point for him and it also shows how quickly things can change. I will be pointing that out to the rest of our side.

This Thursday, the Bears are coming up against another strong side in Lakeside. The ex-Elite League club, who spent last year in the National League, have moved into the Championship this season and have started very well. They also have a number of riders who go well around the Media Prima Arena – including ex-Bears number 1 Richard Lawson. With both sides at full strength, Duffill is expecting another tough clash:

This week’s opposition will be just as tough, if not tougher than last weeks. Lakeside have started the season in great form and have a very strong top 2 in Nick Morris and Richard Lawson. Both are very quick here at the Media Prima Arena and they have very good back up in Adam Ellis and Kyle Newman. You will notice a big shake up in our riding order again as Mikkel has now dropped to number 6 and I think that should leave us very strong at reserve for home fixtures. Again, our reserves they will be vital to us on Thursday and we will need at least one of them to score heavily if we are to come out on top.

It promises to be another exciting night of Speedway at Redcar, and we hope to see as many of you there as possible to cheer on the Bears!

Redcar: Ben Barker, Theo Pijper, Jonas B Andersen, Tobias Busch, Matej Kus, Mikkel B Andersen, Jordan Stewart
Lakeside: Nick Morris, Ben Morley, Adam Ellis, Kyle Newman, Richard Lawson, Zach Wajtknecht, Alfie Bowtell 

Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ Bears could not repeat the heroics of last night, falling to a 54-36 defeat away at Glasgow on Friday night.

It was however a stunning return to form for Bears skipper Ben Barker,  who scored an impressive 15+1. He had solid backup from Mikkel B Andersen with 6, his brother Jonas with 5+1 and Theo Pijper with 5. The Bears started the meeting off fairly slowly, and after 7 heats found themselves 12 points down. Against a strong Glasgow top end, it was always going to be a tough ask to come back from that but the Bears stuck at their task, with Barker reeling off 3 heat wins in his last three rides.

Claus Vissing was again the stand out rider for Glasgow, with 14 points supported well by Lewis Kerr with 11.

Glasgow = 54

1. Charles Wright (G) – 0, 2′, 3, 1′ = 6+2
2. Lewis Kerr – 3, 3, 3, R, 2 = 11
3. Clause Vissing – 3, 2, 3, 3, 3 = 14
4. Paul Starke (R/R) – 
5. Richie Worrall – 3, 2′, 2, 2, 1′ = 10+2
6. Jack Thomas – 2′, 1, 0, 3, 0, 0, 2′ = 8+2
7. James Sarjeant – 3, Ex, RS, F, 1, 1 = 5
8. Ryan MacDonald – DNR

Redcar = 36

1. Ben Barker – 1′, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3 = 15+1
2. Mikkel B Andersen – 2, 1, 2, 1 = 6
3. Tobias Busch – R, R, TS, R = 0
4. Jonas B Andersen – 2, 1, 1′, 1 = 5+1
5. Matej Kus – 2, 1, 1′, 0, 0 = 4+1
6. Theo Pijper- 1, 0, 2, 2, 0 = 5
7. Jordan Stewart – 0, 1′, 0, RS = 1+1

The Bears are next in action on Thursday night, when they take on the Lakeside Hammers at the Media Prima Arena.

Young Aussie Jordan Stewart was the star of the show, as Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ Bears defeated the Glasgow Tigers 48-42 on Thursday night at the Media Prima Arena.

The young Aussie had by far his best night as a Bear, scoring 16+1 in a match winning performance. Included in that score was a superb heat 13 winner over Chris Harris, who threw absolutely everything he could at Jordan but there was just no way past. Jordan was well supported by the Andersen brothers in particular, with Mikkel scoring 9 and Jonas scoring 7+2.

It was a topsy turvy meeting, with plenty of close, exciting racing. The Bears led by 6 early in the meeting, but two successive 5-1s gave Glasgow a narrow lead after 7 heats. The Bears then hit back with two successive 5-1s of their own and never looked back, making sure of the win in heat 14 with Stewart’s third win on the bounce.

The impressive Claus Vissing top scored for Glasgow with 11+1, with Richie Worrall getting 10+2 and Lewis Kerr 10. The two sides meet again tomorrow night at Glasgow, with a 7:30pm start.

Redcar Bears = 48 

1. Ben Barker 2, 1, 2, 0 = 5
2. Matej Kus 1′, 0, 3, 0 = 4+1
3. Jonas B Andersen 2, 2′, 2′, 1 = 7+2
4. Mikkel B Andersen R, 3, 3, 1, 2 = 9
5. Tobias Busch 1′, 1, 1′ = 3+2
6. Theo Pijper 2′, 0, 2 = 4+1
7. Jordan Stewart 3, 2, 2′, 3, 3, 3, 0 = 16+1

Glasgow Tigers = 42 

1. Chris Harris 3, R, 3, 2, 1 = 9
2. Paul Starke R/R (JS 0, DW 1, CV 1, JS R = 2)
3. Claus Vissing 3, 2′, 1, 3, 2 = 11+1
4. Lewis Kerr 1, 3, 3, 1, 2 = 10
5. Richie Worrall 3, 2′, 1, 1′, 3 = 10+2
6. David Wallinger (G) 1, 1, 0, 0 = 2
7. James Sarjeant 0, Fx, R, R, R, 0 = 0
8. Dale Lamb DNR

Due to rain in the Czech Republic, the meeting Matej Kus was due to ride in today has been postponed. This means he is now able to take his place in the Bears side tonight. 

Redcar would like to thank Ryan Terry-Daley for initially stepping into the side. 

Glasgow Tigers have been forced into a late change of lineup for tonight’s meeting against the Bears. 

Paul Starke is unfortunately not fit after a crash, the Tigers will use rider replacement to cover his rides. 

The Redcar Ecco Finishing Supplies Bears, having been denied the use of a guest for the absent Matej Kus will be giving Ryan Terry-Daley his Championship debut in tomorrow’s clash with Glasgow. “Ryan has been asking for a chance to show his ability in our league so why not give the lad a chance” said co- promoter Kevin Keay.  “With an Under 19 final at Ipswich tomorrow the field of options was severely reduced and whilst we would have liked to give Dave Wallinger the place he had already been snapped up by Glasgow so why not have a look at a new rider.

There will be no pressure from us as Ryan is doing us a favour and I hope the fans give him the support he deserves as he takes the difficult no.2 slot in the team.
I’m aware this is not ideal but believe me myself and Jitendra have lost count of the number of calls we have made both to the authorities and to riders and I’m grateful Ryan is stepping in at such short notice.”

There is also a NJL match tomorrow with the Erimus Cubs taking on the Ashfield Giants after the main match so please give the lads your support.