Category: Bears News

Redcar Bears co-promoter Kevin Keay will again be on BBC Tees this evening to look ahead to this week’s two clashes with the Glasgow Tigers and the Matej Kus situation. 

Kevin will be on from around 6:50pm. You can listen online at the BBC Tees website, and also at 95.0FM. 

Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ Bears return to league action at the Media Prima Arena this week, as they take on the Glasgow Tigers on Thursday (7:30pm start).

After two successive home defeats, the Bears will be looking to bounce back against another strong looking side in Glasgow, who have the like of ex-British GP winner Chris Harris in their side.

The Bears will be looking for some improved performances, but boss Jitendra Duffill was heartened by the performance of the Bears riders in last week’s Julie Lewis Memorial meeting, and singled out young Aussie Jordan Stewart after his excellent result:

“The highlight of the meeting for me was the performances from Matej Kus and in particular, Jordan Stewart.

Jordan has had a tough start to the campaign but it has always been very clear to me that he has a lot of potential. I asked Gary Havelock to mentor him a couple of weeks ago which he kindly agreed to do and I have to give huge thanks to both him and Ty Proctor who have been very influential in the improvement we witnessed last week. His victory in heat 1 took a lot of weight off his shoulders and he looked much more relaxed on the bike all night. I believe he recorded the fastest time of the night as well as passing both Ben Barker and Thomas Jorgensen in separate races. That should help to kickstart his season and will have been a big boost his confidence.”

The Bears do go into this meeting without Matej Kus however, who has a meeting in his native Czech Republic which he cannot miss. Unfortunately, the Bears have been denied a facility to replace him and must use a National League rider in his place. Duffill takes up the story..

“Matej Kus is required to race on Thursday in his home country, the Czech Republic. He has to be there or his federation will suspend his license, making it impossible for him to race here tonight. The BSPA will not recognise this meeting like they do in Denmark, Poland or Sweden, where we WOULD have got a facility. So he is penalised due to his nationality. We are forced to use a National League guest even though Matej is riding in his home country. I completely fail to understand how this is in the best interests of the sport and it is the paying public that suffer in the end. What a ridiculous situation!”

Ben Barker continues at number 1 for the side, fresh from qualifying for the British Final on Tuesday night – congratulations Ben! There is also one change in the Glasgow lineup, with Jack Thomas riding in the British Under 19 Championship at Ipswich. Local lad David Wallinger comes in to replace him.

Duffill, whilst acknowledging results need to improve, also asks the fans to stick with the club over the next few weeks:

“We all know that and we cannot go on losing matches week after week, especially at home. Please don’t think we are being complacent. Yes changes could be made now but none that would make any significant difference to this side. We get new averages on the 1st June and if our performances don’t improve we will have a few more points to play with then, so it makes sense to wait and give our guys a chance to put things right over the next 2 weeks.. I know that you are all frustrated….we are too. Please remember that Kev and myself are just volunteers who are trying our best to keep our club alive and your support is needed more now than ever, both financially and personally. Things will get better, we just have to be a little patient.”

Redcar: Ben Barker, guest tbc, Jonas B Andersen, Mikkel B Andersen, Tobias Busch, Theo Pijper, Jordan Stewart

Glasgow: Chris Harris, Lewis Kerr, Claus Vissing, Paul Starke, Richie Worrall, David Wallinger, James Sarjeant

 

 

Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ Bears are delighted to be hosting the first round of the British Youth Championships as the Media Prima Arena this afternoon (2pm start)

The event, which includes Redcar Cubs pair Elliot Kelly and Alex Goldsbrough, will consist of over 30 heats ranging from 125cc all the way up to 500cc. Its a great opportunity to see some of the stars of tomorrow, and is always an entertaining afternoon.

Admission is £3 for adults, or if you have your program from the Julie Lewis meeting it is just £1. We hope to see as many of you as possible, and good luck to Elliot and Alex.

Ex-Bear of the year Ty Proctor roared to an unbeaten 15 point maximum to claim the title in the Julie Lewis memorial meeting on Thursday night at the Media Prima Arena. 

The Aussie was in imperious form all night, and never looked like being beaten. Bears own Matej Kus finished second on 14 points, with arguably the star of the night Jordan Stewart finishing third with 13 points. The young Aussie has found the going tough at the start of the season, but with Gary Havelock helping him out he showed everyone what he is all about with passes on both Ben Barker and Thomas Jorgensen.

Ben Barker was his again all action, and looked quick all night but again struggled slightly from the starts, and Kevin Doolan continued his fine start to the season.

1. Jordan Stewart (Redcar) : 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, = 13
2. Matt Williamson (Edinburgh) : 1, 2, 0, 1, 1, = 5
3. Max Ruml (Edinburgh) : 0, 1, R, 1, 2, = 4
4. Kevin Doolan (Berwick) : 2, 3, 1, 3, 2, = 11
5. Matej Kus (Redcar) : 2, 3, 3, 3, 3 = 14
6. Tobias V Thomsen (Unattached) : 1, 0, 0, 2, F, = 3
7. Ty Proctor (Kings Lynn & Workington) : 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, = 15 (Maximum)
8. Jacob Bukhave (Unattached) : 0, 2, 2, F, 0, = 4
9. David Wallinger (Buxton) : 0, 0, 3, 1, 2, = 6
10. Aaron Summers (Rye House & Berwick) : 3, 1, 0, 2, 2, = 8
11. Thomas Jorgensen (Kings Lynn) : 2, 0, 2, 3, 1, = 8
12. Simon Lambert (Peterborough) : 1, 1, 1, 0, 1 = 4
13. Ben Barker (Redcar) : 3, 1, 2, 2, 3, = 11
14. Nike Lunna (Peterborough) : 1, 3, EX, 1, Withdrawn = 5
15. Rafal Konopka (Unattached) : 2, 2, 2, EX, 1, = 7
16. Kyle Bickley (Workington & Belle Vue Colts) : 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, = 1

The next action at Redcar is on Saturday, as the Bears host the first round of the British Youth Championship from 2pm.

Please see below for pre-meeting interviews with Ben Barker, Kyle Bickley, Jacob Bukhave and Jitendra Duffill:

 

Redcar Bears promoter Kevin Keay will be appearing on BBC Tees this evening at around 6:50pm.

He will be reflecting on last week’s results, as well as looking forward to the Julie Lewis Memorial meeting this Thursday. 

You can listen online on the BBC Tees website, as well as on 95.0 FM.

Workington and Belle Vue rider Kyle Bickley is the last rider named for the 2018 Julie Lewis Memorial meeting which will take place this Thursday. 

Kyle is no stranger to the Media Prima Arena, being the former Redcar mascot and Redcar Cub. It will be interesting to see how he does in this field. 

1 Jordan Stewart 

2 Matt Williamson

3 Max Ruml

4 Kevin Doolan

5 Matej Kus

6 Tobias V Thomsen

7 Ty Proctor

8 Jacob Bukhave

9 David Wallinger

10 Aaron Summers

11 Thomas Jorgensen 

12 Simon Lambert

13 Ben Barker

14 Nike Lunna

15 Rafal Konopka

16 Kyle Bickley

 

Reserve 1 Gavin Parr

Reserve 2 David Pye

Redcar Speedway are delighted to host ‘Old Red Eyes’, the lead singer of popular local tribute band The Southmartins. The event will take place on Friday 11th May, with an 8pm start at the Clubhouse. We are delighted he has agreed to come and perform at the STMP, expect plenty of Beautiful South and Housemartins songs as well as plenty more!

We are hopeful this is the start of regular entertainment at the clubhouse in order to help support the Bears! Admission is £7.50, which also includes a pie and pea supper. These can be obtained from the Bears office on racenights, or by calling Jes Lambert on 07816935864.

This week sees Redcar host two meetings in just three days with the annual Julie Lewis Memorial meeting on Thursday and a round of the British Youth Championship on Saturday at 2pm.

Thursday’s meeting being a rearranged fixture some riders are now unavailable including some Bears riders but there’s still an attractive lineup with Ty Proctor and Thomas Jorgensen added to the field along with some new visitors to the Media Prima Arena in Max Ruml and Tobias Thomson . Former Bears Kevin Doolan, Aaron Summers, Jacob Bukhave and Rafal Konopka also make welcome returns.
The Admission price for this meeting has been lowered to last seasons prices as an incentive to attend both meetings with those fans who also attend Saturday’s meeting and produce Thursday’s programme will be admitted for just ONE POUND ( normal adult admission will be £3.00)
Co-Promoter Kevin Keay said ” Thursday’s line up contains some interesting names and some real racers so it should provide a cracking meeting. The same goes for Saturday’s Youth round as these kids provide awesome racing at grass routes level and I find it a shame the the B.S.P.A. no longer provide the funding for such events. However this club believes in providing opportunity’s for the British youth class and whilst it will cost the club to host it we hope the fans will back us and the kids and come along to enjoy the frantic action in the four different classes.

Julie Lewis
Line up below:

1 Jordan Stewart
2 Matt Williamson
3 Max Ruml
4 Kevin Doolan
5 Matej Kus
6 Tobias V Thomsen
7 Ty Proctor
8 Jacob Bukhave
9 David Wallinger
10 Aaron Summers
11 Thomas Jorgensen
12 Simon Lambert
13 Ben Barker
14 Nike Lunna
15 Rafal Konopka
16 TBC

Redcar ‘ECCO Finishing Supplies’ co-promotor Jitendra Duffill would like to make the following apology to Bears fans:

On behalf of myself and our squad I would like to apologise to our supporters for our recent performances. I feel embarrassed by our scores over the last week which were completely unacceptable. All of us are underperforming and I take full responsibility for the position we are in at the moment. I know it’s tough to watch but please believe me when I say nobody is hurting more than us. No excuses, we simply haven’t been good enough!

Last nights match at Scunthorpe was humiliating and I honestly felt ashamed to be a part of it. We all were. I promise that we are not taking this lightly and we will work hard to put things right. Unfortunately there is no quick fix to this and it is up to me and our 7 riders to improve and regain some pride.

We now have 2 weeks to get our house in order for our first league meeting at home. We must do better and have to see a big improvement in all of our performances. All of us are aware that things cannot go on as they are. We don’t get new and ‘real’ averages until the 1st June and we will have to review our options closer to that time. 

Unfortunately in sport things don’t always work out as planned. Nobody likes to lose and riders don’t choose to score poorly. If a rider doesn’t score he doesn’t get paid. We can’t change what’s happened so far but we can change what happens from here. I won’t give up on our supporters or this club and I promise that we will do everything we can to put things right. 

Jitendra Duffill