Category: Bears News

As you can see from the below picture taken at the weekend, the air fence has now gone up at the Media Prima Arena.

 

That can mean only one thing, must be almost that time of year…

New Redcar number one Jason Garrity began his preparation for the forthcoming season last weekend and has plenty more practice in the pipeline before  making his SG Petch Bears debut at the club’s Julie Lewis Memorial Trophy meeting on March 30^th.

Garrity, who joined the Teessiders from Sheffield during the winter, will be one of the favourites for the season opener at the Media Prima Arena and hopes a good performance will prove the perfect springboard for a successful campaign.

“I was at Scunthorpe practising last Saturday and I’ve got Redcar’s press and practice day at the end of next week,” said the 23-year old from Manchester.

“I’m also riding in the 50^th Anniversary meeting at Berwick (tonight – Saturday) and again for ‘Coventry’ in a challenge match at Peterborough on Sunday.

“So I’ll have definitely got a few laps under my belt before the season starts properly.

“Coventry pulling out so late wrecked a lot of my plans but I’ve moved on and am getting things sorted now.

“I’ve had some very loyal sponsors who have been with me a few years now but others are always welcome.

“I’ve got two bikes fully running and three spares in case I need them.

“I’ve ridden at number one a few times before but staying there is going to be hard.

“Riding at number two at Coventry last year means I got used to going out in heat one and riding against two top riders – that has done me the world of good.

“I’m not really bothered which heat I start in – it’s racing at the end of the day and numbers are numbers – but in heat one there is usually little chance to pass so it’s vitally important to make a good start.

“I now have to prove that I can do it consistently.”

The 2011 British Under-19 and National League Riders Champion, has not given up on a place in the Premiership this year and many fancied the Droylsden-based rider might be snapped up by his local track. But Garrity explained:

“I spoke to Belle Vue but they already had their team in mind but I’m hopeful that someone in the Premiership will pick me up before too long.

“I want to try and get back to race again at Cardiff in the Grand Prix; I’ve done it twice before and it was a lot of fun.

“I did two on the trot, in 2014 and 201, but last year’s British Final didn’t go to plan.

“I’d ridden at Belle Vue a few weeks before and it was dry and I’d been on really low sprockets but when I went there again for the British Final it worked in the first race, which I won, but I was too low geared after that.

“I know where I went wrong and you learn from experience.

“Obviously Danny King won the British Final last year and I’ve ridden alongside him at Coventry so that gives me confidence that I could do it too.

“Danny’s ridden in Poland for a while, on big tracks, and I think that has benefited him.

“Riding at Sheffield for a year and a half has helped me and now, as I’m not riding for Coventry, it would be nice to get more bookings abroad and maybe find a club out there?”

Garrity will link up again in the Redcar pits with former Buxton team-mate Charles Wright, with whom he shared treble success with the Hitmen at the beginning of his career in 2010.

“I’m looking forward to being in the same team as Charles again – we’ve don’t live too far apart and have been mates a long time,” he said.

Jonas B Andersen is expected to fly in from Denmark next Monday with Bears other overseas star Tobias Busch, fresh from a winter’s ice racing, returning from Germany later in the week in time for the club’s open to the public press and practice on Saturday, March 25^th, with riders expected on track from noon.

The annual meet the riders talk-in, at the trackside bar, will this year take place the evening before, Friday 25th, with a start time of 7pm.

Article courtesy of Keith McGhie and the Speedway Star

Redcar ‘SG Petch’ Bears reserve Ellis Perks has been drawn at number 8 for the British U21 Semi Final, to be held at Peterborough on Tuesday April 11th.

The top ten scorers on the night will go on to join the likes of Robert Lambert and Dan Bewley in the final, to take place at Poole on Wednesday April 26th.

Good luck Ellis!

​The S.G. Petch Bears are pleased to announce that we now have a Bear’s telephone ‘club line’. 

Thanks to our friends at E-Squire business centre fans can dial 01642 040302 and get directed through to the resource they require to satisfy their enquiry.

This will be helpful to fans with future race day information  particularly on potentially damp Thursday’s !

All at Redcar Speedway are saddened to hear of the serious injuries suffered by Richard Hall’s father, John Hall, in a recent car accident.

John is currently beginning the long road to recover and all associated with the Bears send their best wishes to him, Richard and all his family.

Redcar Bears Tobias Busch concludes his first season of ice racing this weekend when he lines up as reserve in round four of the World Championship buoyed by a sensational fourth place in the German title race on Thursday night.

Tobi, 28, was among the least experienced of the 16 competitors at the Horst-Dohm Eisstadion in Berlin, yet only missed out on a podium placing by two points.

The rider who became an instant fans favourite after signing for the SG Petch Bears midway through last season, needed to finish second in the last of his five rides to earn a run-off for the bronze medal with Marcus Jell.

But unbeaten Max Niedermaier, who took the title with a 15-point maximum, and Jell both led Tobi home in the 20^th and final race.

That left Tobi on 11 points but with the satisfaction of finishing ahead of Luca Bauer, who was controversially awarded a wild-card entry for the two-day World Championship meeting in preference to the Redcar racer.

Tobi is one of only two survivors from last season’s Bears line-up and will now begin his preparation for the summer season on Teesside which begins with the Julie Lewis Memorial Trophy on Thursday, March 30^th.

GERMAN ICE SPEEDWAY FINAL, Berlin (German unless stated)

 

Max Niedermaier (3,3,3,3,3) 15,

Hans Weber (3,3,2,3,3,) 14,

Markus Jell (2,3,3,3,2) 13,

Tobias Busch (2,3,2,3,1) 11,

Sebastian Gegenbauer (2,2,3,2,1) 10,

Luca Bauer (3,2,1,3,0) 9,

Jonas Andersson (Sweden) (1,fd, 2,2,3) 8,

Simon Reitsma (Netherlands) (0,2,1,1,3) 7,

Franz Marebuchler (2,1,1,1,2) 7,

Bart Schaap (Netherlands) (1,1,2,0,2) 6,

Jasper Iwema (Netherlands) (0,1,2,2,1) 6,

Gunter Bauer (3,D,N,N,N) 3,  

Reinhard Greisl (0,0,0,1,2) 3,

Albin Lindblom (Sweden) (1,2,0,0,0) 3,

Erwin Schuster (Austria) (1,R,0,1,1) 3

Article courtesy of Keith McGhie and The Gazette, pictures copyright of LS-PHOTO

​Spectacular fans’ favourites David Bellego, Ty Proctor and Aaron Summers
will all return to Redcar to spearhead a stellar field for the season opening Julie Lewis Memorial Trophy on March 30^th.

The trio of former Teesside number ones have all confirmed their attendance for what promises to be the most intriguing curtain raiser in the club’s history.

They will set the bar that six of the 2017 SG Petch Bears riders will try and overcome, amid a field which also includes a host of faces familiar to Media Prima Arena patrons, plus a handful of currently unattached racers intent on keeping their names in the shop window should anybody need their services.

Among the most notable of those set to appear in the annual trophy battle, previously contested by National League standard riders, is David Howe – the former England International and Scunthorpe skipper who is on the comeback trail after an 18-month injury-induced retirement from the sport.

Unfortunately, Charles Wright will be missing for the meeting as he will be riding for Somerset on the same night and they have priority on his services. 

Howe is joined by popular former Bears Jacob Bukhave and Ben Morley, plus twice European Grasstrack Champion Theo Pijper, Argentinian flyer City Garcia and veteran Australian veteran Matthew Wethers, who have all featured as guests for the Teessiders in recent seasons, yet are still searching a contract to ride somewhere in Britain this season.

The demise of Coventry, whilst bad news for hitherto doubling up Bear Jason Garrity, could benefit Redcar as the spectacular Mancunian was set to miss four meetings due to fixture clashes.

“It’s terrible for Jason this close to the start of the season but obviously means that, at the moment, he is just a Redcar rider and can fulfil all of our matches,” said Bears’ boss Kevin Keay. 

Full lineup:

Ben Barker

Jason Garrity

Tobias Busch 

Jonas B Andersen 

Richard Hall

Ellis Perks

Aaron Summers 

David Bellego

Ty Proctor

Theo Pijper 

David Howe

Matthew Wethers

Tero Aarnio 

Coty Garcia

Ben Morley 

Jacob Buckhave 

Reserve David Wallinger

Reserve TBC

Meeting will be 20 Heats with every rider taking 5 rides. Top scorer will be declared the winner. Tied points will be decided by a run off.

Article courtesy of Keith McGhie and The Speedway Star.

Redcar ‘Sg Petch’ Bears fans are reminded that there will be a quiz night at the Bears Bar tonight (Thursday), starting at 7:30pm.

Admission is £5 and will include a pie and pea supper. Also on the night, the lineup for the Julie Lewis Memorial meeting will be announced, plus news on the challenge meeting on the 6th April as well as your chance to ask any questions. 

We hope to see so many of you there as possible! 

The S.G.Petch Bears have appointed a new track curator in the form of Terry Chrabaszcz. The club has called on Terry’s 30 years of track preparation with the aim of preparing the best possible racing surface for the new look Bears side in 2017.

Whilst Phil Hainsworth steps down from the role he will still be around to help Terry settle in at the Media Prima Arena. Terry has most recently worked at tracks in the former ‘Elite’ league , at Coventry and Wolverhampton.

It is hoped the weather improves enough this week to allow Terry to get on track as soon as possible.