Category: Bears News

Redcar team boss, Gavin Parr believes there is “nothing to fear” ahead of Redcar’s Cab Direct Championship clash with Oxford tonight, with tapes up at 7:30 at Sandy Lane, the home of the Cheetahs.

Parr, who is in his 2nd full year as Redcar team boss, believes his side have nothing to fear ahead of another important league fixture, “ There is absolutely nothing to fear about going to Oxford. Yes, they are a good side but there is no reason why we can’t win on the night, and that’s what we are planning on!”

The exuberant Geordie thinks that the skipper, Charles Wright will have another big say on the outcome, with Wright riding at Sandy Lane for the Oxford Spires in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership, “ With Charles’ inside knowledge, he can help with set-ups and that will help in our attempts to win tonight.”

Parr has also spoken about his desperation to turn the club’s fortunes around, “ I’m living off 2 or 3 hours sleep a night at the moment, we are all so desperate to turn things around. At the moment, this is a 24 hour job as we know the fans aren’t happy with our performances and we aren’t happy either! At the moment, I think we are half a rider short.”

The former Cycle Speedway international also reflected on Redcar’s 47-43 defeat at Berwick, with Parr impressed with the performance of Dan Thompson, who again guests for the Bears this evening, “ Dan (Thompson) rode like a heat leader at Berwick for us but on the other hand, our other guest, Ben Barker only scored 5. If Ben would have put in a performance like he usually does around Berwick then we would have won the meeting.”

Oxford operate rider replacement at number 3 with Henry Atkins out with a broken finger whilst Jordan Jenkins will be hoping to continue his recent improvement against his former side.

The Bears have well documented injury issues of their own to deal with as both Danny King and Jason Edwards both find themselves on the sidelines with their respective hand and cheekbone injuries. The promotion have once again drafted in the aforementioned Plymouth pair, Ben Barker and Dan Thompson with Thompson looking to continue his stellar start to the season with another big score for the Bears. Jonas Knudsen also returns to the Bears side after the Dane had a prior Polish commitment on Saturday.

Any fans who are unable to attend Sandy Lane are reminded that the meeting will be live streamed by BSN at watch.britishspeedway.co.uk

Oxford Cheetahs
1. Sam Masters 9.05
2. Cameron Heeps 4.77
3. Rider Replacement for Henry Atkins
4. Jordan Jenkins 5.89
5. Scott Nicholls (c) 8.54
6. Ashton Boughen 3.38
7. Luke Killeen 4.17
TM Peter Schroeck

Redcar Agilia Bears.
1- Charles Wright (c) 8.12
2- Jonas Knudsen 5.51
3- Connor Bailey 5.53
4- Dan Thompson (G) 5.32
5- Ben Barker (G) 7.87
6- Jake Mulford 3.20
7- Ben Trigger 2.25
TM Gavin Parr

Redcar were defeated in a see-saw contest 47-43 by the Berwick Bandits. The Bandits guest, Richard Lawson hit 12+2 for the hosts whilst Charles Wright continued his superb season with 12+2.

The meeting began with the hosts hitting a 5-1 as Lawson gated, with Danyon Hume joining ‘The Law’ at the front, and despite educated pressure from Charles Wright, he was unable to pass a determined Hume which gave the hosts the perfect start in the Boarders. However, the Bears immediately hit back with a heat 2 maximum 5-1 as Ben Trigger took his first heat win as a Bear, and with Jake Mulford second, Redcar drew level, much to the delight of the large travelling contingent.

The see-saw start to the meeting continued in heat 3 as the Bandits hit their 2nd maximum as Jye Etheridge and Drew Kemp led from the tapes to take the win, despite the best efforts of Jason Edwards to pass the former Poole Pirate. In the early stages, it was becoming apparent that gates 2 and 4 were a significant advantage.

After a shared heat 4 won by the Berwick skipper, Rory Schlein, the “Agilia” Bears levelled proceedings as their guest, Dan Thompson took a comfortable win, and with the skipper following comfortably in second, things were neck and neck, much like the meeting at the ECCO Arena 24 hours earlier.

Another 5-1 followed in heat six as the impressive Hume won whilst Lawson held off Barker’s attempts at passing the Poole man on the Shielfield banking to ensure the Bandits took charge of the meeting.

Heat 7 saw drama as Edwards and Schlein collided on the first bend of the opening lap with Edwards taking a nasty looking fall with the Bears man requiring medical attention. However, after a few minutes, Edwards rose to his feet to take his place in the re-run, despite damage to his first bike. Ahead of the re-run, many onlookers were surprised to see Schlein invited back for the re-run with the former British champion deemed by many to be the cause of the stoppage. The re-run saw an adrenaline fuelled Edwards take a superb win, despite being under severe pressure throughout from Schlein, and with Connor Bailey in 3rd, Redcar reduced the arrears to 2 points.

After heat 8 was won by the impressive Redcar guest, Thompson in a shared race, Berwick re-established their 4 point advantage with a heat nine 4-2 as Etheridge and Kemp passed Barker on the backstraight of lap 1, but the battling Barker stuck to his task to limit the damage for Redcar as he passed Kemp to ensure the hosts did not hit their 4th maximum heat advantage.

Heat 10 saw the Bandits put themselves firmly in control of proceedings as Hume continued to haunt his old side with another win, and with Lawson keeping Bailey behind him, the hosts led by 8 points, the biggest margin of the night.

After the Australian Schlein won a shared heat 11, the Bears hit back courtesy of their tactical substitute Charles Wright as he stalked Etheridge and made a brilliant outside pass on the final bend to take a much needed win, and with Bailey in 3rd, Redcar were back within 6.

The overworked Wright was out again in heat 13, with the skipper making a brilliant gate to take the win, whilst Barker held off Schlein for 3rd to continue the Bears fightback, with the gap now at four points with only two heats remaining. Heat 14 saw Edwards take another superb heat win, but with Trigger at the back, Redcar remained 4 adrift. Nevertheless, Edwards is a joy to watch on track with the Bears man becoming a better rider every time the Bears supporters see him take to the track, much to the delight of the Redcar promotion and the Edwards camp.

The final race saw another last heat decider for the Bears. However, Redcar could not force a super heat as Lawson won the race in a shared heat to give the Bandits another 47-43 win and the 3 Cab Direct Championship points on offer.

Bears co-promoter Jamie Swales was naturally disappointed with the result, with the former rider also keen to point out how his side had ran ‘one of the contenders for the title’ very close on their home track, “ If it wasn’t for the home form we have had, we would have probably come away from tonight’s meeting quite happy as anybody can see that Berwick are one of the top teams this season and we ran them to a last heat decider.”

Berwick = 47 (94)

1. Richard Lawson (G) = 12+2
2. Danyon Hume = 10+1
3. Jye Etheridge = 8
4. Drew Kemp = 6+1
5. Rory Schlein = 8
6. Freddy Hodder = 0
7. Bastian Borke = 3+2

Redcar = 43 (86)

1. Charles Wright = 12+2
2. Dan Thompson (G) = 9+1
3. Connor Bailey = 3
4. Jason Edwards = 7
5. Ben Barker (G) = 5
6. Jake Mulford = 3+1
7. Ben Trigger = 4+1

Jake Mulford has urged his Bears teammates to find that extra 5% to help the Bears turn a corner as the side travel to the Scottish Borders this evening to take on Berwick with tapes up at 7:00 at Shielfield Park.

Mulford, in his second year as a Bear, believes if he and some of his colleagues, can find that little extra, the side’s results will change, ” A few of us need to find that extra 5% and if most of us can add 1 or 2 points each match then we will start to come out on the right side of these close meetings.”

The Bears reserve is relatively happy with his start to the season, ” I am quite happy with how things are going. I was a little frustrated last night as I still need to work on a few things and become more consistent and score some more points.”

The 2nd year Bear believes his side can turn things around after last night’s home defeat, ” The boys are frustrated with losing at home but I think we can go to Berwick today with some confidence that we can turn things around and bring home the 3 points on offer.”

Mulford also reserved praise for Charles Wright and Jason Edwards, two bright spots of Redcar’s season so far, ” Charles and Jason have been riding really well for us of late and they have been scoring some big points so we just need to help them by scoring a few more points of our own.”

Redcar bring in Plymouth’s Dan Thompson to guest in place of Jonas Knudsen who is on Polish duty whilst Ben Barker once again deputises for the injured Danny King. The Bandits bring in ex Bear Richard Lawson to guest in place of ankle injury victim Lewi Kerr with the hosts looking to return to winning ways on home shale after being defeated last Saturday by Poole.

Fans who are unable to make the trip north can purchase Berwick Speedway’s live stream at https://tv.berwickspeedway.com/

Berwick  Bandits
1 Richard Lawson (G) 8.80
2 Danyon Hume 4.93
3 Jye Etheridge 5.76
4 Drew Kemp 5.52
5 Rory Schlein 7.73 (c)
6 Freddy Hodder 2.00
7 Bastian Borke 4.30
TM Stewart Dickson

Redcar Agilia Bears.
1- Charles Wright (c) 8.12
2- Dan Thompson (G) 5.51
3- Connor Bailey 5.53
4- Jason Edwards 5.32
5- Ben Barker (G) 7.87
6- Jake Mulford 3.20
7- Ben Trigger 2.25
TM Gavin Parr

Berwick ensured Redcar could not get their first Cab Direct Championship win of the season as they took a 43-47 success at the ECCO Arena. Charles Wright continued his blistering form with 12 whilst Drew Kemp hit 11 for the visitors.

The meeting started with a first bend crash as Tom Brennan hit the deck, with the British starlet rising to his feet after some medical attention. The re-run saw Wright take a comfortable win, but with Jonas Knudsen at the back, the Bears could not take an early lead.

Heat 2 saw Jake Mulford make a storming start to take a comfortable win, and with Ben Trigger also at the front, the Bears looked set for a maximum heat advantage until the Bandits flying reserve, Bastian Borke passed Trigger to limit the damage to a 4-2 for Redcar, but the Bears did take a slender 2 point lead on home shale.

Nevertheless, the Bandits hit back immediately to turn a 2 point deficit into a 2 point lead as their middle order pairing of Drew Kemp and Jye Etheridge led comfortably to send Berwick ahead. Heat 4 saw a stroke of luck for the Bears as the Bandits looked set for a 5-1 until a visibly frustrated Bastian Borke shed a chain which allowed Ben Barker and Ben Trigger through for a 3-3 with Rory Schlein taking an impressive tapes to flag win.

After grading, the Bears hit back with a brilliant 5-1 as Jason Edwards gated for a superb win, and with Connor Bailey passing ex-Bear Danyon Hume, the Bears put their noses in front. After Wright took a win in a shared heat 6, the Bandits levelled the match as Etheridge passed Barker for the win, and with Kemp in 3rd ahead of Mulford, the visitors kept the Bears in check.

However, the Bears retook the lead in heat 8 as Knudsen trapped for the win, and with Trigger 3rd ahead of a battling Hume, Redcar had another 2 point advantage on Teesside. Heat 9 saw a brilliant race as Edwards led for the majority of the race until Schlein passed the Bears asset around the outside on lap 3 to win, but with Freddy Hodder at the back, Redcar’s lead remained intact.

Heat 10 saw Wright pass both Bandits on lap 1 to take the win, but with Knudsen at the back, Berwick ensured that they remained within striking distance of the “Agilia” Bears. Heat 11 looked set for another shared race until Hume clipped Mulford’s back wheel with the referee electing to re-run the race despite Brennan holding a clear lead at the time of the stoppage. Nevertheless, Brennan repeated the trick to hold off Barker in the early stages for the win, with the Bears still holding that slender 2 point lead.

The visitors then struck a huge blow in heat 12 as both Bandits (Etheridge & Borke) passed Connor Bailey to take a big 5-1 to put Berwick in command of the meeting in the latter stages. Heat 13 saw a classic race as Barker made a dream start with Wright chasing the dirt on the outside to join his partner. However, Wright (who looked quicker than Barker) clipped the fence and bent his footrest which sent him to the back, and despite the skipper’s best efforts, he was unable to put himself in a points scoring position which put a dent in Redcar’s hopes of a home win.

The Bandits secured the victory in heat 14 as Kemp won whilst his partner, Borke rode inside and out to keep Jason Edwards behind to secure a big away win for the Bandits. Heat 15 saw Wright return to winning ways, with Barker just holding off Etheridge for 3rd which gave the Bears a consolation heat 15 advantage.

Redcar Bears = 43

1. Charles Wright = 12
2. Jonas Knudsen = 3
3. Connor Bailey = 5+2
4. Jason Edwards = 7
5. Ben Barker (G) = 9+1
6. Jake Mulford = 5
7. Ben Trigger = 3+1

Berwick Bandits = 47

1. Tom Brennan (G) = 6+1
2. Danyon Hume = 2+1
3. Jye Etheridge = 8+3
4. Drew Kemp = 11
5. Rory Schlein = 10
6. Freddy Hodder = 1+1  
7. Bastian Borke = 9+1 

Redcar team boss Gavin Parr has urged his “Agilia” Bears to improve on their poor start to the season on home shale as the Redcar Bears welcome the Berwick Bandits to the ECCO Arena in the Cab Direct Championship with tapes up at 7:30 at the ECCO Arena.

Despite the side’s away win at Workington, the team boss still has concerns over his side’s form at the ECCO Arena, “ We are trying to improve things at home but we do have to put it into perspective that Scunthorpe are brilliant at our place. We do need a good, strong home performance to back up the result we had at Workington, so let’s hope we can start the weekend off with a win!”

Parr is also wary of the threat the Bandits pose, with the visitors refreshing their line-up this season, with the Bandits also tracking Tom Brennan as a guest for the injured Lewi Kerr, “ Berwick have Tom Brennan this weekend who is in the form of his life. Danyon (Hume) will be out to prove a point after the numbers didn’t fit for him to return to Redcar and they have a very good reserve in Bastian Borke. They also have Drew Kemp who rides our track well and to be honest, the Berwick team as a whole look like a good outfit.”

Redcar bring in their former skipper Ben Barker to guest for the side in both meetings against Berwick this weekend with Parr looking forward to seeing Barker’s style once again, “ We have Ben in the side this weekend and I am looking forward to seeing his leg trailing style around the ECCO Arena again. You know what you are going to get from Ben and that’s 110% effort. Ben likes our track and the Berwick track so that bodes well for us.”

Parr has also praised the Redcar faithful, with Parr shining a light on the travelling support at Workington, “ When we went over to the fans after the Workington meeting, we meant that from the bottom of our hearts. Me and the promotion have had lots of sleepless nights after our start to the season but overall, the fans have been superb and they were great at Workington.”

The Newcastle born boss is also full of praise for Jason Edwards, who hit a superb maximum against Workington, “ Jason is a real deep thinker and he studies where he goes wrong. When we were last at Workington he scored 2 points so he was on the phone to Danny (King) and they analysed what he was doing wrong and they solved it and that showed in his maximum on Saturday. Jason was also out every race to watch and learn more and more as the meeting progressed.”

The promotion have drafted in the aforementioned Ben Barker to guest for the side with the former skipper no stranger to the Redcar supporters. Jason Edwards will be looking to keep up his stellar recent run whilst Jonas Knudsen will be hoping to hit a big score against his former club.

Berwick have a number of riders who enjoy the ECCO Arena including Rory Schlein, Drew Kemp and Tom Brennan. The Bandits also track two former Bears in the aforementioned Danyon Hume and Jye Etheridge whilst Bastian Borke has started the season brilliantly at reserve.

For any fans who are unable to attend the ECCO Arena, the meeting will be live streamed by our streaming partners, Tapes Up Productions at redcar-speedway.tv

Redcar Agilia Bears.
1- Charles Wright (c) 8.12
2- Jonas Knudsen 5.51
3- Connor Bailey 5.53
4- Jason Edwards 5.32
5- Ben Barker (G) 7.87
6- Jake Mulford 3.20
7- Ben Trigger 2.25
TM Gavin Parr

Berwick  Bandits
1 Tom Brennan (G) 8.80
2 Danyon Hume 4.93
3 Jye Etheridge 5.76
4 Drew Kemp 5.52
5 Rory Schlein 7.73 (c)
6 Freddy Hodder 2.00
7 Bastian Borke 4.30
TM Stewart Dickson

Redcar produced a masterful display to defeat Workington 50-40 (100-78 on aggregate) at the GT Tyres Arena to move into the Cab Direct KO Cup semi-finals. Troy Batchelor top scored with 8 for Workington whilst the magnificent Jason Edwards made history with his first professional maximum (14+1).

Charles Wright set the tone for the Bears as he first passed the Comets guest James Pearson before the skipper made a superb inside pass on Craig Cook on the penultimate lap to take a well deserved win, but with Jonas Knudsen at the back, Redcar could not extend their aggregate lead.

After a shared heat 2 won by Workington’s guest, Paul Starke, the Bears hit the front in the second leg as Jason Edwards and Connor Bailey gated for a relatively untroubled 5-1 to give their side a fantastic start in Cumbria.

Heat 4 saw Riss win with ease in a shared race despite Ben Trigger putting serious pressure on Paul Starke in the final lap. The Comets then hit back to reduce the aggregate arrears to fifteen with a 4-2 heat advantage as Claus Vissing won with Mulford ensuring the Comets could not hit a 5-1 with an impressive 2nd place.

Nevertheless, the battling Bears re-established their 4 point 2nd leg lead after a scintillating heat 6. Cook gated with the Comets skipper electing to use the outside line with Riss hot on his tail in 2nd on the inside, Riss continued his assault and passed the former Grand Prix star in the closing stages with Cook then taking a nasty tumble on the run to the line which gave Redcar an important 4-2 heat advantage.

After the untouchable Edwards continued on his merry way with another win in heat 7, and with Bailey ahead of Sam McGurk in 3rd, the Bears fans were beginning to think their side were on the way to the semi-finals. However, despite Trigger gating in heat 8, he was passed by both Pearson and Starke as the hosts recorded their first 5-1 to reduce the 2nd leg deficit to two.

After the brilliant German, Riss won a shared heat 9, Redcar’s 6 point buffer was re-established with their second 5-1 as Bailey passed both Pearson and his teammate Edwards for the heat win with the ‘Billericay Blaster’ still on a paid maximum.  Charles Wright made another magnificent pass in heat 11 as he left Batchelor standing on lap 2 to take the chequered flag, and with Knudsen in 3rd, Redcar’s progression to the semi-finals was almost assured.

That progression was confirmed after a shared heat 12 won by the ever improving Tate Zischke, but with Starke at the back, no Comets heat advantage was forthcoming which sealed Redcar’s spot in the cup semi-finals. Heat 13 saw a revitalised Cook take the win despite strong pressure from Riss, and with Batchelor (who rode without goggles for the final lap in deteriorating conditions) in 3rd ahead of Wright (who was off 15m after exceeding the 2 minute time allowance), the Comets still had faint hope of a second leg win at 36-42.

However, the Comets problem was that Redcar’s star, Jason Edwards was out in heat 14 and again the Redcar asset was untroubled in his 3rd win of the afternoon, but with Ben Trigger being passed by Claus Vissing, Redcar could not extend their lead, not that it mattered much to the vocal Bears support.

The final race of a damp afternoon saw Edwards gate once again with Riss making a superb inside pass on Batchelor at the end of lap 1 with both Bears clearing off into the distance for the win in a truly stunning performance on the road.

Workington Comets = 40 (78)

1. Craig Cook = 5
2. James Pearson (G) = 7+1
3. Tate Zischke = 6
4. Claus Vissing = 6+2
5. Troy Batchelor = 8
6. Sam McGurk = 2
7. Paul Starke (G) = 6+2

Redcar Bears = 50 (100)

1. Charles Wright = 6
2. Jonas Knudsen = 2
3. Connor Bailey = 8+1
4. Jason Edwards = 14+1
5. Erik Riss (G) = 13+1
6. Jake Mulford = 6+1
7. Ben Trigger = 1+1

Redcar starlet, Jason Edwards has urged his Bears teammates to keep plugging away despite the side’s home defeat against Scunthorpe. The “Agilia” Bears now turn their attentions to the KO Cup as they head to Workington, looking to defend a 13 point aggregate lead with tapes up at 3:30 this afternoon in Cumbria.

Edwards, who scored paid 7 in last night’s defeat, is upbeat ahead of today’s crunch clash, “ We have just all got to keep digging in as a side and keep plugging away, everyone is up for it. Erik (Riss) should go really well again and it’s Charles’ first meeting at Workington but we can’t just rely on them, we need to perform as a team.”

The Redcar asset believes Jonas Knudsen will be key for his side today, despite the Dane’s poor performance last night against Scunthorpe, “ Jonas is frustrated after his performance last night but he rode really well at Workington last time so hopefully he can replicate that again.”

Edwards also explained how disappointed he was against the Comets last time out, “ I was absolutely awful at Workington last time we were there, I rode the track completely wrong, Workington is a very European style track, it’s not a British style track but I need to do better there this time.”

The ‘Billericay Blaster’ also believes the Comets will miss the services of Antti Vuolas who is out with concussion, “ Workington are without Antti Vuolas today and he is very good around Workington but they have brought in Paul Starke at reserve for Celina Liebmann (racing in Germany) so he should go well despite not having raced there yet.”

Redcar are looking to bounce back and qualify for the KO Cup semi-finals after a slow start to the season. The Bears once again call upon the services of Erik Riss to deputise for broken hand victim Danny King.

Workington bring in Glasgow’s James Pearson for the concussed Antti Vuolas. Additionally, the aforementioned Paul Starke replaces Celina Liebmann at reserve with the German back in her home country on European commitments. The Comets skipper, Craig Cook will be hoping to continue his blistering start to the season after he hit 16 on debut for the Oxford Spires in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership on Thursday.

Workington Comets

1. Craig Cook (C) – 8.78
2. James Pearson (G) – 4.20
3. Tate Zischke – 5.00
4. Claus Vissing – 6.33
5. Troy Batchelor – 7.36
6. Sam McGurk – 2.00
7. Paul Starke (G) – 3.52

TM – James Denham

Redcar “Agilia” Bears
1- Charles Wright (C) 8.12
2- Jonas Knudsen 5.51
3- Connor Bailey 5.53
4- Jason Edwards 5.32
5- Erik Riss (G) 7.87
6- Jake Mulford 3.20
7- Ben Trigger 2.25
TM Gavin Parr

The Redcar “Agilia” Bears were defeated 44-46 by an in-form Scunthorpe side at the ECCO Arena. Charles Wright hit 14 for Redcar with Erik Riss hitting a sublime paid maximum (13+2) whilst Michael Palm-Toft hit 10 for the victorious visitors.

The visitors set the tone for the meeting with a shock opening heat 5-1 as Connor Mountain took the win whilst Kyle Howarth held off educated pressure from Charles Wright to take 2nd and give the Scorpions the dream start on Teesside. Heat 2 saw fantastic speedway as Ashton Boughen, the Scunthorpe guest, passed both Ben Trigger and Jake Mulford to take a stylish win, but with Luke Harrison at the back, Scunthorpe could not extend their advantage in the early stages.

The 3rd race saw another Scorpions heat winner as Palm-Toft passed Jason Edwards in the early stages to take the win, but with Simon Lambert at the back, the Bears remained within 4 of the much fancied visitors. Erik Riss started his perfect night with a superb gate to take a comfortable win, and with Trigger riding well to hold off Harrison, Redcar had their first heat advantage but still found themselves 11-13 down in their first Cab Direct Championship meeting of the season.

However, the dynamite pairing of Kyle Howarth and Connor Mountain again shocked the home fans with a big 5-1 as they gated for a comfortable maximum advantage to extend their lead to 6 points on away soil. Heat 6 saw Wright take the win after holding off a hard charging Jake Allen, but with Jonas Knudsen being beaten on the line by the ever improving Ashton Boughen, Redcar remained six behind.

With the Bears six behind, Gavin Parr elected to use his tactical substitute in the shape of Charles Wright who joined Erik Riss with the home support hoping their side could start the comeback with a big 5-1. However, despite Erik Riss taking the win, Palm-Toft and Wright passed each other numerous times with Palm-Toft landing the decisive blow to take 2nd and ensure Redcar could only reduce the arrears to 4 at the ECCO Arena.

Despite Redcar hitting their second heat advantage, Mountain and Boughen were proving to be a thorn in the Redcar side as they hit a damaging 5-1 to give their side clear breathing space at 20-28 at the ECCO Arena. Scunthorpe heat advantages were becoming all too regular as they hit fourth of the night in a 4-2 as Jake Allen took his only win of the night despite being pressurised by Jason Edwards throughout with the Redcar fans left rueing a fall by Connor Bailey who looked well set to challenge Allen for the lead.

Heat 10 saw Wright take the win after a battle in the early stages with Palm-Toft, but with Jonas Knudsen unable to make an impression on Simon Lambert, Redcar could not reduce the visitors lead which stood at 10 points.

After a pair of shared heats won by Riss and Bailey respectively, Redcar struck their first 5-1 of the evening as Wright and Riss comprehensively defeated Howarth and Allen to give the home support faint hope of a stunning comeback. However, heat 14 saw those slim hopes ended as Palm-Toft made a superb gate to take a comfortable win to give the visitors the 2 league points.

The final race saw the dynamite pairing of Wright and Riss take a consolation 5-1 from the gate with the Scorpions taking a 44-46 success on Teesside.

Redcar = 44

1. Charles Wright = 14
2. Jonas Knudsen = 1
3. Connor Bailey = 4+1
4. Jason Edwards = 6+1
5. Erik Riss (G) = 13+2 Paid Max
6. Jake Mulford = 3+1
7. Ben Trigger = 3

Scunthorpe = 46

1. Kyle Howarth = 9+1
2. Connor Mountain = 9+2
3. Simon Lambert = 2+2
4. Michael Palm Toft = 10
5. Jake Allen = 7
6. Ashton Boughen (G) = 8+2
7. Luke Harrison = 1

Redcar boss Gavin Parr has challenged his improving Bears side to turn the tables on Scunthorpe when the two sides meet tomorrow night at the ECCO Arena with tapes up at 7:30. 

Parr, in his 2nd year as team manager, is confident ahead of Redcar’s first Cab Direct Championship league fixture of the season, “ After the Workington performance, I’m hoping we can carry that performance forward against Scunthorpe. Several of our riders have gained huge amounts of confidence from the match against the Comets which can only bode well for us.”

Despite tasting defeat at home against Scunthorpe a mere 13 days ago, Parr saw the positives in the BSN Series defeat, “ The BSN Series match wasn’t a complete disaster, we led for 13 heats and had a last heat decider so let’s see if we can turn the tables on the previous match against the Scorpions.”

As reported yesterday, Redcar have brought in Erik Riss as a guest for the injured Danny King with Parr explaining how he is planning for the next month, “ We have brought Erik in to guest in both of our matches this weekend. We have been in long discussions with Erik to try and bring him in on a 28 day injury replacement but he unfortunately has too many other commitments that will clash so I am planning as far ahead as possible with guests for the next few weeks.”

Parr offered an injury update on Redcar’s star, Danny King, “ Danny went to speak to the hand specialist on Tuesday and he will be having surgery either later this week or early next week. Danny is going to have a plate put in which will hopefully ‘fix’ the issue. We are hoping Danny will be back at the start of June so he will hopefully only miss a month of action.”

The passionate team boss is also happy with the potential shown in last Friday’s fixture, “ I read a comment online from a supporter claiming that at the end of the season we could potentially end up with 5 heat leaders when we have only had 2 so far! If Connor (Bailey) can keep the level that he showed against Workington up then he will put himself in a strong position to be the 3rd heat leader. However, Jonas (Knudsen) is looking better and better every week and Jason (Edwards) has had a superb start to the season.”

Parr was also keen to praise the performances of Jake Mulford and Ben Trigger who outscored Workington’s reserves by 10 points last Friday, something that was key to Redcar’s success, “ Jake is cock a hoop at the moment, he text me on Saturday saying that he couldn’t believe that race against Craig Cook. The cutback on Craig was the move of a seasoned professional and he’s only 19! Ben (Trigger) did exactly what I needed him to do on Friday and beat his opposite number 3 times. If Ben can do that every meeting then he’s doing his job.”

The Bears bring in the aforementioned German Erik Riss to guest for Danny King at number 5. The new calendar month brings a change to the averages with Charles Wright moving to number 1 in the side to partner Jonas Knudsen in heat 1. The Scorpions bring in Oxford’s Ashton Boughen to guest in place of ankle injury victim, Nathan Ablitt whilst Jake Allen will be hoping for better after his 5 point return against the Bears last time out. 

Any fans who are unable to attend the meeting are reminded that the meeting will be live streamed by our streaming partners, Tapes Up Productions @ www.redcar-speedway.tv

Redcar “Agilia” Bears

1- Charles Wright © 8.12

2- Jonas Knudsen 5.51

3- Connor Bailey 5.53

4- Jason Edwards 5.32

5- Erik Riss (G) 7.87

6- Jake Mulford 3.20

7- Ben Trigger 2.25

™: Gavin Parr

Scunthorpe Scorpions 

1 Kyle Howarth 7.73

2 Connor Mountain 5.55

3 Simon Lambert © 6.11

4 Michael Palm-Toft 7.24

5 Jake Allen 7.74

6 Ashton Boughen (G) 3.41

7 Luke Harrison 2.00

™: David Howe

This Friday we will again be holding a Fans night in the SG Petch Lounge, for our opening league meeting against Scunthorpe.

Balcony seating, a full buffet plus a hot drink, a meeting programme & a drink from the bar.

All that comes for the cost of £12 (payable in the lounge) on top of your normal entry. Kids £6 (which excludes the drink from the bar and their own programme).

Anyone interested contact Ian

indrinkel@msn.com

07827293866