Category: Bears News

Silver Helmet fans night!

For the “The Teesside Silver Helmet” we are holding a fans night in The Bruce Forrester Lounge on the 1st bend.

As usual it will cost £12 (kids £6) on top of your entry, payable in the lounge. For that you will get balcony seating, pie and peas, a hot & a bar drink, + a programme. Places are limited so it’s on a first come first served basis.

Anyone interested text Ian on 07827293866 or email indrinkel@msn.com

Use the form below to vote for your 2023 rider of the year. Voting will close at midnight on the 25th October and the winner will be announced at the End of Season party on Saturday 4th November.

Scunthorpe progressed to the KO Cup final with a 41-49 away win against an injury-hit Redcar. Richard Lawson top scored for the Bears with paid 11 whilst the ever impressive Simon Lambert hit paid 14 for the victorious visitors. 

With the Bears looking to overturn an 18 point deficit, they knew that starting fast was paramount and they did just that with a 4-2 heat advantage, but it could have been better! Richard Lawson and Danyon Hume gated and for 3 laps, looked comfortable until Hume pulled a big locker on bend 2 of the final lap with Scunthorpe’s Connor Mountain there to pounce to take 2nd despite Hume’s best efforts to regain the position. 

Heat 2 saw Redcar double their lead and cut the aggregate gap to 14 but again, the race was not without drama! Jason Edwards gated and won comfortably with the race looking settled on a shared heat until Nathan Ablitt fell on the final lap to hand Luke Harrison 3rd and Redcar had their 2nd heat advantage in as many races. However, heat 3 saw the Scorpions pair of Simon Lambert and Jake Allen sting Redcar with a 5-1 to level on the night and reclaim their 18 point aggregate advantage. 

Drew Kemp took his first win in heat 4 as he gated and held off Erik Riss for the win, and with Michael Palm-Toft in 3rd, Scunthorpe went ahead for the first time on the night. Ryan Douglas took his only win of the match by defeating Leon Flint in heat 5 with Scunthorpe doubling their lead to 4 points as the battling Mountain kept Connor Bailey in 4th to give the visitors a stranglehold on proceedings. 

Heat 6 saw Palm-Toft produce a superb move to shake off Hume for 2nd and then pass Lawson to win his first race of the second leg, but with the Dane’s partner, Ablitt toiling at the back, Scunthorpe’s lead remained at 4. 

Heat 7 saw Riss lead until he was usurped by Allen on bend 3 of the opening lap. The German then hit the deck after attempting to take avoiding action from Allen who had locked up ahead of him but the Bears heat leader was excluded from the re-run. The re-run saw the Scorpions engine room pairing gate for a comfortable win to send the visitors 8 ahead on aggregate with their place in the KO Cup final all but assured. 

Edwards took his 2nd win of the match in heat 8 as he passed Kemp on lap 3, but with Hume suffering rare mechanical issues, Redcar could not eat into Scunthorpe’s healthy advantage. After a shared heat 9, Scunthorpe’s KO Cup final place was secured in heat 10 as Allen and Lambert combined for their second 5-1 to further extend Scunthorpe’s lead to 12 on another tough night for the Bears. 

However, Redcar kept battling as they recorded back to back 4-2 heat advantages to reduce the arrears to 8 points. Riss bounced back from his heavy fall to win heat 11 whilst Bailey passed Lambert to win heat 12 to give the Redcar support some hope. 

Lawson recovered from a disappointing heat 10 to win heat 13 ahead of Douglas, but with Palm-Toft passing Riss entering lap 4, Redcar remained 8 behind at 35-43 at the ECCO Arena. 

Scunthorpe secured the match in heat 14 despite a superb ride from Redcar’s guest, Leon Flint as he passed Kemp and Allen to take a well deserved heat win, but with Edwards at the back, Scunthorpe took the victory and their 6th away win of the season. The final race of the night saw another scintillating battle as a flying Flint took an early lead until the Scorpions top scorer, Lambert passed ‘The Lionheart’ on bend 4 of the penultimate lap to take the win and earn his side a 41-49 success at the ECCO Arena. 

Redcar = 41 (77)

1. Richard Lawson (G) = 10+1

2. Danyon Hume = 2+1

3. Connor Bailey = 4+1

4. Leon Flint (G) = 10

5. Erik Riss = 5

6. Jason Edwards = 7

7. Luke Harrison (G) = 3

Scunthorpe = 49 (103)

1. Ryan Douglas = 5

2. Connor Mountain = 6+1

3. Simon Lambert = 12+2

4. Jake Allen = 9+2

5. Michael Palm Toft = 8+1

6. Nathan Ablitt = 0

7. Drew Kemp = 9

Redcar co-promoter, Jamie Swales has challenged his “Agilia” Bears side to turn the tables on Scunthorpe as Redcar look to make their 3rd KO Cup final in 4 years. Redcar host the Scorpions tomorrow night at 7:30 at the ECCO Arena with a place against Poole in the final up for grabs. 

Swales is confident of his side’s chances despite the Bears trailing by 18 points heading into the all important 2nd leg, “ There’s no reason why we can’t do to them what they did to us, there’s no doubt about that! “

Redcar again call on the services of Leon Flint as a guest replacement with Swales confident that the young Brit will replicate his form from last Saturday’s win in the Stuart Robson farewell meeting, “ Leon is in good form at the moment and he gets another guest booking after riding well for us at Oxford and Scunthorpe. He has shown he can beat anyone in our league around the ECCO Arena when he won Stuart’s meeting last week so hopefully he can perform well again for us! “

Swales also praised the work of team boss, Gavin Parr, who Swales believes has been instrumental in keeping Redcar’s spirits up after a torrid time with injuries and defeats, “ Individually, the riders are riding well but injuries and circumstances have put us in this position. Gavin (Parr) has done really well at keeping everyone’s spirits up during our recent run.”

The former Workington rider also revealed a startling statistic in regards to Redcar’s injury problems in 2023, “ Recently, I worked out that we have only tracked our starting 1-7 in four meetings all season which shows how injuries have really hampered us this year.”

Despite the Redcar co-promoter being confident of his side’s chances, he admitted disappointment that Redcar found themselves 18 down despite a strong start at Scunthorpe, “ I thought we did a good job in the early stages at Scunthorpe. The track had a slight dirt line on which our boys liked. However, at the halfway stage, the track dried out which brought the advantage back to Scunthorpe which they capitalised on. Losing by 18 points did disappoint me as I thought we were going to keep it under 10 points but it’s still all to play for! “

Redcar bring in the aforementioned Leon Flint to guest for the stricken skipper Charles Wright with Flint scoring an impressive 19 points across his previous 2 guest bookings for the Bears. Additionally, Redcar also track their regular guest Luke Harrison in place of the injured Jake Mulford. Meanwhile, the Scorpions have once again named an unchanged 1-7 with Michael Palm-Toft and Jake Allen set to return to their former home track once again. 

Fans who cannot attend the ECCO Arena are reminded that the meeting will be live streamed by our streaming partners, TapesUp productions at redcar-speedway.tv. Season ticket holders are also reminded that the meeting is not part of your season ticket package although a 10% discount is applicable upon entry to the stadium. 

Redcar “Agilia” Bears

1. Danny King © 8.54

2. Danyon Hume 4.88 

3. Connor Bailey 5.60

4. Leon Flint (G) 8.00

5. Erik Riss 7.62

6. Jason Edwards 4.25

7. Luke Harrison (G) 3.14

™: Gavin Parr

Scunthorpe Scorpions

1. Ryan Douglas 9.38

2. Connor Mountain 5.38

3. Simon Lambert © 6.15

4. Jake Allen 6.91

5. Michael Palm Toft 6.71

6. Nathan Ablitt 2.49

7. Drew Kemp 5.11

™: Dave Peet

On Friday for the second leg of the cup semi final against Scunthorpe we are once again holding a fans night. This week it is in The Bruce Forrester Lounge on the first bend.

As usual it will cost £12 (kids £6) on top of your usual stadium entry, payable in the lounge. For that you will get seating on the balcony, pie and peas, a drink from the bar, a hot drink and a meeting programme. Places are limited so it’s on a first come first served basis.

Anyone interested text Ian on 07827293866 or email indrinkel@msn.com.

Stuart Robson is finally set to bid a fond farewell to British Speedway as he hosts his farewell at the ECCO Arena today with the start time now being brought FORWARD to 2pm. 

The former Bears skipper believes his meeting will be a closely fought battle, “ I can see Chris Harris, Danny King and Norick Blodorn fighting for the title. Danny (King) obviously has home track knowledge, Norick (Blodorn) could go well but I think Chris (Harris) is the clear favourite.”

Robson also explained the difficulties securing the line-up for today’s meeting, “ I was never going to get the kind of field I had at the start of the season, especially with the Grand Prix being on, but it’s still a good line-up. Chris (Harris), Danny (King) and Norick (Blodorn) are all top riders and I’m sure all of the line-up will put on a good show.”

The former Newcastle man is also looking forward to seeing the ‘stars of tomorrow’ in action, “ Hopefully a few of the younger lads will cause some upsets! We have riders such as Freddy Hodder and Ashton Boughen in the meeting and hopefully they can learn and make an impact! “

Robson also highlighted Simon Lambert as a dark horse for the meeting, with the Scunthorpe skipper having one of his best seasons, “ Simon could be a real spoiler, he’s riding very very well this year! If Simon can get in front, he will be a very hard man to pass! “

Robson also discussed his appreciation for Simon Lambert, Chris Harris, Paul Starke and Danny King, who all have been scheduled to race in the 4 previous attempts to run the meeting, “ Simon and Paul have been the first names in the line-up every time. It’s nice to be thought of in such a way with these riders committing to the meeting again.”

Some of the star names in action include the former Grand Prix star, Chris Harris, Redcar number 1, Danny King and Belle Vue’s Norick Blodorn. Other young stars include Redcar’s Jason Edwards, Berwick’s Leon Flint, Edinburgh’s Lasse Fredriksen and Redcar regular Luke Harrison. Meanwhile, there are also youth and upright demonstration races during the meeting with the 125cc and 250cc youngsters looking to impress. Additionally, Gavin Parr and Jade Mudgway will be featuring in the upright class which is sure to provide entertainment!

The meeting will be run on a 20 heat format with the top two going straight through to the final whilst the riders who finish 3rd-6th will feature in the last chance final qualifier. 

Fans who are unable to attend the ECCO Arena are reminded that the meeting will be live streamed by our streaming partners, TapesUp Productions at www.redcar-speedway.tv 

Full line up (in rider order)

1. Simon Lambert

2. Connor Mountain

3. Norick Blodorn

4. Chris Harris

5. Luke Killeen

6. Danny King

7. Lasse Fredriksen

8. Lee Complin

9. Freddy Hodder 

10. Drew Kemp

11. Jacob Hook

12. Paul Starke

13. Ashton Boughen

14. Leon Flint

15. Jason Edwards

16. Luke Harrison

Reserves:

Ben Trigger 

Edward Davison

125cc Young Lions

Oliver Bovingdon

Archie Rolph

Casper Kluczniak

Ollie Binns

250 cc Young Lions

William Cairns

Cooper Rushen

Seth Norman 

Caydin Martin

Upright demonstration races

Mark Anderson 

Martin Connor

Andy Hislop

James Culbert

Andy Mountain

Shaun Bickley

Jade Mudgway

Gavin Parr

Scunthorpe struck the first blow in the KO Cup semi-final as they overcame Redcar 54-36 at the Eddie Wright Raceway. The Bears started well and found themselves well in contention at 25-23 down but the Scorpions went up a gear in the second half of the meeting to stamp their authority on the semi-final. The ever impressive Ryan Douglas hit 14 for the hosts whilst Danny King hit paid 10 for Redcar.

King started in superb fashion as he inflicted a rare defeat on Douglas, but with Danyon Hume at the rear, Redcar could not take an early lead in Lincolnshire. Heat 2 saw the Scorpions take the lead as Drew Kemp flew from the gate to win comfortably but Jason Edwards held onto 2nd despite strong pressure from Nathan Ablitt to limit the damage for Redcar. 

Leon Flint, Redcar’s guest number 4, passed Jake Allen on bend 3 of the opening lap to win heat 3 with gate four providing every race winner so far, but with Connor Bailey at the rear, the Bears were still two down in the early stages. Erik Riss opened his night with a tapes to flag win in heat 4, but with Luke Harrison being passed by both Scorpions, the Bears still trailed. 

King made it 2 wins from 2 in heat 5 as he passed Jake Allen on lap 3 for another impressive win, but with Hume being passed by Simon Lambert for 3rd, Redcar could not find a remedy for their last places despite the “visitors providing 4 of the 5 race winners. Scunthorpe flexed their muscles in heat 6 as Douglas won comfortably whilst Connor Mountain passed Riss in the early stages with the Scunthorpe man then going up the inside of Edwards on the final lap to stretch their lead to 6. 

However, Redcar hit back in heat 7 after a super race! Flint passed both Scorpions (Ablitt & Kemp) on bend 4 of lap 1 whilst Bailey produced heroics to pass Ablitt for 2nd on the run to the line to bring the Bears right back into contention. Mountain repeated his heat 6 move on Edwards as he passed the Bears asset on the final lap to record his first win of the night in heat 8, but with Kemp last, Redcar remained in touch at 25-23. 

Scunthorpe’s 6 point lead was re-established in heat 9 as the engine room pairing of Lambert and Allen dominated proceedings to give Scunthorpe the all important momentum. Douglas took his tally to 8 points with another win in heat 10, and with Mountain defeating Bailey for 3rd, Scunthorpe’s lead was now 8 points. 

After Michael Palm-Toft won a shared heat 11, heat 12 saw one of the strangest speedway races you are ever likely to see! The first running of the race saw Kemp excluded after a fall on lap 2. The re-run saw Lambert drive up the inside of Bailey on bend 3 of the final lap for the win but, unbelievably, both men continued racing for another 2 laps for no apparent reason until Bailey fell with nobody able to understand what they had just witnessed! 

With the Scorpions in the ascendency, they pulled further clear as Douglas and Palm-Toft took a maximum 5-1 in heat 13 to extend the hosts lead to 12. The penultimate race saw Allen win whilst Ablitt rode well to hold off a hard charging Flint for 3rd to further extend Scunthorpe’s lead. 

Heat 15 saw Scunthorpe have the all-important choice of gates with the hosts choosing gates 2 and 4 with 4 providing the majority of the race winners throughout the meeting. After Douglas took the early lead, Palm-Toft passed both Bears (King & Flint) on the backstraight of lap 1 to give Scunthorpe an 18 point advantage heading into the decisive 2nd leg on Friday at the ECCO Arena. 

Scunthorpe = 54

1. Ryan Douglas = 14

2. Connor Mountain = 7+2

3. Simon Lambert = 8+2

4. Jake Allen = 9+1

5. Michael Palm Toft = 9+2

6. Nathan Ablitt = 3

7. Drew Kemp = 4+1

Redcar = 36

1. Danny King = 9+1

2. Danyon Hume = 3+1

3. Connor Bailey = 4+1

4. Leon Flint (G) = 8

5. Erik Riss = 4

6. Jason Edwards = 8+1

7. Luke Harrison = 0

Redcar team boss, Gavin Parr has hit the reset button as Redcar look to put their play-off campaign in their rear view mirror as the “Agilia” Bears travel to the Eddie Wright Raceway to take on Scunthorpe in the first leg of the KO Cup semi-final with tapes up at 7:30 in Lincolnshire. 

Parr, coming towards the end of his opening year in charge, was enthused with the performances of some of his men against Glasgow with the boss first discussing Jason Edwards, “ I thought Jason had his best ever meeting for Redcar (Edwards scored 12). I was very impressed with how he went around the outside of (Ben) Basso and then shut the door on him. 10 weeks ago, Jason just wouldn’t have done that! “

The “Agilia” Bears boss was also impressed with the performances of Danyon Hume and Erik Riss, “ Danyon had another good night (7+3) and Erik (10+1) has started to show that he’s getting back to form, he was mixing it well and had a good match.”

The likeable Geordie, who will be donning the kevlars once more in Stuart Robson’s farewell meeting, also highlighted Redcar’s unfortunate luck throughout the play-offs, “ I think last night summed up how unlucky we’ve been in the play-offs. Firstly, we lost Charles (Wright), we then had to go to Oxford with only 3 of our own riders and then against Glasgow we lost Sedge (Justin Sedgmen) and Connor (Bailey) in the same race as Connor’s bike was bent after coming together with Justin.”

With Parr eager to claim victory at the Eddie Wright Raceway, he is aware of the threat Scunthorpe pose, “ We will of course be going to Scunthorpe to win the meeting but we know it will be another tough test. If we can’t go and get the win, we will be aiming to keep the deficit into single figures ahead of the second leg at home next Friday.”

Despite Redcar’s dreadful play-off luck, Parr has insisted that spirits remain high in the camp, “ Despite having a few defeats, the team spirit is still really high! With 4 of our riders involved in a play-off final at Premiership level, they want the opportunity to add another trophy to their haul in the KO Cup.”

Scunthorpe have the luxury of a full 1-7 with the ever impressive Ryan Douglas at number 1 whilst former Bears Jake Allen and Michael Palm-Toft have superb averages around the Eddie Wright Raceway at 7.81 and 8.86 respectively. 

Meanwhile, the Bears bring in Leon Flint at number 4 after the Berwick skipper’s score of 11 for Redcar at Oxford. Erik Riss is at 5 with the German looking to hit another double figure score ahead of the crunch part of the season. Additionally, Luke Harrison again comes in for the Bears. Harrison, who is local to Scunthorpe and has a lot of experience around the Eddie Wright Raceway, scored an impressive paid 6 three weeks ago at Scunthorpe. 

Any fans who are unable to make their way to Scunthorpe are reminded that the meeting will be live streamed @ tv.scunthorpe-speedway.com/

Scunthorpe Scorpions

1. Ryan Douglas 9.38

2. Connor Mountain 5.38

3. Simon Lambert © 6.15

4. Jake Allen 6.91

5. Michael Palm Toft 6.71

6. Nathan Ablitt 2.49

7. Drew Kemp 5.11

™: Dave Peet

Redcar “Agilia” Bears

1. Danny King © 8.54

2. Danyon Hume 4.88 

3. Connor Bailey 5.60

4. Leon Flint (G) 8.00

5. Erik Riss 7.62

6. Jason Edwards 4.25

7. Luke Harrison (G) 3.14

™: Gavin Parr

Redcar’s torrid play-off campaign came to an end with a 51-39 home defeat to Glasgow. Despite defeat, the Bears had a couple of positives to look at with Jason Edwards starring with a top score of 12 whilst Erik Riss also performed well with paid 11. Redcar’s play-off campaign was summed up with guest Justin Sedgmen crashing out in his first ride with the Australian subsequently having to withdraw from the meeting whilst Connor Bailey’s tough night was down to a bent bike which was found after his heat 12 tumble. The visitors rode well after a slow start with 3 riders hitting double figures as Chris Harris top scored with 12 for the Tigers. 

The “Agilia” Bears started in electrifying fashion with an opening heat 5-1 as Danny King and Danyon Hume flew from the tapes and left the Tigers in their wake to give Redcar the ideal start. Redcar’s superb start continued in heat 2 as man of the match Jason Edwards cantered to a comfortable win whilst Luke Harrison claimed another scalp as he rode well to hold off Lee Complin to send Redcar into a 10-2 lead at the ECCO Arena. 

The turning point came on the opening bends of heat 3 as with Bailey looking likely to fly around the outside for the lead and Sedgmen in a points scoring position, the Bears guest clattered into his teammate with Sedgmen excluded and unable to take any further part in the meeting. The re-run saw the Tigers gate to record a 5-1 and halve the deficit. Riss started his night superbly with a heat 4 win over Vadim Tarasenko but with Harrison coming to grief on lap 1, the gap remained at 4. 

Harris responded from his opening heat last to win heat 5 but the Bears ceded a heat advantage as Bailey fell whilst in 3rd which gave Brennan the point in an awarded heat as Glasgow edged within 2 points of Redcar. After Tarasenko took his first chequered flag of the night in a shared heat 6, Glasgow drew level with in heat 7 as Ben Basso won but the Dane could not protect his partner Smith as Edwards passed the Glasgow asset to ensure Redcar did not fall behind. 

The tenacious Tigers then took the lead for the first time in heat 8 as Brennan passed Hume in the early stages to win,  and with Complin also passing Hume on the penultimate lap, the Tigers had a 26-22 lead on Teesside. Heat 9 saw Tarasenko pass Riss for the win and with Complin holding off Bailey, Glasgow’s lead stretched to 6. 

After Basso won a shared heat 10, Gain Parr played his tactical substitute in the shape of King. However, despite Riss taking the lead, Harris passed the German on lap 2 to take the win, and with King sliding off whilst chasing for 3rd, Redcar’s task became even harder as they found themselves 8 down with only 4 heats remaining. 

Bailey’s torrid evening ended with a heat 12 fall whilst in 3rd but the story of the race saw Edwards produce one of the best rides of his career to hold off the all-action Ben Basso for the win! However, Glasgow secured the match with a heat thirteen 4-2 as Harris reeled off another win, and with his partner Tarasenko in 3rd, the Tigers took another step to the Grand Final. 

Heat 14 saw Edwards throw everything at Brennan but the Glasgow number 2 held on to win, and with Smith in 3rd, Glasgow’s lead was extended to 12. Heat 15 saw Harris win yet again but despite Basso’s best efforts, he had no answer for the superb Jason Edwards and the improving Erik Riss. Nevertheless, the Tigers did the required overall job and gained 3 play-off points in the process. 

Redcar Bears = 39

1. Danny King = 7

2. Danyon Hume = 7+3

3. Connor Bailey = 1

4. Justin Sedgmen (G) = 0 WITHDRAWN

5. Erik Riss = 10+1

6. Jason Edwards = 12

7. Luke Harrison (G) = 2+1

Glasgow Tigers = 51

1. Chris Harris = 12

2. Tom Brennan = 9

3. Benjamin Basso = 11

4. Claus Vissing R/R

5. Vadim Tarasenko = 11+1

6. Lee Complin = 5+1

7. Jack Smith (G) = 3+1