Category: Bears News

Redcar team boss Gavin Parr has challenged his Bears side to build some all important momentum in Redcar’s final play-off encounter against Glasgow tomorrow night with tapes up at 7:30pm at the ECCO Arena. 

Parr, who has his sights set on KO Cup glory, see’s Wednesday as an important match ahead of a trip to Scunthorpe on Friday, “ Whilst the play-offs haven’t gone the way we all had hoped for but if we can beat Glasgow and a few of the boys have a good night then the side will have built up some momentum ahead of the Scunthorpe match.”

Parr also knows that a strong showing will be helped by another vocal home crowd, “ It would be great to see our great supporters out in force to support the side, I know that our riders feed off the support we get from the fans! Unfortunately, circumstances surrounding Tai Woffinden’s injury has caused us a lot of problems which nobody saw coming.”

Parr was also quick to highlight the improvements he has seen in Redcar’s regular guest, Luke Harrison, “ Luke is growing with confidence and improving all the time. On Sunday, I set him one aim to defeat Oxford’s Ashton Boughen and he beat him twice on his home track and Ashton is being touted as the wonderkid of British Speedway and Luke beat him twice on Ashton’s home track! “

At the time of writing, Glasgow know they need to come to Redcar and take all 3 points to secure their place in the Grand Final (if the Tigers overcome Oxford on aggregate this evening). Saturday’s 55-35 defeat at Ashfield see’s the Bears 20 behind on aggregate with the first objective being to get the win on the night. 

Both sides name unchanged line-ups from Saturday’s fixture at Ashfield with Justin Sedgmen and Luke Harrison both continuing for Redcar. Glasgow once again track Jack Smith at reserve to deputise for Ace Pijper whilst rider replacement continues to operate for knee injury victim Claus Vissing. 

Supporters are reminded that season tickets are not valid for this meeting but a 10% reduction in ticket prices is in place for all season ticket holders. Additionally, for any supporters unable to attend the meeting, the clash will be live on BSN @ watch.britishspeedway.co.uk

Redcar “Agilia” Bears

1 – Danny King (C) 8.54

2 – Danyon Hume 4.88

3 – Connor Bailey 5.60

4 – Justin Sedgmen (G) 8.00

5 – Erik Riss 7.62

6 – Jason Edwards 4.25

7 – Luke Harrison (G) 3.14

TM – Gavin Parr

 Glasgow Tigers

1. Chris Harris © 9.30
2. Tom Brennan 7.16
3. Benjamin Basso 9.10
4. Rider Replacement for Claus Vissing 
5. Vadim Tarasenko9.10
6. Lee Complin 3.87
7. Jack Smith (G) 2.00

™: Cameron Brown

A superb spot to watch the Bears against the Tigers on Wednesday night with the suite overlooking the start finish line!

If you are interested, it will be the usual £12, Kids £6 (payable in the lounge) on top of your normal entry. For that you will get reserved balcony seating, pie + peas, a bar drink, a hot drink and a programme.

Anyone interested contact Ian on 07827293866 or indrinkel@msn.com

Redcar’s play-off hopes were officially ended as the “Agilia” Bears were defeated 53-37 by Oxford at Sandy Lane. With Redcar struggling for heat winners in the early stages and gates 1 & 3 proving to be much stronger, the Bears fell to defeat in Oxfordshire. 

Lewis Kerr hit 13 for Oxford and Scott Nicholls struck a 4 ride maximum whilst Redcar’s guest, Leon Flint hit an impressive 11 for the Bears. The Redcar management can also point to the fact that rider replacement (the only available facility) gained 2 points, a figure Connor Bailey surely would have improved on. 

Oxford opened proceedings with a 4-2 as Sam Masters took the win but Danny King passed Cameron Heeps towards the end of lap 1. However, Heeps was not done as he gained ground on King but the Bears number 1 held on to ensure Redcar did not concede a maximum 5-1. 

Jason Edwards made a superb gate to win heat 2 and Luke Harrison demonstrated the progress he is making as a rider as he defeated the highly regarded Ashton Boughen for 3rd to immediately level proceedings at Cowley. Heat 3 saw the ex Bears duo of Lewi Kerr & Jordan Jenkins take a relatively comfortable 5-1 heat advantage as Leon Flint & Danyon Hume struggled from the gate. 

The championship chasing Cheetahs then extended their lead to six with a heat four 4-2 as Nicholls won despite Redcar guest Justin Sedgmen looking a real threat in 2nd, and with Boughen repaying the favour to Harrison from heat 2 to secure 3rd, Oxford were in command. 

The Cheetahs then took a 20-10 lead as Kerr once again won whilst his teammate Jenkins rode a superb race to pass Edwards and King to secure another 5-1 for Oxford. The hard working Edwards was out again in heat 6 as he surprised the home support by gating well and cruising around the outside of Masters on bend 2 but the Oxford number 1 repaid the compliment on bend 4 to take the win, but with Sedgmen behind Edwards for 3rd, Redcar showed fight to stem the Oxford charge. 

Heat 8 saw Heeps come to the party for the Cheetahs as he cut between both Bears on the backstraight of lap 1 to take the win despite Flint’s best efforts but once again, with an Oxford man (Boughen) at the rear, the gap remained at 10. 

The battling Bears then struck back in heat 9 as tactical substitute  King and his partner Sedgmen team rode to hold off the previously undefeated pair of Kerr and Jenkins to reduce the gap to 6 and bring Redcar back into contention. 

Heat 10 saw drama as Flint took an impressive win ahead of Masters with all the action happening behind the Team GB man as Hume battled into second until the exciting Bears man found himself stuck on the slower inside line and was thus relegated to the back. However, after Flint took the chequered flag, Masters took issue with Hume’s move on bend 2 with both camps exchanging words at the pit gate. 

Nicholls continued his perfect night as he won heat 11 despite Danny King’s best efforts, and with the ever improving Henry Atkins in 3rd, the Cheetahs edged closer to victory at 37-29. After a shared heat 12 won by Kerr, Oxford put the meeting to bed with a heat thirteen 5-1 as Nicholls and Masters combined for a 5-1 and a 45-33 lead. 

Heat 14 saw Jenkins take the win to end an impressive evening’s work for the former Bear, and with his partner Atkins in 2nd, the Cheetahs lead was extended to 16. Heat 15 saw Jenkins out again but this time the Bears pairing of King and Flint found themselves on a 5-1 until Jenkins came to grief on the opening bend of lap 3 with the referee electing for a re-run, presumably due to the close nature of the race. The re-run saw Kerr take the win to seal a 16 point home win for the Cheetahs. 

For the Bears, it was a performance full of grit and effort with some riders not being rewarded for their performance. Ultimately, Redcar will now focus on building momentum against Glasgow on Wednesday before the KO Cup takes priority with the carrot of a place in the final if they can overcome Scunthorpe. 

Oxford Cheetahs = 53 (100)

1. Sam Masters = 10+1

2. Cameron Heeps = 5+1

3. Lewis Kerr = 13

4. Jordan Jenkins = 7+2

5. Scott Nicholls = 12

6. Henry Atkins = 5+1

7. Ashton Boughen = 1

Redcar Bears = 37 (80)

1. Danny King = 10+1

2. Connor Bailey R/R

3. Danyon Hume = 2+2

4. Leon Flint (G) = 11

5. Justin Sedgmen (G) = 5+2

6. Jason Edwards = 7

7. Luke Harrison (G) = 2+1

Redcar co-promoter, Jamie Swales has challenged his side to keep their heads up as the Bears round off a marathon weekend by travelling to Sandy Lane to take on Oxford with tapes up at 5:30pm.

Swales, in his 3rd season as co-promoter said, “ Whilst there’s still a slim chance of qualifying, realistically it’s our job to put on a good performance and get some race wins.”

Swales is also keen for his boys to get some race wins ahead of meetings against Glasgow and Scunthorpe next week, “ We have Scunthorpe in the KO Cup and that’s an important competition that we want to win whilst we also have another home match against Glasgow. Ultimately, we need to keep our heads up and go into these 2 meetings as confident as possible.”

With the Bears hamstrung by unavailable riders and injuries, Swales explained his disappointment of having to track 3 guests and rider replacement, “ Getting a guest in is always a massive hindrance as you can very rarely replace your rider with a better rider unless you can get a track specialist in. However, with the restrictions hampering us we are only able to select guests from three teams but we will still be going out to do our best.”

Redcar operate rider replacement at number 2 for Connor Bailey who is racing in the Polish Ekstraliga Final whilst Leon Flint replaces Erik Riss who is on FIM LongTrack of Nations commitments. Additionally, Justin Sedgmen steps into number 5 to replace Charles Wright whilst Redcar regular Luke Harrison once again deputises for Jake Mulford. 

On the other hand, Oxford have the luxury of a full 1-7 with the Cheetahs skipper, Scott Nicholls looking to once again score heavily to enhance the Cheetah’s chances of progressing from Group B. 

For any supporters unable to make the trip south, the meeting is being streamed live on BSN @ watch.britishspeedway.co.uk 

Oxford Cheetahs

1. Sam Masters 9.66

2. Cameron Heeps 4.87

3. Lewi Kerr 8.36

4. Jordan Jenkins 5.66

5. Scott Nicholls (C) 8.80 

6. Henry Atkins 4.40

7. Ashton Boughen 3.00

TM Peter Schroeck

Redcar “Agilia” Bears 

1-Danny King (C) 8.54

2 – Rider Replacement for Connor Bailey

3 – Danyon Hume 4.88

4 – Leon Flint (G) 7.62 

5 – Justin Sedgmen (G) 8.00 

6 – Jason Edwards 4.25

7 – Luke Harrison (G) 3.14

TM : Gavin Parr

Flying Redcar reserve, Jason Edwards has challenged his side to remain in the play-off hunt and upset the applecart as Redcar travel north to take on Glasgow in the Cab Direct Championship play-offs with tapes up at 2pm at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium. 

Edwards, who is in fine recent form, remains in confident mood ahead of Redcar’s second play-off clash, “ We won earlier at Glasgow earlier this season and we have some really good track specialists in Connor (Bailey) and Danyon (Hume) as they absolutely love the place! We have got to get as many points on the board as possible so if we can go and win at Glasgow today then we are right back in the mix!”

The Bears asset is over the moon with his recent form, “ My scores in the past few meetings have been really good, especially as quite a lot of the meetings have been in the Sports Insure Premiership with Sheffield. Also, I was pretty happy personally with my 10 points last night but a lot of the Oxford match was dependent on your gate due to the weather, but I’m not complaining!”

After Redcar’s home defeat last night against Oxford, Edwards believes his side have nothing to lose ahead of today’s big clash, “ We have nothing to lose, with this being a mini league, it’s even more important that we go there and win! At the end of the day, we all want to score as many points as possible so we’ll see how it goes!”

Redcar bring in Birmingham’s Justin Sedgmen to guest in place of the stricken Charles Wright whilst Luke Harrison continues to deputise for the injured Jake Mulford. Additionally, the aforementioned pair of Danyon Hume and Connor Bailey will be looking to add to their combined paid 20 points that they have scored at Glasgow so far this season. 

Meanwhile, Glasgow also have injury concerns with Jack Smith coming in to guest for the injured Ace Pijper whilst they also continue to operate rider replacement for Claus Vissing who is struggling with a knee injury. 

 Glasgow Tigers

1. Chris Harris © 9.30
2. Tom Brennan 7.16
3. Benjamin Basso 9.10
4. Rider Replacement for Claus Vissing 
5. Vadim Tarasenko9.10
6. Lee Complin 3.87
7. Jack Smith (G) 2.00

™: Cameron Brown

Redcar “Agilia” Bears

1 – Danny King (C) 8.54

2 – Danyon Hume 4.88

3 – Connor Bailey 5.60

4 – Justin Sedgmen (G) 8.00

5 – Erik Riss 7.62

6 – Jason Edwards 4.25

7 – Luke Harrison (G) 3.14

TM – Gavin Parr

Redcar’s Cab Direct play-off dreams were handed a blow as they were defeated 43-47 by Oxford at the ECCO Arena. With the Bears attacking a tricky track caused by a heavy downpour, they led 25-11 until the Cheetahs battled superbly to boost their play-off hopes. Danny King top scored for Redcar with paid 11 whilst Sam Masters hit paid 13 for the Cheetahs. 

With gating proving vital, Redcar had the selected gates advantage in the early stages which turned around in the second half of the meeting in favour of Oxford. 

Redcar started with a superb opening heat 5-1 as Danny King and Danyon Hume popped out of the start, attacked the track and secured a comfortable 5-1 to give Gavin Parr and the “Agilia” Bears support the perfect start at the ECCO Arena. Things got even better for Redcar in heat 2 as Jason Edwards bolted from the gate for an emphatic win whilst Luke Harrison comfortably held off Ashton Boughen to stretch Redcar’s lead to 6 in the early knockings. 

The Redcar fans were in dreamland after heat 3 as the pairing of Connor Bailey and Kyle Howarth left Lewis Kerr and Jordan Jenkins in their wake as they secured yet another 5-1 to put Redcar 14-4 ahead at the ECCO Arena. Heat 4 saw Scott Nicholls record the Cheetah’s first heat winner as he took the chequered flag, but with his teammate, Boughen beaten by Harrison, Oxford remained 10 behind. 

After a shared heat 5 won by Sam Masters, Redcar stretched their early advantage to 14 points with yet another big 5-1 as Hume and King once again combined to send the Redcar support into raptures. 

Heat 7 saw the turning point in the meeting as the ex Bears pairing of Jenkins and Kerr came back to haunt the Bears as they hit a much needed 5-1 to bring Oxford within 10. With many onlookers expecting Redcar to hit back in heat 8, Oxford hit their second successive 5-1 to make Redcar’s 14 point lead seem a distant memory. 

Oxford team manager, Peter Schroeck then played his tactical substitute in heat 9 as Sam Masters came in to join Scott Nicholls and the move proved to be an astute one as despite Bailey’s best efforts, Masters and Nicholls used their experience to their advantage to suddenly bring the Cheetahs within 2 of Redcar. 

Heat 10 saw some controversy as with a close race ensuing, Kerr locked up with King taking evasive action to avoid crashing but Kerr stayed upright with King excluded. Additionally, a special mention should also go to Jordan Jenkins who laid his bike down incredibly quickly to avoid King. The re-run saw Redcar’s man of the match, Danyon Hume produce an incredible ride to hold off Kerr and Jenkins to win the race and keep the Bears in a 2 point lead. 

Nevertheless, the Cheetahs drew level in heat 11 as Masters won whilst Cameron Heeps passed Erik Riss to give the Cheetahs the all important momentum. After Kerr won a shared heat 12, Oxford took the lead for the first time in heat 13 as Nicholls won despite huge pressure from King, and with Masters in 3rd, Oxford were in the driving seat. 

Heat 14 saw a brief ray of light for Redcar as they gated on a 5-1 only for Edwards to lift which all but ended his partner, Howarth’s hopes (as he drifted to the back) and to compound the Redcar misery, Edwards was squeezed out by Jenkins which extended Oxford’s lead to 4. The final race of an ultimately disappointing evening saw King take a superb win but with his partner, Hume hitting the deck, Redcar’s slim chance of a super heat was ended by the Cheetahs.  

Redcar Bears = 43

1. Danny King = 10+1

2. Danyon Hume = 8+1

3. Connor Bailey = 7+1

4. Kyle Howarth (G) = 3+2

5. Erik Riss = 3

6. Jason Edwards = 10

7. Luke Harrison (G) = 2+1

Oxford Cheetahs = 47

1. Sam Masters = 12+1

2. Cameron Heeps = 4

3. Lewis Kerr = 8+1

4. Jordan Jenkins = 7+1

5. Scott Nicholls = 11+1

6. Henry Atkins = 5+1

7. Ashton Boughen = 0

It’s with great pleasure we can tonight reveal Keith Miller as a new Co-promoter at Redcar speedway. Keith, a long term sponsor of the Bears with his company Ecco Finishing Supplies, joins Jamie Swales & Jade Mudgway as part of the management team and brings with him a wealth of business experience.

Swales said “ Getting Keith involved really helps us close a gap in the clubs management, Jade and myself are speedway through and through but we both work in engineering and don’t have any real experience in running a business, with massive help from my wife Leanne we have managed so far but it was obvious to us all we needed someone with more experience in that area to help move the club forward. With that I believe Keith is the ideal man to step in and drive us forward”

Redcar reserve Jason Edwards has issued a rallying cry ahead of the Bears opening playoff match tomorrow night as Redcar face off against the Oxford Cheetahs with tapes up at 7:30pm at the ECCO Arena. 

Edwards, who has hit an impressive paid 25 across his last 4 meetings in British Speedway has urged the incredible Redcar support to turn it up a notch ahead of tomorrow’s crunch clash, “ There’s nothing better than a full stadium at the ECCO Arena, the support we get from the fans is great but we need them more than ever tomorrow!”

The young Brit is looking forward to getting his play-off campaign underway on home soil, “ It will be nice to start our play-offs at home and hopefully we can start off on the right foot against Oxford. Nevertheless, wherever we are, we just need to score points to try and win as many meetings as possible to top the group!”

With Gavin Parr switching the riding order to have ‘2 of his own’ at 1 & 5, Kyle Howarth guests at number 4 in place of Charles Wright and Edwards is confident his Sheffield teammate can do the job, “ Kyle will be wanting as many meetings as possible. Kyle is a number 1 in the league but Charles is a massive miss for us.”

Edwards, a recent acquisition for the Sheffield Tigers in the Sports Insure Premiership, is happy with his late season form, “ I’ve been riding a hell of a lot recently and I have been happy with my form. I have taken a lot from my Sheffield meetings and hopefully I can put that into Redcar’s matches.”

Redcar bring in the aforementioned Kyle Howarth to guest in place of Charles Wright whilst Redcar regular Luke Harrison comes in for Jake Mulford. Additionally, Danny King will captain the side for the remainder of the season due to Wright’s season ending injury. Meanwhile, Oxford track a full 1-7 with Scott Nicholls set to make his first appearance of the season at the ECCO Arena whilst ex Bears Lewis Kerr and Jordan Jenkins once again return to their 2022 home. 

Supporters are reminded that tomorrow’s meeting is being live streamed by our streaming partners, TapesUp Productions at www.redcar-speedway.tv 

Season ticket holders are also reminded that tomorrow’s play-off match is not part of their season ticket package. 

Redcar Agilia Bears

1 – Danny King (C) 8.54

2 – Danyon Hume 4.88

3 – Connor Bailey 5.60

4 – Kyle Howarth (G) 8.00

5 – Erik Riss 7.62

6 – Jason Edwards 4.25

7 – Luke Harrison (G) 3.14

TM – Gavin Parr

Monarch Oxford Cheetahs 

1. Sam Masters 9.66

2. Cameron Heeps 4.87

3. Lewi Kerr 8.36

4. Jordan Jenkins 5.66

5. Scott Nicholls (C) 8.80 

6. Henry Atkins 4.40

7. Ashton Boughen 3.00

TM Peter Schroeck

Redcars play off clash at Oxford, originally scheduled for 20/09, will now take place on Sunday 24th September with a 5pm start