Category: Bears News

?? #BritishSpeedway Promoters’ Ltd can now confirm the structure of the 2023 season following this week’s AGM in Coventry.

✅ All clubs present confirmed their intention to race next year.

? Full story ? britishspeedway.co.uk/miscellaneous/…

Redcar co-promoter Jamie Swales has explained the rescheduling headache ahead of tomorrow’s Teesside Silver Helmet at the ECCO Arena with tapes up at 19:30. 

Swales was also at pains to point out that the line-up is still a strong one with the likes of Championship Riders Individual Champion Sam Masters, the current Silver Helmet Lewis Kerr, SGP2 star Benjamin Basso and British legend Chris Harris all gunning for glory, “ We have a really open field with a number of riders in the event that are capable of winning it.”

Swales said, “ Ahead of last week’s Silver Helmet we had one of the strongest line-ups there has been for the event but one week has made all the difference with riders travelling home amongst other reasons.”

The former rider has explained why riders such as Luke Becker and Jacob Hook are unable to take their place in the restaging, “ Luke Becker has returned home whilst Jacob Hook will be on a flight home whilst the meeting is being run. Additionally, Aaron Summers is getting everything ready for his return to Australia. Additionally, as it stands right now, (Wednesday evening) Paul Starke is on a ban for missing a Premiership meeting on Monday, there is a slight possibility that might change but as it stands right now, he won’t be in the meeting.”

The oldest individual competition in world speedway brings the curtain down on another rollercoaster of a season at the ECCO Arena. The Bears reached the play-offs, the KO Cup final and took the title of the Championship Pairs in 2022. 

Other names in the line-up include Thomas Jorgensen, Ryan Douglas, Jack Thomas and Marius Hillebrand whilst there remains four Redcar representatives in the line-up with Jordan Jenkins, Lewis Kerr, Erik Riss and Jason Edwards all gunning for glory. Furthermore, Ace Pijper gets the opportunity to impress Championship promoters whilst also getting the chance to defeat his father, Theo on track!

The meeting will be live streamed at www.redcar-speedway.tv whilst live updates will be available on the club’s official Twitter page @RedcarBears. 

Teesside Silver Helmet line-up

1. Thomas Jørgensen 

2. Sam Masters 

3. Lewis Kerr 

4. Theo Pijper 

5. Ace Pijper 

6. Simon Lambert 

7. Chris Harris 

8. James Wright 

9. Marius Hillebrand 

10. Jordan Jenkins 

11. Ryan Douglas 

12. Benjamin Basso 

13. Erik Riss 

14. Jason Edwards 

15. Jack Thomas

16. Max Clegg

Reserves:

Ben Rathbone

Archie Freeman

Danny Phillips

Redcar’s Lewis Kerr retained his Teesside Silver Helmet crown with a superb performance at the ECCO Arena. The Redcar heat leader won every race he finished with his only mishap coming in his 3rd outing, (heat 11) when he fell and was excluded from the re-run. Glasgow’s Ben Basso was 2nd with Thomas Jorgensen 3rd whilst Erik Riss came 4th in the final. The last action at the ECCO Arena for 2022 was superb with all 17 riders giving it their all and producing some spectacular speedway.

Kerr started off his defence with a win by defeating Sam Masters who in turn, had to hold off Jorgensen to claim second. Simon Lambert opened his account by winning heat 2 from his Scunthorpe team mate James Wright. Heat 3 saw a superb race as Redcar’s Jordan Jenkins superbly passed Ben Basso to take the chequered flag whilst Ryan Douglas claimed second on the line to take 2 points in his first outing.

After Paul Starke fell in the original staging of heat 4 (and was excluded from the re-run), Erik Riss took a comfortable win with his Bears teammate Jason Edwards claiming second to open his account for the night. Riss was out again in heat 5 as the German won despite late pressure from the impressive Jorgensen. In the battle for 3rd, Ace Pijper defeated Marius Hillebrand to claim his second point of the event in his second outing.

Masters took his first win in heat 6 whilst Kerr made it 2 wins from 2 with a spectacular dive up the inside of Douglas on bend 3 of the opening lap to add another 3 points to his burgeoning tally in heat 7. Basso took the win in heat 8 despite early pressure from Theo Pijper whilst heat 9 saw more superb action between Douglas, Jorgensen and Lambert. Douglas made a jaw dropping pass between Jorgensen and Lambert on bend 3 of lap 1 to take the win whilst Jorgensen passed Lambert on the run to the line to take 2nd.

Basso won heat 11 but the story was for second as Ace Pijper took 2nd by comfortably holding off Masters to claim a fantastic second place ahead of a genuine top Championship rider in the Edinburgh skipper. Kerr took a fall in heat 11 and was excluded from the re-run but the Bears faithful were still able to celebrate a home heat winner as Edwards took his first win of the night ahead of Wright in second.

Theo Pijper took a nasty tumble in heat 12 which saw the Berwick man withdraw from the rest of the meeting. In the restaging, Riss yet again won with Jenkins in second whilst Danny Phillips could not claim third due to his 3rd mechanical problem from as many outings which saw the former Newcastle man withdraw from the remainder of the meeting.

Jorgensen took a well deserved first win in heat 13 with a fantastic pass on Basso entering lap 3 with the former Bear looking set fair for at least a semi-final spot. Heat 14 was won by Riss who was the only undefeated man left in the field and the German was looking certain to qualify for the final. Kerr was back to winning ways in heat 15 as he took the win from Ace Pijper in second with the Berwick youngster defeating another Championship rider in Max Clegg.

Paul Starke took his only win of the event with a brilliant bend 3 move on the opening lap as he swooped around Lambert and Hillebrand for the win. In the battle for third, Hillebrand slowed which allowed the meeting reserve, Ben Rathbone through to claim his maiden point of the night. After Jorgensen secured his place in the semi-finals with a win in heat 17, Sam Masters joined the Dane by winning heat 18 from Max Clegg in second.

Riss was defeated for the first time in heat 19 as he finished 3rd behind Basso (2nd) and Kerr (1st). Despite Riss only picking up 1 point, he and Kerr were straight through to the final, much to the delight of the home crowd. The final qualification race saw Ace Pijper take a fantastic win as he passed Edwards and then intelligently held off Douglas to claim the biggest 3 points of his career to date.

The last chance semi-final saw Basso take a comfortable win with all the action behind him for second as Jorgensen passed Douglas on the penultimate lap and subsequently held off the Australian’s attempts to re-pass to take his place in the final.

The grand final saw Kerr win after the Brit dived up the inside of Basso on lap 3 to take the win with the impressive Glasgow youngster taking second whilst Jorgensen passed Riss to claim the final podium spot.

Line Up:

1. Thomas Jørgensen – 1, 2, 2, 3, 3 = 11 THIRD
2. Sam Masters – 2, 3, 2, 1, 3 = 11
3. Lewis Kerr – 3, 3, FX, 3, 3 = 12 WINNER
4. Theo Pijper – 0, 2, FX = 2 Withdrawn
5. Ace Pijper – 1, 1, 2, 2, 3 = 9
6. Simon Lambert – 3, 2, 1, 2 = 8
7. Danny Phillips – R, 0, R = 0 Withdrawn
8. James Wright – 2, 1, 2, 0, 2 = 7
9. Marius Hillebrand – 0, 0, 1, 0, 0 = 1
10. Jordan Jenkins – 3, 0, 2, R, 1 = 6
11. Ryan Douglas – 2, 2, 3, 2, 2 = 11
12. Benjamin Basso – 1, 3, 3, 2, 2 = 11 SECOND
13. Erik Riss – 3, 3, 3, 3, 1 = 13 FOURTH
14. Jason Edwards – 2, 1, 3, 1, 1 = 8
15. Paul Starke – FX, 1, 0, 3, 0 = 4
16. Max Clegg – 1, 0, 0, 1, 1 = 3

17. Ben Rathbone – 0, 1, 0, 0 = 1

Redcar co-promoter Jamie Swales believes Friday’s Silver Helmet is anybody’s to win with a stellar line up set to descend on the ECCO Arena to contest the 2022 Teesside Silver Helmet. The annual end of season event marks the last professional meeting of the season at the ECCO Arena with tapes up at 19:30. 

Swales is happy with the line-up, stating, “ The big name riders that I asked to do the meeting all wanted too and it is a really competitive field. At the time of writing (48 hours prior to the meeting) we have had no withdrawals which is great so I am looking forward to a good night of speedway.”

The co-promoter also believes Redcar’s Lewis Kerr is more than capable of retaining his crown, “ Lewi has a good chance of retaining his crown, he is really good around Redcar and he has beaten most of the line-up around Redcar.”

Swales also believes that Redcar’s German star, Erik Riss is fired up after a controversial exclusion in last years staging, “ Erik will be really fired up for this one, he believes he was cost a place in the final last year by a bad refereeing decision so he is hopeful of putting it right tomorrow evening.”

Swales also believes that the meeting will be a great learning curve for two of Redcar’s assets in Jordan Jenkins and Jason Edwards, “ This meeting will be great for both of them, I know that Jason hasn’t been in great form recently but he has had a really good season and he has shown that he can do it around the ECCO Arena. A lot of the riders who are in the meeting, Jason and Jordan have beaten them at home this season.”

Swales also explained why the Redcar skipper, Charles Wright will not be amongst the 16 names vying for the title tomorrow evening, “ Even before Charles had that crash at Belle Vue he was unlikely to ride in this meeting as he is due to go in for his long awaited shoulder operation very soon after the meeting. Charles’ concussion ban has passed so he could ride in the meeting but he does not want to risk further damage so close to his surgery. He also wants to give himself a long recovery period ahead of next season.”

The line-up that has been assembled is a fantastic one to end the season at the ECCO Arena with Redcar favourites Jordan Jenkins, Jason Edwards, Lewis Kerr and Erik Riss all out to claim the top spot on the rostrum. Former Redcar riders Thomas Jorgensen, Theo Pijper and Aaron Summers will also be hoping to claim a place on the rostrum. 

Other big names in the field include Ryan Douglas, Chris Harris, Luke Becker, Tom Brennan and Sam Masters who will all be gunning to end their season with success. 

Teesside Silver Helmet

1. Thomas Jørgensen

2. Sam Masters

3. Lewis Kerr

4. Theo Pijper

5. Luke Becker

6. Simon Lambert

7. Chris Harris

8. Tom Brennan

9. Marius Hillebrand

10. Jordan Jenkins

11. Ryan Douglas

12. Jacob Hook

13. Erik Riss

14. Jason Edwards

15. Paul Starke

16. Aaron Summers

Res Ben Rathbone

Res Archie Freeman

Redcar Speedway are delighted to announce that we will be having mascots for the end of season Teesside Silver Helmet at the ECCO Arena. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet riders and quiz the riders on all things Speedway!

16 young Bears fans will have the unique opportunity to partner a rider on parade, take photos, before and during parade and meet the rider! This is completely free of charge!

Each mascot will be pre-drawn a rider from the field that they will represent.

Each mascot is to make a banner , placard or flag supporting their allocated rider to take out on parade once they are allocated a rider!

There will be prizes for the three best placards or banners.

Criteria 

16 years and under .

Parents/ Guardian to accompany children One parent per mascot.

To be at the pits gate by 7:05pm

If you are interested in putting your child forward for this occasion please phone or text Graham Porter 07748408713.

We will require parents name along with child’s name and age please.

Tickets live!

The tickets for the end of season awards evening are now available to purchase!

Doors open 6pm!

Jury’s Inn Middlesbrough

Saturday 5th November

http://www.redcar-speedway.com/shop/

Can Wright retain his Bear of the Year crown?

Poole retained the KO Cup with a 52-38 (100-79 on aggregate) second leg success over a valiant Redcar side at Wimborne Road. Despite the Bears battling hard throughout they struggled for heat advantages (only 2 overall) which gave the Pirates the foundation they needed to retain the trophy. Richard Lawson top scored for the hosts with 13 whilst Erik Riss hit 11 for the Bears.

The opening 2 heats were won by Ben Cook and Zach Cook respectively but with both Bears packing into the minor placings, Poole could not extend their aggregate lead. The reigning KO Cup champions struck their first second leg blow with a heat 3 4-2 as Stevie Worrall took the win whilst Drew Kemp held off a spirited effort from Jordan Jenkins for third.

However, Redcar were determined to make the Pirates work for the win as they once again packed the minor placings in heats 4&5 respectively to ensure the Pirates could not extend their aggregate lead to double figures in the early stages.

Poole then stamped their authority on the tie with their first 5-1 in heat 6 as Danny King and Ben Cook roared to victory. After a heat 7 Richard Lawson inspired 4-2, the Bears were 8 behind on the night and 15 behind on aggregate.

The home crowd were getting ready to celebrate as the Pirates hit their second successive 4-2 in heat 8 with Zach Cook taking the chequered flag with Kasper Andersen splitting the Cook brothers in second. Redcar took their first heat advantage in heat 9 as Kerr took a tapes to flag win whilst Kyle Newman impressively defeated Worrall for third place and a Bears 4-2.

Any lingering hopes of a second leg win were emphatically ended in heat 10 as King was joined at the front by the impressive Ben Cook for a home maximum heat advantage. Another 5-1 followed in heat 11 as Lawson used his home track knowledge to tempt Riss to the outside which allowed Zach Cook through for second and with that, the Pirates had mathematically retained the trophy.

After a shared heat 12, Redcar restored some credibility with a heat 13 4-2 (only the 2nd heat advantage Poole have conceded in heat 13 this season) as Riss took the win with reserve replacement Newman (in for an excluded Lewis Kerr) in third. Redcar also managed to share the final two races of their Championship season with Erik Riss signing off in style with an impressive heat 15 success.

Poole Pirates = 52 (100)

1. Danny King = 6
2. Ben Cook = 9+3
3. Steve Worrall = 9
4. Drew Kemp = 6
5. Richard Lawson = 13
6. Zach Cook = 9+1
7. Nathan Ablitt = 0

Redcar Bears = 38 (79)

1. Erik Riss = 11
2. Kasper Andersen = 4+2
3. Kye Thomson (G) = 3+1
4. Jordan Jenkins = 4+1
5. Lewis Kerr = 6
6. Kyle Newman = 6
7. Jason Edwards = 4+2

Redcar’s Gavin Parr has vowed that the Redcar “Agilia” Bears will give it everything as they travel to Poole for the second leg of the KO Cup final this evening with tapes up at 19:30 at Wimborne Road.

The Bears are challenged with attempting to overcome a 7 point first leg deficit after the Pirates took a 41-48 win at the ECCO Arena last Friday. Parr is under no illusions about how hard the battle will be, “ Everybody will it give it all they have got, we are under no illusions that it will be a tough task as Poole are a quality side but the lads want to go out on a high.”

Parr is also disappointed with the loss of Charles Wright with the skipper suffering a heavy crash in last night’s Premiership Grand Final, “ It’s a body blow to lose Charles for this meeting and something we could have done without.”

Parr is also keen to put a show on for the supporters travelling down south, “ We will rally the lads and they will give it their all for the club and the Redcar badge.”

The likeable co-team manager also believes Kyle Newman will be a threat this evening, ” Kyle has done a lot of laps around Poole and probably knows the track better than some of the Poole boys so he will be a threat on the night.”

Parr is also content with the Bears season despite believing more could have been achieved, “ I’m happy to have made a final and the play-offs but I think we have had injuries at bad times but that’s just not Redcar, other teams have had that as well. Friday’s match was the first time we have had our full 1-7 since Kyle (Newman) joined the Bears as Erik was injured when Kyle joined the club.”

Poole track a full strength side whilst the Bears bring in Kye Thomson in place of the injured Charles Wright with Lewis Kerr stepping in as Bears skipper.

Poole Pirates
1. Danny King 8.26 ©
2. Ben Cook 6.09
3. Steve Worrall 8.26
4. Drew Kemp 5.33
5. Richard Lawson 8.17
6. Zach Cook 4.92
7. Nathan Ablitt 2.00
™: Neil Middleditch

Redcar *Agilia” Bears
1 Erik Riss                  8.58
2 Kasper Andersen. 4.50
3 Kye Thomson     7.67 (G)
4 Jordan Jenkins.    5.45
5 Lewis Kerr.             8.08 ©
6 Kyle Newman.       4.40
7 Jason Edwards.    4.20
™: Jade Mudgway 

Poole struck a decisive blow in the first leg of the KO Cup final as they took a deserved 41-48 win back to Wimborne Road. The top scorer for the Pirates was the impressive Ben Cook who hit 13+1 whilst Charles Wright returned 14 for the Bears with a scintillating display. Poole had strength in depth through their lineup with the Bears heat leaders struggling for back up in a tough night on Teesside.

The clash started off in the worst possible fashion for the Bears as Ben Cook and Danny King stormed from the tapes and left the Bears standing at the start to record an early 5-1 advantage for the visitors. 

Heat 2 saw Redcar’s first heat winner as Kyle Newman took the win but with Jason Edwards at the back, Redcar could not eat into Poole’s early lead. 

Heat 3 saw further trouble for the Bears as Jordan Jenkins tangled with Wright on the opening bends with the Redcar skipper hitting the deck and Jenkins excluded from the re-run. Wright didn’t make the gate in the restaging but impressively stormed up the inside of Steve Worrall on the 3rd bend of lap 1 to take a superb heat win. 

The Pirates extended their lead to 6 with a heat four 4-2 with another great race. Going into the third bend of the opening lap, Richard Lawson, Lewis Kerr and Nathan Ablitt were 3 abreast with Kerr briefly hitting the front before Lawson passed the Bears man. Despite Kerr’s best efforts, Lawson rode an intelligent line to take the win. 

Another shared heat followed in heat 5 as the fantastic Wright passed Ben Cook in the latter stages of the opening lap for the win but with Jenkins at the rear, Redcar remained 6 in arrears. Following a shared heat 6 won by Erik Riss, Redcar hit back with their first 5-1 to send the large home audience wild as Newman rounded Worrall and Drew Kemp on the opening bends to join Kerr at the front to drag Redcar back into contention. 

However, with the Bears looking to stamp their authority on the clash, Poole hit back with a 5-1 of their own courtesy of the Cook brothers despite Newman’s best efforts to split the Pirates pairing. The best race of the night followed in heat 9 as Wright stormed past Zach Cook on the opening lap and then made a frankly unbelievable outside pass to beat Lawson on the run to the line to take his 3rd win on the bounce and stop Poole extending their advantage. 

Redcar hit only their second heat advantage in heat 10 with a 4-2 despite being on a 5-1 in heat 10’s original staging. Drew Kemp locked up and Kasper Andersen and Erik Riss looked set to emerge on a 5-1 until Kemp came down and brought Riss and Worrall with him. Riss won the re-run fairly comfortably and with Andersen 3rd, the Bears were again within 4 points. 

Yet again, as soon as the Bears had a sniff of the comeback, Poole hit a 5-1 as both Bears (Kerr and Newman) got in each other’s way to give the Pirates the fresh air they needed to claim a massive 5-1 to extend their lead to 6 points again. Heat 12 saw Wright tangle with Worrall on the opening bends with the Poole man excluded from the restaging. Wright won yet again and with Jason Edwards third, Redcar still had slim hopes of a home win. 

Danny King brilliantly won heat 13 by a huge distance but with both Bears (Riss & Kerr) packing the minor placings, slim hopes remained of a home comeback. Hopes of a home comeback were ended by Zach Cook in heat 14 who won comfortably but with Ablitt at the back, Poole could not extend their advantage. 

A thrilling heat 15 saw Wright shoved wide by King with Wright somehow managing to stay on his machinery, only half a lap later, King came to grief and fell on his own with the re-run being won by the superb Ben Cook and with Riss falling and being lapped, there were only 2 finishers with the Pirates taking home a 7 point lead to defend in the second leg. 

Man of the match Wright was happy with his own performance, “ It was a good night personally but it is disappointing to be down going into the second leg.”

Wright also explained his recent upturn in form is partly down to a change of engine tuner, “ It hasn’t been me riding the bike, it has been my engine, I have changed my engine tuner and it is paying off.”

Redcar Bears = 41

1. Erik Riss = 9

2. Kasper Andersen = 2

3. Charles Wright = 14

4. Jordan Jenkins = 2

5. Lewis Kerr = 6+1

6. Kyle Newman = 7+2

7. Jason Edwards = 1

Poole Pirates = 48

1. Danny King = 9+2

2. Ben Cook = 13+1

3. Steve Worrall = 5

4. Drew Kemp = 1+1

5. Richard Lawson = 7

6. Zach Cook = 11+3

7. Nathan Ablitt = 2+1

Redcar’s Erik Riss has challenged his side to aim for a double figure lead as the Redcar “Agilia” Bears host the Poole Pirates in the Knockout Cup Final at the ECCO Arena in the first leg tomorrow night with tapes up at 19:30.

The likeable German star discussed the lead he hoped the Bears could attain from the first leg, “ We need to aim for a double figure lead and we cannot afford to start the meeting slowly. If you get off to a good start you want to build on that and get a bigger lead but if you start slowly and you are behind after a few races it can be hard to bounce back, although as we have proved before, it’s not impossible!”

Riss successfully returned for the Bears against Edinburgh with 11 points and the Bears man continued his return with a successful meeting on the continent, “ My 2nd meeting went well, I felt a little bit of pain when I made quick movements but that’s to be expected when I have a ligament injury, (Riss is currently racing with a torn ACL) I was concerned that I would be quite sore after the meeting as I felt soreness after the Redcar meeting but I didn’t feel sore at all which was great.”

Riss also discussed the challenge of the opposition, Poole, the current KO Cup champions, “ Poole are a really tough team, they have a strong side throughout. I watched their meeting at Glasgow and they were really strong against Glasgow. We are aware they are a good side but in speedway, you never know!”

Redcar are set to welcome a big crowd as the last two KO Cup winners (Redcar 2019 & Poole 2021) clash for the title of the 2022 KO Cup champions. The Bears fans are encouraged to back their side like never before to give the riders extra impetus to bring more silverware back to the ECCO Arena.

With a change to the averages, Kasper Andersen moves back into the number 2 berth whilst Jason Edwards returns to the Bears side from injury and retakes a position in the reserve berths alongside Kyle Newman. On the other side of the pits, Poole are at full strength with a heat leader trio of Richard Lawson, Steve Worrall and Danny King all sure to provide stiff opposition.

Redcar *Agilia” Bears
1 Erik Riss                  8.58
2 Kasper Andersen. 4.50
3 Charles Wright.     7.67 ©
4 Jordan Jenkins.    5.45
5 Lewis Kerr.             8.08
6 Kyle Newman.       4.40
7 Jason Edwards.    4.20
™: Jade Mudgway

Poole Pirates
1. Danny King 8.26 ©
2. Ben Cook 6.09
3. Steve Worrall 8.26
4. Drew Kemp 5.33
5. Richard Lawson 8.17
6. Zach Cook 4.92
7. Nathan Ablitt 2.00
™: Gary Havelock