Category: Bears News

For “The Bears Big Cup Meeting” against Edinburgh this Friday we are holding a fans night in the Bruce Forrester Lounge. It will include a full buffet and a hot drink. a meeting programme, a drink from the bar plus a visit to the centre green to watch 2 races. The cost will £12 on top of your normal stadium entry (payable in the lounge).

We will be joined in the lounge on the night by Bruce Forrester’s son Duncan and his family, who will be presenting the Bruce Forrester Trophy.

Anyone interested you can contact me on 07827293866 or email indrinkel@msn.com

Redcar produced one of their best performances of the season to qualify for the play-offs with a majestic 51-39 away win over the Plymouth Gladiators. Richard Lawson hit paid 14 (12+2) for the victorious Bears whilst Ben Morley hit 12 for the Gladiators. Additionally, Redcar’s comfortable victory was Plymouth’s first home league defeat of the season.

The crunch clash started perfectly for the Bears as Jason Edwards and Richard Lawson made the perfect gate in heat 1 and with Edwards riding sensibly to hold off Richie Worrall, Redcar held the upper hand. Plymouth hit back in heat 2 as their new reserve Connor Coles took his first win as a Gladiator whilst Lee Complin held off Redcar’s guest Henry Atkins for third to reduce Redcar’s lead to 2.

Redcar immediately returned the favour with a 4-2 of their own in heat 3 as Kasper Andersen (on his first visit to Plymouth) took a tapes to flag win whilst Kyle Howarth passed Redcar’s guest Leon Flint to split the Redcar pairing. Redcar’s guest Henry Atkins flew from the gate in heat 4 to take a very impressive win whilst Lewis Kerr comfortably held off Hans Andersen to send the Bears into a 8 point lead.


Plymouth team manager Garry May wasted no time in using his tactical substitute with the former Somerset manager bringing in Richie Worrall to try and cut the early deficit. However, Richard Lawson did not get the memo and tore up the script with a comfortable win ahead of both of the Plymouth guests.


Morley rode a fantastic heat 6 to hold off a faster looking Kerr for the win and with Worrall in third, Plymouth were within 6. However, there was no reason to panic as Redcar immediately regained their 8 point advantage with a 4-2 of their own as the impressive Kasper Andersen got the better of Hans Andersen and with Flint in third, Redcar turned the screw a little more.
Morley was proving to be a thorn in the Bears side as he took another heat win to bring Plymouth within 6 as Complin passed Atkins for 3rd.

Redcar stamped their authority on proceedings with a huge heat 9 5-1 as Kyle Newman gated for an easy win whilst Kerr and Hand Andersen exchanged passes with Kerr coming out on top to give the Bears real hope of their third away win of the season.
Plymouth’s only 5-1 of the evening arrived in heat 10 as the dangerman Morley combined with Worrall to give the home support a sniff. Normal service was resumed with Redcar’s 3rd 4-2 heat advantage of the night as Lawson won again whilst Edwards passed Complin for third to keep the Bears in a strong position.

After a shared heat 12, Redcar secured victory and a place in the play-offs with a superb heat 13 5-1. Worrall gated for the hosts but he was passed superbly by both Bears (Lawson and Kerr) to send the small travelling contingent wild in celebration of the Bears play-off place being confirmed.

Further celebration was in order for the revitalised Bears with the visitors securing 5th place as Andersen and Newman packed in behind the impressive Morley to secure a 4 point away win.

Heat 15 was taken by Worrall but yet again the Bears (Lawson and Kerr) packed into the minor placings to secure a hard earned and deserved 12 point away success.

Redcar team boss Jade Mudgway was ecstatic with the result, “We rode really well tonight, we could have done that earlier in the season in the league but we did the job when it mattered tonight. Our guests all really pitched in and rode well and did themselves proud.”
Plymouth Gladiators = 39
1. Richie Worrall (G) = 9+2
2. Ben Morley = 12
3. Kyle Howarth (G) = 7
4. R/R for Michael Palm Toft
5. Hans Andersen = 6
6. Lee Complin = 2
7. Connor Coles = 3
 
Redcar Bears = 51
 
1. Richard Lawson (G) = 12+2
2. Jason Edwards = 5+1
3. Leon Flint (G) = 5
4. Kasper Andersen = 8
5. Lewis Kerr = 11+2
6. Kyle Newman = 7+2
7. Henry Atkins (G) = 3

Redcar’s Kasper Andersen believes his side have advantages over Plymouth in the club’s decisive play-off deciding encounter despite being on away soil. The Bears make the long trip north this evening to take on the Plymouth Gladiators with tapes up at 19:00 at the Plymouth Coliseum.

The Danish starlet said, “ It’s always beneficial to an away team when the home team have not raced at home for several weeks as Plymouth have not had a home meeting since the 26th July so that does help us a little.”

Andersen also warned his side that there can be no complacency ahead of the clash, “ Despite Plymouth not having a home meeting in a while and also having 2 new reserves we cannot afford to take things lightly as they are a good side who have brought in some good guests for this meeting.”

The “Ghost” also discussed the pressures of the crunch clash, “ Of course there’s pressure but I think we have to treat it as a normal league meeting.” Andersen also discussed his recent injury issues, “ I’m feeling okay, I’m a little sore but I still expect a good performance from myself.”

The remit for the Bears is simple, they must take away at least a point from the clash to leapfrog Scunthorpe into 6th place, if they fail to acheive a point they will not make the end of season play-offs. If the Bears can win by 7 points or more they will leapfrog Plymouth into 5th place.

Redcar bring in the in-form Richard Lawson at number 3 whilst Jordan Jenkins will make a late decision about his availability due to his ongoing abdominal muscle injury. The Bears have lined up Henry Atkins as a guest if Jenkins is unavailable. Atkins started the season as a Plymouth Gladiator and now rides for Oxford in the National League.

Plymouth bring in Kyle Howarth and Richie Worrall as guests whilst they hand debuts to Connor Coles and Lee Complin at reserve. Hans Andersen also returns to home shale for the first time since July 12th.

Plymouth Westcolour Gladiators:
1 Richie Worrall (G)
2 Ben Morley
3 Kyle Howarth (G)
4. R/R (for Michael Palm Toft)
5 Hans Andersen ©
6 Lee Complin
7 Connor Coles

Redcar Bears:
1 Charles Wright ©
2 Jason Edwards
3 Richard Lawson (G)
4 Kasper Andersen
5 Lewis Kerr
6 Kyle Newman
7 Jordan Jenkins

Redcar kept their play-off hopes alive with a frankly astonishing 46-44 win over Scunthorpe. With 3 races to go the Bears needed an unlikely trio of 5-1’s to keep their play-off dream alive and somehow the Bears pulled off the near impossible! Lewis Kerr top scored with a majestic paid 20 (19+1) whilst Adam Roynon was a thorn in the side of the Bears with 11+1. 

Scunthorpe’s guest, Richard Lawson took the chequered flag in heat 1 despite Charles Wright being all over his back wheel. In the battle at the back, Simon Lambert got the better of Jason Edwards and the Scorpions took an early lead. 

The former Bears duo of Anders Rowe and Adam Roynon replicated their heat 2 performance from the Jubilee League encounter as they struck Scunthorpe’s first 5-1 to take the visitors into an early 6 point lead. 

Redcar immediately hit back with a maximum heat advantage of their own in heat 3 as Lewis Kerr gated for a comfortable win whilst Kasper Andersen passed James Wright on the 4th bend of lap 1 to drag Redcar within 2.

However, in the early stages, this was as good as it got for the Bears. After a shared heat 3 won by the rampaging Lewis Kerr, Scunthorpe hit their second 4-2 of the meeting as Lawson once again defeated Wright and Lambert held off Andersen to send Scunthorpe 4 ahead. 

The Bears were left cursing their bad luck after a disastrous heat 6 as Wright snapped a chain on the start line with Scunthorpe taking full advantage with another 5-1 courtesy of Jake Allen and Adam Roynon. 

Redcar needed heat advantages but they were hard to come by as heats 7&8 were both shared. If the Redcar fans were looking for some hope, both heats were won by a Bear as Kerr carried on his merry way with another win whilst Jenkins came to the party with a heat 8 victory. 

Jade Mudgway played his far too common home tactical substitute as Kerr came in to partner Andersen. With 2 unbeaten riders, Kerr and Roynon in the race something had to give and to the delight of the travelling visitors, Roynon defeated Kerr to keep his maximum hopes alive and at this stage, an away win was looking rather likely. 

Heat 10 saw Allen take the early lead with Wright chasing hard. Entering lap 4, Wright looked to move to the outside to make the pass but came to grief and hit the deck to gift Scunthorpe a 4-2 to stretch their lead to 10 and Redcar’s play-off dreams were hanging by a thread. 

Redcar’s Kerr returned to winning ways in heat 11 by defeating Lawson whilst Kyle Newman, pointless up until heat 11 made a key pass on Lambert on lap 3 to reduce the arrears to 8. Roynon made it 4 from 4 in heat 12 as he won easily but with James Wright passing Andersen on lap 3, Scunthorpe were almost over the winning line. 

With 3 heats to go at the ECCO Arena, you could hear a pin drop in the crowd as Redcar required a rather unlikely 3 5-1’s in the final 3 heats to keep their play-off hopes alive. 

Heat 13 saw a remarkable race as Wright forced his way up the inside of Lawson on the 4th bend of lap 2 but with Kerr stuck in third, Redcar were in trouble. Despite things looking far from rosy, Kerr (well ahead of the rider replacement Roynon) built up speed on the outside on the final bend to take 2nd on the line and keep Redcar’s extremely slim hopes alive. 

Jenkins, nursing an injury, took to the fence on the opening bends of heat 14 to win and Newman rode a fantastic line to keep Allen at bay and suddenly, the impossible was possible! 

Vitally, Redcar had the choice of gates in heat 15 with Kerr going off 2 and Wright taking gate 4. The original staging saw Kerr get a flyer and the referee gave the Bears star a warning. The re-run saw both Bears gate and despite Lawson chasing early, the Poole man retired and the Bears took a win with tapes up declaring the win as “the most unlikely victory in the club’s history!”

A remarkable night at a remarkable club and Redcar must now await the result of tonight’s Championship encounter between Berwick and Scunthorpe. If Berwick can win by more than 6 points, Redcar will need a point from their trip to Plymouth on Tuesday to guarantee the 6th and final play-off place. 

We caught up with the inspirational Lewis Kerr after Redcar’s remarkable win, “ It was the perfect night, the pressure was on towards the end but I made some dream starts, I had plenty of speed and we got the job done.”

Kerr, confessed he had no idea that if his last bend pass on Lawson was unsuccessful, Redcar could not win the meeting, “ I knew we were behind but I did not know we couldn’t of won the meeting. In terms of heat 13, I knew it was a do or die effort to get past Lawson but I knew I had speed wide and I got the job done!”

Redcar Bears = 46

1. Charles Wright = 9+1

2. Jason Edwards = 3

3. Erik Riss R/R 

4. Kasper Andersen = 3+1

5. Lewis Kerr = 19+1

6. Kyle Newman = 3+1

7. Jordan Jenkins = 9

8. Luke Muff – DNR

Scunthorpe Scorpions = 44

1. Richard Lawson (G)= 9

2. Simon Lambert = 5+1

3. James Wright = 4 

4. Jake Allen= 8+2

5. Tero Aarnio R/R 

6. Adam Roynon = 11+1

7. Anders Rowe = 7+1

Redcar co-promoter Jamie Swales does not fear Scunthorpe ahead of the club’s vital play-off clash with Scunthorpe. The must win clash takes place at the ECCO Arena this Friday with tapes up at 19:30.

Despite Redcar’s defeat to Glasgow, Swales is upbeat, “ I do not fear Scunthorpe at home, it is still in our hands and Scunthorpe are not Glasgow. I’m full of confidence for tomorrow night, we will do what’s needed on our part and then hope Berwick can do us a favour!”

Swales commented on his riders whilst also pointing out the Scunthorpe dangerman, Ryan Douglas, “ Jason (Edwards) has turned out to be too good of a rider to have two bad meetings in a row at Redcar whilst Kasper (Andersen) has had another week to recover from his crash at Edinburgh. Dougy, (Ryan Douglas) is a top quality rider but I do fancy our chances at home.”

Redcar welcome another Poole rider as a guest with Steve Worrall stepping into Erik Riss’ shoes. Worrall scored 14 from 6 rides when he visited the Ecco Arena in June when Redcar hosted a Diamonds select.

Meanwhile, as confirmed earlier, Jordan Jenkins is expected to be fully fit after he withdrew from his National League commitment (as a precaution) on Wednesday with Oxford after suffering a reoccurence of the stomach injury he suffered at Poole.

Ryan Douglas suffered a heavy crash which meant he withdrew from the Grand Final of the CLRC (Championship riders individual championship) last night but the Scorpions are hoping their top man will take his place in the crucial clash.

Scunthorpe are hoping to be at full strength ahead of the meeting as they attempt to gain at least a point from Friday’s meeting to put themselves in the driving seat for the 6th and final play-off spot.  

The state of play is that Scunthorpe are currently 6th in the table on 25 points with 2 fixtures remaining (Redcar and Berwick away) whilst the “Agilia” Bears are on 23 points with Scunthorpe at home and Plymouth away still to come.

If the Bears can hit the magical 49 point mark tomorrow evening Scunthorpe will leave the Ecco Arena empty handed. This will mean the Bears will leapfrog the Scorpions into 6th ahead of Scunthorpe visiting Berwick 24 hours later.

The meeting will be streamed by the club’s partners Tapes Up for £11.99 and can be purchased at www.redcar-speedway.tv. Alternatively, the club’s official Twitter channel @RedcarBears will be providing heat by heat results.

Redcar “Agilia” Bears
1 Charles Wright 8.97 (C)
2 Jason Edwards 4.85
3 Steve Worrall (G) 8.14
4 Kasper Andersen 4.82
5 Lewis Kerr         7.02
6 Kyle Newman    4.31
7 Jordan Jenkins 3.51
TM Jade Mudgway

Scunthorpe Scorpions
1 Ryan Douglas 9.15
2 Simon lambert 5.43 ©
3 James Wright 5.17
4 Jake Allen 6.59
5 Tero Aarnio 6.59
6 Adam Roynon 3.00
7 Anders Rowe 4.25
Team manager Kevin Moore

Edinburgh’s iron man Sam Masters took the CLRC (Championship Riders Individual Championship) at Poole on Wednesday evening with Poole’s Danny King in second and Redcar’s Lewis Kerr finishing third in the Grand Final. Charles Wright agonisingly finished 7th meaning the Bears skipper just missed out on a semi-final berth.

Lewis Kerr started the meeting in scintillating fashion as he won heat 1 convincingly from the gate ahead of Ryan Douglas in second. After Danny King delighted the home crowd by winning heat 2, Charles Wright took a solid second in heat 3 behind the eventual champion Sam Masters.

In the second batch of heats, King made it 2 wins from 2 in heat 6 whilst both Bears (Wright and Kerr) faced off against each other in heat 3. Kerr took his tally to 5 after finishing behind Josh Pickering who took a tapes to flag win whilst Wright held off Chris Harris for 3rd to put himself on 3 points.

Heat 9 was the first of the third round of heats as King finished last with meeting reserve Ben Cook taking an impressive third whilst Wright took second behind race winner Kyle Howarth.

Masters won heat 10 to take his tally to an impressive 7 points whilst Kerr finished third in heat 11 after a tough first lap involving Scott Nicholls, Richard Lawson and Lewis Kerr.

The race of the night was undoubtedly heat 14 as Wright, (3rd going into the final lap) unbelievably passed both Troy Batchelor and Richard Lawson on the backstraight of lap 4 for a vital win to take his total to 8 ahead of his final qualifying race.

It was back to back Bears heat winners as Kerr made a dream gate in heat 15 to take a comfortable win which took his points total to 9.

Heat 19 saw 3 of the eventual finalists, Masters, Ryan Douglas and Kerr meet with Kerr knowing a race win would send him directly through to the final. The Bears heat leader unfortunately struggled out of the gate and ran a third. Despite not securing direct qualification for the final the Brit secured his place in the semi-finals.

The final qualifying race saw Wright take his last ride with the Bears number 1 knowing second would see him join Kerr in the semi-finals. Wright, riding against the fence was second heading into lap 3 but while chasing the dirt, his bike reared violently letting Douglas through for second and despite Wright’s best efforts he could not regain second and his evening ended in 7th place.

The last chance saloon semi-final saw Kerr come up against King, Lawson and Harris. Kerr gated in second and ultimately held his position fairly comfortably to secure his place in the final.

Kerr had the final gate selection in the Grand Final and the Redcar man was left with gate 1. In the original staging, Kerr made a decent gate but an awful crash between Masters and Douglas saw the air fence shattered and Douglas having to withdraw from the final.

In the restaging, Kerr unfortunately struggled out of the difficult gate and was forced to settle for third place on the podium with Sam Masters taking a fantastic win with home favourite Danny King in second place.

Meanwhile, in other Redcar news, Jordan Jenkins is expected to be fully fit after he withdrew from his National League commitment (as a precaution) on Wednesday with Oxford after suffering a reoccurrence of the stomach injury he suffered at Poole.

1. Michael Palm Toft (Plymouth) = 1 (Withdrawn)
2. Leon Flint (Berwick) = 1
3. Lewis Kerr (Redcar) = 10 3RD
4. Ryan Douglas (Scunthorpe) = 12 4TH
5. Nick Morris (Leicester) = 10
6. Danny King (Poole) = 10 2ND
7. Chris Harris (Berwick) = 7
8. Richard Lawson (Poole) = 10
9. Scott Nicholls (Oxford) = 9
10. Justin Sedgmen (Birmingham) = 4
11. Charles Wright (Redcar) = 9
12. Sam Masters (Edinburgh) = 12 WINNER
13. Troy Batchelor (Oxford) = 5
14. Tom Brennan (Glasgow) = 1
15. Josh Pickering (Edinburgh) = 9
16. Kyle Howarth (Leicester) = 7

17. Ben Cook (Poole) = 2
18. Zach Cook (Poole) = 1

Redcar team boss Jade Mudgway believes Charles Wright and Lewis Kerr stand every chance of picking up more silverware as both Bears aim for the Championship Riders League Champion (CLRC) at Poole this evening, (tapes up at 19:30 at Wimborne Road). The title is currently held by Erik Riss who won the title in 2019 at Sheffield.

The Kiwi believes both boys stand every chance, “ Both of the boys stand every chance, they know their way around Poole, they will get stuck in as they aim for more silverware. Both guys will have to be on their game out of the gate, especially around Poole.”

Mudgway also believes the meeting gives Wright the opportunity to eliminate his mechanical issues, “ Charles is a rider who rarely has any mechanical problems but when he has a bad night we can forgive him! I’m certain that Charles would not have left the workshop on Sunday night before stripping the bike down to find the problem.”

The former Redcar reserve is also happy with the recent form of Lewis Kerr, “ Lewi also had some clutch problems at Edinburgh but he sorted the issue out and then he looked really good in his last two rides and then again on Sunday. Lewi looks quick when he’s out in front and I think riding at number 5 has been good for Lewi, especially around Redcar.”

All of the 10 Championship clubs will be represented at the meeting with the individual meeting being streamed live on the British Speedway Network. Ryan Douglas, Nick Morris, Richard Lawson, Josh Pickering and Chris Harris are likely to be in the thrust of the action as well as both Bears. 

1 Michael Palm Toft (Plymouth)

2 Leon Flint (Berwick)

3 Lewis Kerr (Redcar)

4 Ryan Douglas (Scunthorpe)

5 Nick Morris (Leicester)

6 Danny King (Poole)

7 Chris Harris (Berwick)

8 Richard Lawson (Poole)

9 Scott Nicholls (Oxford)

10 Justin Sedgmen (Birmingham)

11 Charles Wright (Redcar)

12 Sam Masters (Edinburgh)

13 Troy Batchelor (Oxford)

14 Tom Brennan (Glasgow)

15 Josh Pickering (Edinburgh)

16 Kyle Howarth (Leicester)

In a fantastic match which ebbed and flowed, the Redcar “Agilia” Bears were defeated 44-46 by the Glasgow Tigers. Jordan Jenkins top scored for the Bears with paid 17 whilst Tom Brennan starred for Glasgow with 13.

Glasgow started the meeting in the ascedency with an opening heat maximum as Craig Cook made a successful return from injury with a sublime gate to take the win whilst Aaron Summers comfortably held second to give the travelling support plenty to cheer in the early stages.

Jenkins started his evening with a now customary heat 2 win as he swooped past Connor Bailey for the win whilst Newman came close to pipping Bailey on the line but ran out of laps. The first shared heat of the match came in heat 3 as Cook (out in his rider replacement outing) stormed past Danny King exiting bend 2 of the opening lap to go on to record a fairly comfortable win with both Bears packing into the minor places.

Redcar hit the front for the first time in the match as Lewis Kerr gated for an easy win whilst Jordan Jenkins superbly blocked Tom Brennan’s every move for Redcar’s first 5-1 of the evening. However, Glasgow immediately turned the tables with their 2nd 5-1 of the match as Cook won again whilst King was unable to hold off a hard charging Summers who passed the Redcar guest on the third bend of the final lap to send Glasgow into a 2 point lead.

Glasgow hit another hammer blow with another 5-1. Brennan gated for an easy win whilst Broc Nicol expertly held off both Charles Wright and Jason Edwards for an impressive paid win for the American. Glasgow were purring and hit another heat advantage with Brennan winning yet again but Kerr limited the damage as he passed Danyon Hume on the final lap to stop Glasgow’s lead hitting double figures.

Glasgow’s lead did hit double figures with a 4-2 heat advantage in heat 8 as Aaron Summers took a comfortable win and with Bailey holding off Edwards, the Bears were in big trouble. Heat 9 saw a fantastic battle prematurely ended as 3 riders entered the first bend of lap 2 but Brennan ran out of room and crashed with the Glasgow man excluded from the re-run. The restaging saw both Bears gate for a comfortable 5-1 to strike back in the meeting.

The comeback was well and truly in full swing as the Bears secured another 5-1 with both Bears (Wright and Jenkins) using the inside line to pass Summers to bring Redcar within 2.

Heat 11 saw Glasgow hit back with a 4-2 but that only tells half the story! Newman hit the deck on the first bend with most onlookers thinking all 4 riders would be invited back for the re-run but Kerr was deemed to be the cause of the stoppage and was excluded from the re-run. After hitting the deck and speaking to the medics, Newman gated in the re-run but was passed by Cook. Summers then usurped Newman on the backstraight of lap 3 but Newman went under Summers again entering the final lap to limit the damage.

Suddenly, the scores were level as Jenkins passed Nicol on the opening lap to join King at the front to get the Bears back on level terms. Heat 13 saw drama as Wright lifted and gained unwanted drive exiting bend 2 of the opening lap and collected Cook with the Cumbrian falling heavily. Cook was ultimately withdrawn from the meeting with Nicol taking his place in the re-run with Wright excluded after Cook’s crash. The restaging saw Brennan win after a great gate but Kerr passed Nicol to keep Redcar within 2 of Glasgow.

Heat 14 saw Redcar retake the lead with Kasper Andersen making a superb start to hit the front whilst Jenkins passed Hume towards the end of the opening lap and then took the chequered flag to send the crowd wild and send Redcar into a 2 point lead.

The final race of a tremendous evening’s entertainment saw Glasgow take a crippling 5-1 to send shockwaves through the home crowd and secure the 3 points for the Tigers which sends them directly into the play-off semi-finals.

Redcar co-promoter Jamie Swales thought the clash had everything, “ The result is hard to take, the boys gave it their all but I’m gutted with the outcome.”

Swales also believes the Bears still have every chance of finishing in the 6th and final play-off berth, “ I still think we are in the ascendency in the race for 6th, if we have to go to Plymouth and get something, that’s what we will be going out to do but tonight makes things a little harder for us.”

Redcar Bears = 44

1. Charles Wright = 4+1
2. Jason Edwards = 0
3. Danny King (G) = 8+1
4. Kasper Andersen = 3+2
5. Lewis Kerr = 11
6. Kyle Newman = 3
7. Jordan Jenkins = 15+2

Glasgow Tigers = 46

1. Craig Cook = 12 WITHDRAWN
2. Aaron Summers (G) = 11+3
3. Benjamin Basso R/R
4. Danyon Hume = 2
5. Tom Brennan = 13
6. Broc Nicol = 5+1
7. Connor Bailey = 3

Redcar’s newest signing, Kyle Newman believes that Redcar has a “feel-good factor around the club” ahead of his home debut tomorrow, (tapes up at 19:30 at the ECCO Arena) against the Glasgow Tigers. Plus – before the start of the massive play-off clash, you can see Charles Wright and Lewis Kerr parade the Championship Pairs trophy on the track after their historic triumph last week!

Newman explained his reasons for joining the Bears, “ I know people at Redcar from my time at Newcastle but there is definitely a feel-good factor around the club and the promotion recently. When you have that feel-good factor it’s a lot more appealing to come and join a club as when you turn up you feel positive.”

The Brit is also happy to be joining a club with a fantastic track, “ You know that the track will be prepared nicely when you turn up at Redcar and that’s something to look forward to!”

Newman also revealed that the Bears promotion were persistent in getting hold of his signature, “ The promotion were persistent but that is good as it shows that they really wanted me on board. They set some of the riders I knew after me to speak to me about the club.”

Newman is happy with his start in Redcar colours but knows there is more to come, “ I’m happy with my start but I would always like to score some more points. I dropped some points at Edinburgh by being passed on different racing lines but that can happen! I’m also quite happy with my starts as they have been pretty sharp. My last time on the bike was when Oxford visited Redcar so it’s just about getting that race fitness back now!”

Redcar bring in Danny King to guest in place of Erik Riss whilst the club will make a late decision over the fitness of Kasper Andersen after his crash at Edinburgh yesterday. Andersen, underwent an x-ray which showed no broken bones but the Dane will have a late fitness test to determine whether he is fit for the league clash.

If Andersen is indeed unfit his rides can be covered by Jason Edwards and the reserves.  

Glasgow are also suffering from injuries with Benjamin Basso ruled out with rider replacement covering the Dane’s rides. Ulrich Ostergaard is also missing with broken bones in his hand with Aaron Summers coming in to guest for the former Bear. In better news for the Tigers, they are scheduled to welcome back Craig Cook after the Brit crashed out 3 weeks ago at Edinburgh.

The club will also be giving fans the opportunity to have their picture taken during the meeting in the bar with the Pairs trophy!

The meeting can be followed via the club’s official Twitter feed with the meeting also being broadcast live on the British Speedway Network.

Redcar Agilia Bears 

1 Charles Wright 8.97 (C)

2 Jason Edwards 4.85

3 Danny King (G) 8.14

4 Kasper Andersen or rider replacement 4.82

5 Lewis Kerr 7.02

6 Kyle Newman 4.31

7 Jordan Jenkins 3.51

TM Jade Mudgway 

Glasgow Tigers 

1 Craig Cook 8.08

2 Aaron Summers (G) 6.62

3 Rider replacement for Benjamin Basso 7.77

4 Danyon Hume 6.31

5 Tom Brennan (C) 6.62

6 Broc Nicol 5.88

7 Connor Bailey 4.27

TM – Cameron Brown

Redcar put on a battling display to restrict Edinburgh to a 4 point lead as they were defeated 47-43 defeat at Armadale in the KO Cup semi-final first leg. Richard Lawson top scored for the Bears as a guest with 12 whilst Josh Pickering hit 13 for the Monarchs.

The meeting started in even fashion as Sam Masters started his comeback with a win but both Wright and Edwards packed into second and third to stop Edinburgh from taking an early lead. Edinburgh struck the first blow in heat 2 as James Sarjeant took a comfortable win with Jacob Hook surviving a couple of scary moments to claim second and a Monarchs 5-1.

Disaster occurred in heat 3 for the Bears as Kasper Andersen came to grief on the 4th bend of lap 2. Andersen was excluded from the re-run and subsequently withdrew from the meeting with a hip injury. Richard Lawson won the re-run to start his evening in winning fashion and keep Redcar within 4 points in the early stages.

Jordan Jenkins made a superb gate in heat 4 to take an early lead but the Brit was quickly usurped by the brilliant Josh Pickering in the closing stages of the opening lap. The Australian went on to take a comfortable win but again both Bears bagged the minor places to keep Redcar in touch.

Edinburgh began to take control as they extended their lead to 6 as the impressive Paco Castagna defeated Charles Wright and with Kye Thomson securing third over Jason Edwards, Edinburgh were suddenly in control.

Redcar’s new signing, Kyle Newman, in his second appearance in Bears colours, took the lead ahead of Masters in heat 6 but the Edinburgh skipper used his home track knowledge to pass the Bears reserve and win. Nevertheless, with both Bears in the scoring positions, the Edinburgh lead remained at 6.

Heat 7 saw a Monarchs 4-2 heat advantage as Pickering got the better of Lawson after a first lap tussle but with Jenkins packing up on the start line, Edinburgh were sensing a big first leg lead as they stretched their lead to 8.

The original staging of heat 8 saw all 4 invited back for the re-run after Lasse Fredriksen and Jordan Jenkins came to grief exiting bend 1 of the opening lap. The second attempt saw Jenkins lay the bike down after Hook spun with the Edinburgh man being excluded from the 3rd and final staging. The Bears pairing of Edwards and Jenkins gated in the final staging and expertly team rode to keep Fredriksen at bay and bring the visitors within 4.

Despite looking like the tide may be turning, Edinburgh restored their 8 point lead with a tapes to flag 5-1 in heat 9 courtesy of the middle order pairing of Castagna and Thomson. Nevertheless, Redcar were not about to give up without a fight and Lawson won heat 10, handing Masters a rare defeat on home shale and with Jenkins picking up an important 3rd place, suddenly the pendulum began to swing back in Redcar’s favour.

Heat 11 saw one of the races of the night as Pickering reeled in Wright with a sublime final bend pass to take the win and with the former Bear Sarjeant claiming third, Edinburgh stretched their lead slightly to 8 points. Again, Redcar bit back with a 4-2 of their own as Redcar’s stellar guest Lawson, won his 3rd race of the night but Thomson passed Newman on the run to the line to limit the damage for Edinburgh.

Lewis Kerr won heat 13 in fantastic style after blocking a hard charging Pickering but with Wright unluckily finding himself at the back, Redcar could not close the gap any further. The 6th shared heat of the night came in heat 14 as Castagna capped off an impressive evening by passing Newman on the 3rd lap to take the chequered flag but for the 4th time in a shared race situation, Redcar packed into the minor places.

Heading into heat 15, Redcar knew that keeping the Monarchs within 6 was key but the Bears went one better and secured a priceless 4-2 heat advantage. Lewis Kerr once again rode the boards to defeat Pickering and with Lawson holding off Masters, Redcar got themselves their 4th and most important heat advantage of the night to leave the tie finely balanced.

In second half action, history was made as the Redcar Cubs defeated the West Lothian Wildcats 23-12 over 6 heats to win the Northern Junior League with the title heading back to Redcar for the first time since 2013. The Cubs, led by Gavin Parr rode sensibly and superbly to secure the title. The team is made up of National League reserve Kyran Lyden, British NORA Women’s Champion Katie Gordon, Seth Norman and Oliver Bovingdon. With Bovingdon away, Dan Mcteer from the Teesside Tigers stepped in to help secure the win and the title for the riders. Everyone at Redcar Speedway would like to congratulate the Cubs on the title win!

Redcar’s Lewis Kerr was happy with his second half of the meeting, “ We as a side had a lot of mechanical problems early on in the meeting. Personally, I had severe clutch drag in the first 3 heats. I knew the bike was good so we managed to find the problem and the bike came good for the big heats (13&15).”

The heat 15 winner also warned that the tie is far from over, “ This tie is far from over as we have the second leg at Redcar and Redcar is a track everyone likes so we will have to be on our toes to get through.”

Edinburgh Monarchs = 47

1. Sam Masters = 9+1
2. Lasse Fredriksen = 1
3. Kye Thomson = 7+1
4. Paco Castagna = 10+1
5. Josh Pickering = 13
6. James Sarjeant = 5
7. Jacob Hook = 2+1

Redcar Bears = 43

1. Charles Wright = 6
2. Jason Edwards = 3+2
3. Richard Lawson (G) = 12
4. Kasper Andersen = 0 Withdrawn
5. Lewis Kerr = 8+2
6. Kyle Newman = 6
7. Jordan Jenkins = 8+1