Redcar Bears Speedway — ECCO Arena, Middlesbrough
MEETING ABANDONED ✖️
A terrible crash in Heat 1 involving James Sarjeant. The private ambulance has had to take James to the local hospital.
A sad end to the night and we hope James recovers
Thanks to all the fans that made the journey!
The meeting will be reran on Tuesday.
Redcar co-promoter Jamie Swales is not ready to bring the curtain down on Redcar’s Championship season as the Teessiders travel north ready to claw back 12 points in the second leg of the play-off quarter final at Armadale this evening, (19:30 start). The promotion have been devestated by the late withdrawal of Michael Palm Toft who’s expected return from injury was knocked back after an unsuccessful return for his Premiership club, Peterborough Panthers.
Swales believes he has the men to go to Edinburgh and win the meeting well, “We need to go and do the extraordinary, we have worked all season and it comes down to one match to pull the deficit back. I believe we have the riders to go there and do a job as Armadale holds no fears for our boys and if we can do it there are potentially four more fixtures for our riders. It’s time for all our riders to click at the same time, something that hasn’t happened all season.”
Swales admitted that the first leg was always going to be a tough ask without Palm-Toft, “I knew we were in a little bit of trouble when we had to run rider replacement but there’s no excuse, Edinburgh rode our track better than we did. The Monarchs deserved the win but it’s only half time!”
Swales is also pleased with his work in his first year as co-promoter, “I’m happy with how things have gone for Redcar as a whole. I’m feeling a little flat after Sunday but positive things have been going on with Redcar, crowd levels are up and let’s bring on next year!”
The exuberant co-promoter is also looking forward to the team he can put together next season, “If we could we would just bring all 7 lads back but it’s not that easy in speedway. There is a lot of interest from riders wanting to come to our club which confirms how well we are doing at our club.”
Swales is also helping to finalise the Silver Helmet lineup with news to come soon on names involved in the meeting, “The lineup isn’t finalised yet but there will be a few familiar faces with hopefully a few surprises thrown in!”
Redcar are once again left with rider replacement as the only option to replace Palm Toft, leaving the Bears vulnerable. Edinburgh continue to use the services of Jason Edwards as a guest reserve whilst they also welcome back Anders Rowe who is returning from a knee injury.
EDINBURGH WHAT THE FORK MONARCHS
1. Sam Masters 9.41 (C)
2. Anders Rowe 4.09
3. Kye Thomson 5.51
4. Josh Pickering 8.34
5. Richie Worrall 7.36
6. Drew Kemp 3*
7. Jason Edwards (G) 3.91
TM : John Campbell
Redcar Agilia Bears.
1. Charles Wright 8.49 (C)
2. James Sarjeant 4.26
3. Jake Allen 7.72
4 Rider Replacement for Michael Palm Toft
5 Lewis Kerr 7.87
6. Ryan Kinsley 3.00
7. Jordan Jenkins 2*
TM: Jade Mudgway
Redcar’s play-off hopes are hanging by a thread after their undefeated home record was ended emphatically by an impressive Edinburgh side in the first leg of the quarter final at the Media Prima Arena.
Redcar struggled for heat winners throughout the evening with an Edinburgh rider taking the chequered flag a staggering 11 times as they ran out 39-51 winners on the night. Edinburgh’s star man was Drew Kemp who scored 13 points to help his side to victory. Redcar were severely hamstrung by the loss of Michael Palm-Toft earlier in the week and rider replacement only returned a paltry 2 points which was one of the key differences between the sides.
The Monarchs took the lead in heat 2 when Drew Kemp passed Jordan Jenkins on lap 3 and with Jason Edwards in third the Monarchs took a 5-7 lead heading into heat 3.
The impressive Josh Pickering took the win in heat 3 with his Australian partner Kye Thomsen defeating James Sarjeant for third Edinburgh extended their lead to 4. 4 shared heats followed with Drew Kemp showing why he was the main man on the evening with a win over Charles Wright in heat 6.
Redcar looked to have found their way back into the meeting when Jason Edwards broke down when leading heat 8 which turned a probable Edinburgh 4-2 into a Bears 4-2 which cut the gap to 2 on the night. The ninth race saw Edinburgh double their lead to 4 as Richie Worrall took a tapes to flag win from Jake Allen and Kemp. After a lap of heat 10 it looked like Redcar had found their mojo as they sat on a 5-1 but Josh Pickering rode the boards spectacularly to pass James Sarjeant which limited the damage to a 4-2.
The killer blow was struck in heat 11 when Kemp and Sam Masters combined for a 5-1 to put the Monarchs 6 up. Another heat advantage followed in heat 13 when Masters won and Worrall got the better of Lewis Kerr to extend the lead to 8. Josh Pickering finished the first leg job for the Monarchs with back to back wins in heat 14&15 as he got the better of Allen and Wright respectively to put the Monarchs in charge heading into the second leg at Armadale.
Redcar co-promoter Jamie Swales believes the loss of Michael Palm-Toft was key “Having to run rider replacement was the key difference in my opinion this evening but you could not fault the lack of effort from our guys. Jordan Jenkins hurt his wrist again which didn’t help but rider replacement returned 2 points and even if Tofty (Michael Palm-Toft) was having a bad night he would return at least 6 for us. When you build a team with a strong top 4 and the 4th man isn’t available you are snookered. Building a team this way is a gamble and it has worked all season but it’s just failed us at the crucial time.
Swales is also refusing to throw the towel in, “If Tofty is back for the second leg we can go there and do a job. We have the second best away record in the league behind Poole so there’s no reason why we can’t go to Armadale and pull the deficit back if we have a full 1-7. We really have nothing to lose!”
Swales also commented on the impressive performance of Drew Kemp for Edinburgh, “Kemp loves this track, that’s why we used him so much as a guest for us this early this season! Drew was gating and beating good riders throughout and he was the difference maker.”
Redcar Bears = 39
Edinburgh Monarchs = 51
Redcar’s Jake Allen is predicting a closely fought tussle with the Edinburgh Monarchs as both clubs bid to reach the play-off semi-finals in the first leg this evening (18:30 start) at the Media Prima Arena. Sunday has become the first leg due to the initial first staging being postponed due to a waterlogged Armadale track.
Allen believes the Bears have the stomach for the battle ahead, “To get through is going to be difficult but I believe we have the ability to do it. We have already ran a lot of meetings using rider replacement this season with me taking an extra ride so it is something we are accustomed to.”
The Australian is acutely aware that a strong team effort is required, “I think we will do the job as long as all of the boys are firing. We will definitely miss Michael Palm-Toft but we win as a team and we lose as a team.”
Allen also knows how key he will be in Sunday’s first leg, “I have got a little bit of extra pressure on my shoulders as I will be taking an extra ride but at the end of the day we all need to make starts and get some race wins under our belt!”
The Julie Lewis Memorial runner up is targeting a strong lead to take to Armadale, “When we faced Edinburgh in the league we drew both meetings and I think both matches will be close. We need to focus on winning the meeting and taking a lead as big as possible back up to Edinburgh for the second leg.”
The Brisbane born star also welcomed the meeting being run in the evening, The first home Sunday match on an evening this season! “When we faced Edinburgh in May it was a day meeting and through no fault of anybody’s it became difficult to have any sort of home track due to the hot weather making the track dustier and slicker. We run most of our meetings at night and I believe we ride better when we have evening matches as that is when we usually ride.”
Sunday’s first hurdle to potential Championship silverware has been made more difficult due to the well publicised absence of Michael Palm-Toft. Toft is averaging 8.17 at the Media Prima Arena this season and rider replacement is the only option available to the Bears promotion to cover his rides. Otherwise, Redcar are unchanged from Friday’s planned trip to Edinburgh which fell foul of the weather.
Edinburgh welcome back Drew Kemp from under 21 World Championship duty in the Czech Republic whilst they bring in Mildenhall’s Jason Edwards to guest in place of Nathan Greaves. Finally, Anders Rowe has failed in his bid to be fit for the clash with rider replacement operating in his absence.
Any fans who cannot attend the Media Prima Arena for nail biting Play-Off action are encouraged to purchase the live stream for £9.99 here (http://www.redcar-speedway.com/tv)
Redcar “Agilia” Bears
1. Charles Wright 8.49 (C)
2. James Sarjeant 4.26
3. Jake Allen 7.72
4 Rider Replacement for Michael Palm-Toft
5 Lewis Kerr 7.87
6. Ryan Kinsley 3.00
7. Jordan Jenkins 2*
TM Jade Mudgway
EDINBURGH “WHAT THE FORK” MONARCHS
1. Sam Masters 9.41 (C)
2. Rider Replacement for Anders Rowe
3. Kye Thomson 5.51
4. Josh Pickering 8.34
5. Richie Worrall 7.96
6. Drew Kemp 3*
7. Jason Edwards 3.91 (G)
TM John Campbell
Unfortunately, tonights play off first leg away at Edinburgh has been postponed due to the weather.
We are in discussions with Edinburgh around a Restaging date and will make an announcement once confirmed.
This will mean Sundays meeting at the Media Prima Arena will become the first leg, with a 6:30pm start.
Michael Palm Toft is set to miss Redcar’s crucial trip as his side travel to Edinburgh for the first leg of their play-off quarter final. Crashing out of Monday’s televised Premiership meeting, Michael has suffered broken fingers. Despite managing to complete 4 laps in his next race, he was subsequently withdrawn from the meeting and after consulting with surgeons it has been decided to let the injury heal without surgery.
Despite such a huge blow to Redcar’s title chances, Team boss Jade Mudgway is positive of his side’s chances, he explains “Losing Tofty is a big blow ahead of the play-off quarter finals, especially as he rode really well around Armadale in our first meeting of the season, (scoring 11) but I still believe we are strong enough to come out on top over the two legs.”
Rider replacement will be in operation for the Dane with the Kiwi boss explaining the Bears had no other option, “With Tofty sitting fourth in the averages since the addition of Lewi to the team, we have no option but to run with rider replacement. As the new averages come into play on Friday this now means Jake Allen, James Sarjeant and our reserves can take Michael’s rides.”
Friday’s first leg is expected to be a close encounter, something Mudgway also expects, “We are looking for at least a draw at Armadale but we have shown throughout the season that we are capable of going to away tracks and winning. We have got to be aggressive out of the gate and at the first bend which will help our cause no end.”
Edinburgh line up with 5 of their septet available after their former Bear Nathan Greaves announced his retirement from the sport in early September with Jason Edwards guesting in his place. Drew Kemp has also received a late call up to ride in the World U21 Final, and Leon Flint will guest in his place. Edinburgh’s Anders Rowe will be looking to exact revenge on Redcar after they dropped him to bolster their top end strength in late August. Redcar line up without the aforementioned Palm-Toft but the rest of the side are unchanged from the defeat at Poole.
For fans unable to travel to Armadale on Friday, Edinburgh will be covering the meeting with their live stream available on EMTV here https://www.edinburghmonarchs.co.uk/emtv/live/QFN2Diinn/redcar
Edinburgh What The Fork Monarchs
1. Sam Masters 9.41 (C)
2. Anders Rowe 4.09
3. Kye Thomson 5.51
4. Josh Pickering 8.34
5. Richie Worrall 7.96
6. Leon Flint 3* (G)
7. Jason Edwards 3.91 (G)
TM John Campbell
Redcar Agilia Bears
1. Charles Wright 8.49 (C)
2. James Sarjeant 4.26
3. Jake Allen 7.72
4. Rider Replacement for Michael Palm Toft 7.33
5. Lewis Kerr 7.87
6. Ryan Kinsley 3.00
7. Jordan Jenkins 2*
TM Jade Mudgway
This week’s Official British Speedway Podcast features none other than Redcar co-promoter Jitendra Duffill!He joins Ian Brannan to talk about all things speedway, including this weekends Play-Off Quarter Finals.
There’s even more Redcar features with Lewis Kerr too!
Listen below!
The Tate Tigers were the winners of the annual Julie Lewis memorial meeting after an evening of close, exciting racing at the Media Prima Arena. The 3 man team of Elliot Kelly, Zach Cook and Kasper Andersen proved too consistent for their opposition throughout the second half of the meeting.
The final was a topsy turvy affair as the Australian duo of Josh MacDonald and Jake Allen gated on a maximum which would have secured the title for the pair and their reserve Greg Blair. Nevertheless, the pairing of Andersen and Cook passed Josh MacDonald to take the 5-4 win for the Tate Tigers.
The first half of the meeting saw some close racing throughout with Kyle Bickley totalling an impressive 11 points to top the standings. Jade Mudgway, dusting off the kevlars for one night only claimed second in his opener behind Jason Edwards. Heat 4 saw a small slice of Redcar 2021 history as Ryan Kinsley took his first win at the Media Prima Arena, much to the delight of the crowd. Zach Cook rode brilliantly throughout the first half of the meeting to score 9 points from his 4 rides whilst the impressive Josh MacDonald scored 8 points in the qualifier. Redcar’s very own James Sarjeant looked set to take the crown of the highest qualifier but after 3 wins from his opening 3 the Yorkshireman was forced to withdraw.
The main event of the evening saw close racing throughout with Lewis Kerr hitting an impressive 16 point maximum (4 points for a win) from his 4 outings but the GB international lacked support from an improving Kinsley and Mudgway with the Hodgson Hawks missing out on the grand final on countback. Charles Wright continued his recent impressive home from with 15 points from his 4 races but with his teammates Edwards and Jordan Jenkins only scoring 2 points between them they failed to make it to the final.
The main man in qualifying, Kyle Bickley struggled to recapture his early form as he only scored 3 points in the main event as the Shaw Sharks propped up the table.
Over the 10 heat main event the Simpson Stars came first with 21 points as Josh MacDonald again scored 8 points to back up Jake Allen who scored 13 and was named rider of the night for his efforts. The Stars were joined in the final by the Tate Tigers who hit 20 points in the main event but with Andersen and Cook proving just too competitive in the final they took the crown.
Andersen was understandably delighted with his efforts, “I think I’ve proved over the course of the season that I can mix it with the best at Championship level this season and tonight we rode well as a team. I was always looking for my teammate in the final and we are happy to come out on top.”
The Qualifier
1. Zach Cook = 9
2. Josh MacDonald = 8
3. Max Clegg = 3
4. Kyle Bickley = 11
5. Jordan Jenkins = 4
6. Jade Mudgway = 4
7. Elliot Kelly = 1
8. Jason Edwards = 8
9. Ryan Kinsley = 8
10. Luke Crang = 3
11. James Sarjeant = 9
12. Greg Blair = 4
13. Alex Goldsborough = 0
14. Kyran Lydan = 0
The main event
Lewis Lyons = 17
1. Charles Wright = 15
2. Jason Edwards = 2
3. Jordan Jenkins = 0
Simpson Stars = 21
1. Jake Allen = 13
2. Josh MacDonald = 8
3. Greg Blair = 0
Hodgson Hawks = 20
1. Lewis Kerr = 16
2. Ryan Kinsley = 2
3. Jade Mudgway = 2
Shaw Sharks = 12
1. Ty Proctor = 9
2. Kyle Bickley = 3
3. Luke Crang = 0
Tate Tigers = 20
1. Kasper Andersen = 13
2. Zach Cook= 7
3. Elliot Kelly = 0
Ahead of the vital SGB Championship play-offs Redcar host their annual Julie Lewis memorial meeting, a meeting which holds a special place in the heart of many Redcar/Middlesbrough fans and staff. Ran in memory of the much loved former office manager Julie Lewis, the meeting has always been focused on the up and coming riders of the sport.
An exciting format, debuted in 2019, is split into two sections. The Qualifier will start the meeting with a 12 rider individual, packed with progressing riders all aiming to finish in the top 5 to secure their place in the Main Event. All is not lost for those finishing lower down the line as positions 6 to 10 will head into the Main Event as reserves.
Five seeded Heat Leaders await their partners in the Main Event, a pairs meeting taking on a “Speedway Of Nations” points scoring system (4,3,2,0). The battle commences over 10 heats with one Grand Final to determine the 2021 Julie Lewis Memorial Trophy winners!
In one final mix, the team managers of the 5 Main Event teams are all fans, winners of a social media competition. With experienced guidance, they will have choice in the make-up of their teams. In a nod to the “SON” format, each team must also use their reserve rider at least once.
The meeting includes six “Agilia” Bears with Ryan Kinsley, James Sarjeant and Jordan Jenkins being joined in the qualifier by Redcar team manager Jade Mudgway who is looking to upset the apple cart against his own riders! Other names vying for a place in the all-important top 5 are Redcar regular Greg Blair, Scunthorpe’s Josh MacDonald and the likeable Mildenhall starlet Jason Edwards.
The seeded riders are led by Redcar’s inspirational skipper Charles Wright, joining the 2019 British Champion as a seed is Lewis Kerr, Jake Allen, Kasper Andersen and Ty Proctor who returns to the shale after taking a sabbatical earlier this year.
Redcar’s team manager Jade Mudgway is looking forward to pitting his wits against the best Redcar has to offer, “Tonight’s meeting should be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to having a go against the boys as I like to give them a bit of stick so it’s time I put my money where my mouth is!”
The Kiwi born adopted Bear believes the meeting will be hugely exciting, “The racing will be fantastic as always. This meeting offers a bit of everything with lots of different riders from different clubs, the aspect of team riding in the pairs event, the chance to see 23 heats of top-class speedway and the young prospects facing off against old wobblers like myself!”
The Qualifier
1. Zach Cook 2. Josh MacDonald 3. Max Clegg 4. Kyle Bickley 5. Jordan Jenkins 6. Jade Mudgway 7. Elliot Kelly 8. Jason Edwards 9. Ryan Kinsley 10. Luke Crang 11. James Sarjeant 12. Greg Blair.
The Main Event
Charles Wright (8.86), Jake Allen (8.15), Lewis Kerr (7.48), Ty Proctor (5.42) and Kasper Andersen (5.39)
Redcar fell to their first defeat in 7 meetings as they were defeated by Poole 52-38 at Wimborne Road. Redcar struggled for heat advantages throughout the night as the Pirates extended their impressive undefeated streak at home.
The league leaders showed why they are currently top of the pile as their three heat leaders scored paid 37 points between them. On the other side of the pits, Redcar’s shining lights came in the form of the electric Lewis Kerr (paid 14) and Jordan Jenkins (paid 8) who underlined his 2021 improvement with another impressive performance.
The first 6 heats of the match saw Poole hit the Bears early as they provided all of the race winners with Benjamin Basso picking up 2 wins before having to withdraw following a crash in heat 10. Redcar began to eat into the Pirates lead with back to back heat advantages including Jenkins and James Sarjeant getting the better of Danyon Hume in a heat 8 5-1.
Jade Mudgway wasted no time in playing his tactical substitute card with Kerr joining Michael Palm-Toft in heat 11 but the Redcar pairing could only fill the minor places as Steve Worrall took a tapes to flag win to keep Poole 6 ahead. The next race saw Poole strike a telling blow with their skipper Danny King passing Charles Wright on the final lap to secure a Pirates 5-1 and the title contenders secured the win in heat 13 with a 5-1 which mathematically confirmed their place in top spot.
The aforementioned Bears bright sparks, Kerr and Jenkins combined for a confidence boosting 5-1 in heat 14 and they were both selected in heat 15 which saw King take the win but with Jenkins being passed by Worrall in the early stages Poole finished on a 4-2 heat advantage to hit 52 points on the night.
Redcar should not be too downhearted following this defeat and the real hard work begins with the play-offs with the Bears promotion desperate to add to their trophy cabinet by winning their first SGB Championship title.
Redcar’s rising star Jordan Jenkins was pleased with his performance, “It was a good night for me personally, I have only done 4 races at Poole and I am really happy to get my first heat 15 at Championship level. My gating is also improving all the time, I have Ged Rathbone helping me out but that is another part of my game that can still improve.”
Poole Pirates = 52
1. Rory Schlein = 8+2
2. Benjamin Basso = 6
3. Steve Worrall = 13
4. Ben Cook = 2
5. Danny King = 14
6. Anders Rowe (G) = 3+1
7. Danyon Hume = 6
Redcar Bears = 38
1. Charles Wright = 5
2. James Sarjeant = 2+1
3. Jake Allen = 6+1
4. Lewis Kerr = 12+2
5. Michael Palm Toft = 6
6. Ryan Kinsley = 0
7. Jordan Jenkins = 7+1
