Category: Bears News

The Redcar “Agilia” Bears head back to home comforts for the 1st leg of their KO Cup encounter against the Birmingham Brummies (Friday 19:30 start). The Bears have 2 riders unavailable as Anders Rowe is on European Under 19 pairs duty in Poland whilst Jordan Stewart is undergoing surgery after his horrible crash at Perry Barr on Wednesday. Guesting for the unavailable Anders Rowe is Berwick star Leon Flint who is in terrific form in both the National Development League and the Championship. The Bears will operate rider replacement in place of the injured Aussie Jordan Stewart. Also involved in Wednesday’s crash was Birmingham’s Valentin Grobauer who will miss Friday’s encounter as he is still feeling the effects of the heat 10 incident, rider replacement will operate in his absence.

Wednesday’s clash was originally scheduled to be the first leg but after over an hour’s delay for remedial work to be done to the track the meeting did not begin until 20:35. When the meeting did get underway the Bears showed no fear and were beginning to put the second city club to the sword until the abandonment of the meeting after 9 completed heats with the score sat at 23-31. 

Bears co-promoter Jamie Swales is looking forward to friday night speedway returning to the Media Prima Arena “It’s always going to be a tough match when the track record holder (Chris Harris) comes to town, he might be in the latter part of his career now but Bomber showed on Wednesday he’s still a force at this level, throw our old favourite Erik in there and they have a potent spearhead to their team. That said, we have full faith in our team’s ability to see us through this tie. It’s funny really to think that we’ve had a sticky start to the season because we’ve let a couple of wins slip through our fingers, but I think the lads are really starting to find their form now. The performance they all put in at Perry Barr on an unprepared racetrack was outstanding, the senior members of the team did a great job in keeping everyone’s head during the match and race results started coming, it’s hard to single anyone out but our rising star Jordan Jenkins is doing great and getting two 5-1s was particularly impressive. At the end of the match we had what was the worst possible outcome and the reason so many of the riders had raised concerns about the track surface in the first place. It now looks like we’ll be missing Jordan Stewart for some time which is a major blow to the club, fingers crossed he makes a speedy recovery and we will get him back in the Bears body colour as soon as possible, I’m sure the rest of the team will be fired up to win this one for Jordy”.

Tickets are still available for today’s meeting but they are selling fast so please book in advance to avoid disappointment!

REDCAR: Charles Wright, Leon Flint (G), Michael Palm Toft, Jordan Stewart R/R, Jake Allen, James Sarjeant, Jordan Jenkins. Team Manager: Jade Mudgway

BIRMINGHAM: Chris Harris, Valentin Grobauer R/R, James Shanes, Ashley Morris, Erik Riss, Paco Castagna, Jack Thomas. Team Manager: Laurence Rogers

Redcar Speedway would like to thank all the fans in attendance at Perry Barr last night on what was a hugely frustrating evening.
Contrary to a press release made elsewhere earlier today, there were huge concerns from both sides in relation to track conditions, not just from Redcar. To the credit of the riders, they showed patience and asked for track work to be done to improve the situation, due to concerns for their own health and safety – we strongly believe this was justified and support the stance they took, as they have every right to expect a safe surface to race on.

Under increasing pressure, racing began after a delay lasting over an hour, but sadly resulted in serious injury to Jordan Stewart in heat 10. We feel as a club, we did everything possible to assist in making last night a success and to get the meeting finished, though we question whether the meeting should have gone ahead in the first place.

We have appealed to the SCB regarding the result, which we believe should stand. The meeting was abandoned as a direct result of the delay and the inadequate track preparation – under no circumstances should Redcar Speedway suffer due to the errors of the home promotion. Mistakes happen and we accept that, but responsibly needs to be taken and a just outcome reached. It is a fact that Redcar would have been leading by at least 8 points after heat 10.

Finally, we would like to wish our rider and friend Jordan Stewart a speedy recovery and best wishes. He is currently awaiting surgery on his collarbone and shoulder. To say we are gutted by his situation would be an understatement.

The Redcar “Agilia” Bears KO Cup first leg meeting against the Birmingham Brummies was abandoned after 9 heats after a terrible crash involving Redcar’s Jordan Stewart. As only 9 heats had been completed the meeting was abandoned due to a lack of medical cover.

In difficult track conditions the Bears attacked the track and showed their mettle by racing into an 8 point lead after being down by 2 points after heat 2. Jordan Jenkins was the star of the show for Redcar as he scored paid 6 from 3 rides including defeats of Erik Riss and James Shanes. Redcar looked set for a big advantage going into the 2nd leg after consecutive 5-1’s in heats 8 and 9 before the meeting was curtailed.

We spoke to Redcar reserve Jordan Jenkins after the meeting who had this to say on the evening’s events, “Tonight was a tough meeting to say the least, firstly I want to wish Jordan all the best after his nasty crash. On a personal note heat two was a real tough one but I learnt a lot and I knew I needed to make better gates and then going out and getting a paid win with Jake was a real confidence booster. Unfortunately, I touched the tapes in heat 8 but I really wanted to get to the first turn in first position. Finally, to pop out of the start in my last race and make a big first bend to get my first race win in the Championship was an amazing feeling!”

The Bears performed admirably in tough conditions and did deserve to come away with the win but most importantly our thoughts go out to Bears star Jordan Stewart who has suffered arm and leg injuries and is currently in hospital.

Birmingham Brummies = 23

1. Chris Harris : 3, 3 = 6
2. Valetin Grobauer : 0, 1, 0 = 1
3. James Shanes : 1*, 1*, 1 = 3+2
4. Ashley Morris : 2, 2, F = 4
5. Erik Riss : 1, 3 = 4
6. Paco Castagna : 3, 0, 1 = 4
7. Jack Thomas : 1, 0 = 1

Redcar Bears = 31

1. Charles Wright : 2, 3 = 5
2. Anders Rowe : 1*, 0, 3 = 4+1
3. Michael Palm Toft : 3, 2 = 5
4. Jordan Stewart : 0, 1* = 1+1
5. Jake Allen : 3, 2, 2* = 7+1
6. James Sarjeant : 2, R, 2* = 4+1
7. Jordan Jenkins : 0, 2*, 3 = 5+1

After winning the Knockout Cup back in October 2019 the Redcar “Agilia” Bears finally begin the defence of their crown in the Midlands against the Birmingham Brummies on Wednesday (19:30 start). The Bears know they are in for a tough battle in the first of two legs against a revitalised Brummies side who have only retained 3 members from their 2019 campaign after finishing bottom of the 2019 SBG Championship. The Brummies signalled their intention for a strong season after picking up a convincing 39-51 away win at Berwick in their opening fixture and Bears Team manager Jade Mudgway knows the team are in for a tough battle.

Mudgway said “I’m looking forward to it and the lads are too, it’s a decent little track down there! I’m expecting us to go down there and I don’t think there will be much between the sides after the first leg. Erik (Riss) and Bomber (Chris Harris) are the major threats, Erik is lightning out of the gate and I think both of them can be big hitters on Wednesday. I believe James (Sarjeant) and Jordan (Jenkins) can do well for us at Birmingham, James rode really well on Sunday and I have been really impressed with Jordan who has started his Redcar career really well!”

Back in 2019, the Bears had a convincing 37-53 win at Perry Barr but with the main man on that night Erik Riss (15 point maximum) now on the other side of the pits it is sure to be a tight, entertaining match. The Bears will be hoping to take a lead of any sorts back to the Media Prima Arena to keep the Brummies on the back foot as Chris Harris (track record holder) and Erik Riss (9.30 home average in 2019) both have a strong liking for the Media Prima Arena circuit. 

The Birmingham promotion have secured the ability to sell a limited number of walk-up tickets for the meeting so if you are at a loose end head down to Perry Barr and show your support for the Bears, they will appreciate it! 

Birmingham Edwards Plumbing Brummies

1. Chris Harris 8.48 (captain)
2. Valentin Grobauer. 5.38
3. James Shane’s. 5.18
4. Ashley Morris. 5.32
5. Erik Riss. 8.41
6. Paco Castagna. 4.93
7. Jack Thomas. 2*

TM Lawrence Rogers

Redcar Agilia Bears.

1. Charles Wright 9.35 (Captain)
2. Anders Rowe 4.27
3. Michael Palm Toft 8.18
4. Jordan Stewart 5.74
5. Jake Allen 7.26
6. James Sarjeant. 3.90
7. Jordan Jenkins. 2*

TM Jade Mudgway

The Redcar “Agilia” Bears were held to a 45-45 draw by the impressive Edinburgh Monarchs on a sunny afternoon of Speedway. James Sarjeant was the standout man for the Bears scoring an impressive paid 11 whilst the ever impressive Sam Masters scored paid 17 for the Monarchs who were fully deserving of a share of the spoils. 

Heat 1 saw a heat advantage of the Monarchs as Sam Masters took the chequered flag ahead of Charles Wright whilst Anders Rowe was unlucky not too see his hard work result in a 3^rd place. Heat 2 was an unfortunate one for Jordan Jenkins who was excluded after coming to grief on bend 1 of the opening lap. Man of the match James Sarjeant who took an important win from the gate. Heat 3 saw the first maximum of the day as the Bears went into a 10-8 lead with a 5-1 from Michael Palm Toft and Jordan Stewart. Heat 4 saw an impressive win from Richie Worrall who was pushed extremely hard by a battling Jake Allen whilst Jordan Jenkins also picked up a vital 3^rd place. Heat 5 saw the Monarchs hit the front as former Bear Nathan Greaves joined Sam Masters at the front for a surprising 5-1 for the visitors. Heats 6-8 saw the Bears take control of the meeting with 3 successive 5-1’s. Anders Rowe continued his impressive start to the season with a fabulous outside swoop in heat 6 to join his teammate Charles Wright for a 5-1. Heat 7 saw James Sarjeant continue his impressive afternoon, teaming up with Jake Allen for a Bears maximum. Drama ensued in an exciting heat 8 when Nathan Greaves came to grief on lap 4 when in 2^nd place as the Bears strode into a 10 point lead. 

Somewhat surprisingly, at this point the Monarchs showed their mettle by firing back into the meeting with an important 5-1 in heat 9 as Sam Masters came in as a tactical sub. Heat 10 saw Josh Pickering fly from the gate and take the win despite massive pressure from Charles Wright throughout. The 11^th heat saw Sam Masters continue his red hot afternoon with a win whilst Allen and Sarjeant packed the minor placings. Heat 12 saw a surprising win for Jordan Palin as the Monarchs picked up a heat advantage. Heat 13 saw a damaging 5-1 reverse as the dynamic duo of Masters and Worrall hit back to draw level at 39-39. Heat 14 saw an impressive win from Sarjeant who held off the challenge of Josh Pickering to keep the scores level. Heat 15 saw an exciting finale to the main meeting. Charles Wright did a captain’s job in the final heat to lower the colours of Sam Masters to take the chequered flag and pick up a vital win to secure a draw for the Bears. 

Man of the match James Sarjeant was happy with his performance despite a last in heat 15. “I’m happy, a little annoyed with heat 15 but going into the meeting I felt relaxed and ready to perform. We are definitely disappointed to draw the meeting but it gives us something to work on, we have a good set of lads and we are gelling together really well!”

The Redcar “Erimus” Cubs did the double over the West Lothian Wildcats with a 20-16 win for the Cubs with Kyran Lyden impressive picking up 2 wins over Alex Goldsborough as all of the Cubs showed impressive ability throughout.  

The Redcar “Agilia” Bears finally return to the shale at the Media Prima Arena after a gruelling 597 days away from team competition! The Bears face off against the Edinburgh Monarchs in the return fixture after doing battle on Friday night as the Bears came away with an extremely credible draw at Armadale.

Bears team manager Jade Mudgway spoke to us shortly after Friday’s thrilling draw and had this to say on Friday’s meeting. “Friday night was a nail biter at Edinburgh. The lads fought hard and came away with the draw and it was a great match! Jake Allen was showing everyone why we love to see him ride with his great flat out style showing Sam Masters the way round Armadale. Jordan Jenkins also rode fantastically picking up a massive 5-1 in heat 8 to put us back on track. Also, Michael Palm Toft came good after some mechanical gremlins before the parade and pulled off some great rides in heats 12 and 15. All in all Friday night was a great start to a long season although I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t get that win. The guys all gave us 100% and I can’t ask for more than that and it was a brilliant team performance so early on”. 

Now, moving onto Sunday’s return Jade had this to say ahead of the eagerly anticipated encounter which is also a sell out! “I’m really excited to finally get underway. My heart rate is going to be through the roof! The nerves will be on high alert but our riders thrive on that sort of pressure. I think we are going to have a hard close match, very much like Friday’s fixture but if we can put some pressure on the Monarchs early we can build from there. If Edinburgh do build any momentum during the meeting we will need to hit back hard. We have some riders in great form and riding the crest of a wave, others are still finding their feet but I think finally having our first home match will help in building every rider’s confidence. There is plenty to come and we have it in this team to be one of those great teams. Thank you for your support”.

The Bears will need to be on high alert as the Monarchs have some star quality in their ranks including ex-Bear Nathan Greaves. The Monarchs also include former Newcastle Diamond Richie Worrall as well as Wolves star Sam Masters who have previously shown a liking for the Media Prima Arena track. On the home side of the pits, Charles Wright and Jordan Stewart will be looking to bounce back after having a relatively slow start to their respective campaigns by their high standards whilst James Sarjeant will be looking to show the Monarchs management they were wrong with their decision to dispense of his services ahead of the 2021 season. 

After the main event, the Redcar Cubs take to the shale after a stunning 11-19 6 heat success over the West Lothian Wildcats. The starlet for the Cubs was undoubtedly Becky Weston who rode to a 9 point maximum. The Cubs will be looking to complete a Northern Junior League double over the Wildcats with Kyran Lyden taking the number 1 race jacket in the absence of Alex Goldsbrough who is on British Youth Championship duty. 

 REDCAR “AGILIA” BEARS 

1. Charles Wright       9.35   (Captain)

2. Anders Rowe         4.27

3. Michael Palm Toft 8.18

4. Jorden Stewart     5.74

5. Jake Allen              7.26

6. James Sargent.    3.90

7. Jordan Jenkins.    2*

TM Jade Mudgway 

EDINBURGH “WHAT THE FORK” MONARCHS

1. Sam Masters 9.03 (Captain)

2. Nathan Greaves 4.49

3. Kye Thomson 4.00

4. Josh Pickering 6.98

5. Richie Worrall 8.04

6. Joe Lawlor 2*

7. William Lawson 3.81

TM John Campbell

Redcar Cubs

1 Kyran Lyden

2 Katie Gordon

3 Laylen Richardson

4 Becky Weston

West Lothian Wildcats

1 Lewis Miller

2 Gregor Miller

3 Caydin Martin ( guest )

4 Rico Joyce

Important – please read before attending!

TICKETS

Tickets have now sold out for tomorrow’s clash against the Edinburgh Monarchs. Please do not come if you haven’t pre-booked a ticket, as we cannot sell any more tickets at the gate. If you have selected a ticket that requires proof of age or ID, please make sure to bring this with you. Concessions are limited to Over 65’s, Students with valid ID and people who are disabled (must be in need a carer).

CAR PARKING

There is another large event taking place at the motorsports park at the same time tomorrow, so parking in the main car park is for people who have mobility issues only. We have the use of a car park belonging to the offices as you enter Dormor Way, and also the large car park belonging to Iron Works MX, which is accessed from the Motorsports Park. Please follow our marshal’s instructions, who will guide you to the correct place. If all car parks are full, you can park along South Bank Road, but should leave time to make the short walk to the stadium if you do.

EARLY ARRIVAL

Please arrive early and have your eTicket ready. You can either print your ticket for our staff to scan, or have it ready to scan on your smart phone. If you don’t have the ability to display your ticket on arrival for any reason, please bring ID and our staff will be able to find your ticket on our system instead.

COVID GUIDANCE

Please make sure you have read our Covid guidance before you arrive, which can be found on our website at www.redcar-speedway.com/covid-guidelines

FOOD AND ALCOHOL

Please be aware that you must be seated when eating food or alcohol purchased on site. This is currently law and unfortunately we cannot allow anybody to eat or drink whilst walking or standing around the stadium. You must not bring your own alcohol into the stadium – doing so will lead to eviction from the premises.

We have several tables and chairs around the stadium – please do not sit at a table unless you are drinking or eating. A lack of seats due to people using them just to relax will prevent people who do want to eat or drink from being able to do so.

Please be patient with our staff who will do their best to serve you as quickly as possible. We will have Covid Marshals on duty to police that Covid regulations are being followed – again, these are conditions we need to meet in order to stage speedway until current restrictions are relaxed by Government.

TOWN & CITY GRANDSTAND

We apologise to those who have been unable to buy a seat for the grandstand. We will be emailing instructions to season ticket holders who have missed out, detailing how they can guarantee a seat for future fixtures in 2021.

SEASON TICKET HOLDERS

Your season passes will be available to collect from the turnstiles when you arrive. Please bring ID.

We look forward to welcoming you all tomorrow on a warm bank holiday afternoon!

The Redcar “Agilia” Bears started their 2021 campaign as they mean to go on as they picked up a valuable 45-45 draw against the Edinburgh Monarchs. The Bears were actually in the lead going into a tense heat 15. Jake Allen and Michael Palm Toft were the Bears representatives in an enthralling final heat whilst the Monarchs sent out Sam Masters and Richie Worrall. The Scottish side trapped on a 5-1 but “MPT” had other ideas for the Bears as he passed Richie Worrall on lap 2 to earn the Bears 2 league points north of the border.

Edinburgh actually started the meeting with 2 early heat advantages in the first 5 heats but Redcar did not let that phase them as they clawed their way back and then hit the front in heat 12 with a stunning 1-5 from Michael Palm-Toft and James Sarjeant.

Former Monarch James Sarjeant had an impressive debut scoring paid 9 whilst Jordan Jenkins also started well with paid 5 including a fantastic ride in heat 8. The Bears did not register a heat winner until heat 6 when Jake Allen had a photo finish against Monarchs star Sam Masters. Packing the minor placings was key to tonight’s result as the Bears only registered 4 heat winners. The star men for the Bears were undoubtedly Allen and Palm-Toft who scored 10 and 11 respectively. For the Monarchs Sam Masters was the top scorer with 13 points.

Edinburgh “What The Fork” Monarchs 45
Sam Masters 13, Nathan Greaves 2+1, Kye Thomsen 4, Josh Pickering 10, Richie Worrall 11+1, Joe Lawlor 0, William Lawson 5

Redcar “Agilia” Bears 45

Charles Wright 5+1 Anders Rowe 6+1, Michael Palm Toft 11, Jordan Stewart 3+3, Jake Allen 10, James Sarjeant 7+2, Jordan Jenkins 3+2

The Redcar “Agilia” Bears finally take to UK shale after an enforced break from team competition as they travel to Armadale to take on the Edinburgh Monarchs this Friday, (19:30 start). The Bears will be hoping to improve on their most recent visit to Armadale when they just missed out on a league point as the Monarchs ran out 49-41 winners. 

On that trip to Scotland, Bears heat leader Michael Palm Toft scored an impressive 13 from 6 rides. “MPT” had this to say on the Bears prospects ahead of the first meeting of the season. “Personally, Armadale is a track I have always performed well at in the past. I think we have a good chance of coming away from the meeting with at least a point if not the win! It’s always important to try and grab points away from home whether it is the first meeting or not. If we want to challenge for silverware it is vital to pick up some points at the away tracks and win our home meetings.”

James Sarjaent, Jake Allen, Anders Rowe and Jordan Jenkins will all make their Bears debut in this meeting as the Bears are able to track their full 1-7. The Monarchs are also at full strength as Kye Thompson, Nathan Greaves and Joe Lawlor make their Armadale bow as full-time Monarchs. 

This promises to be a closely fought meeting involving two sides who are hoping to be towards the top of the Championship standings come October. The Bears will be hoping that the meeting will swing their way in the reserve berths as James Sarjaent is a former Monarch whilst Jordan Jenkins (the Bears rising star) will be hoping to make a splash on his Bears debut. Interestingly, the Monarchs also have potential in the reserve slots with William Lawson continuing with his return to the sport whilst they also track a name familiar to Bears fans in Joe Lawlor who was intending to line up for the Bears in 2020 and 2021.

Tickets for this meeting are sold out, but will be a live stream available for this meeting which you can buy from Edinburgh here

Don’t forget, you can still buy tickets for our first home meeting of the season on Sunday here, whilst tickets for our home KO Cup clash against Birmingham on June 4th go on sale at 9am this morning!

Edinburgh “What The Fork” Monarchs

1. Sam Masters © 2. Nathan Greaves 3. Kye Thompson 4. Josh Pickering 5. Richie Worrall 6. Joe Lawlor 7. William Lawson. Team Manager, John Campbell

Redcar “Agilia” Bears

1. Charles Wright © 2. Anders Rowe 3. Michael Palm Toft 4. Jordan Stewart 5. Jake Allen 6. James Sarjaent 7. Jordan Jenkins. Team Manager, Jade Mudgway 

Tickets for the Bears’ first meeting of the season against the Edinburgh Monarchs go on sale tomorrow evening at 7.30pm. The Bears face the Monarchs on Sunday 30th May, with tapes up at 2pm. Tickets will be available to buy online from www.redcar-speedway.com/tickets and fans are encouraged to buy early to avoid disappointment.

Season ticket holders are guaranteed entry to every fixture and their passes should be collected from the turnstiles. They will be available for collection at any race meeting, from the time that gates open – please bring ID when collecting.

Anybody who is unable to purchase tickets online, because they don’t have a smart phone, printer, internet or email, should call the club’s Commercial Manager Ian Drinkel on 07827 293866 to make special arrangements. Any other problems purchasing through the website should be directed to support@eventgenius.co.uk for help.

Before booking, everybody should read and be happy with the club’s Covid guidance on returning to the Media Prima Arena. This can be found on the club’s website here and is also available on the booking page.