Category: Bears News

Tonight we are launching our 2021 Supporter Survey, aimed at our supporters to get their views on Redcar Speedway and British Speedway as a whole. Any and all feedback is welcome!

We are also looking for feedback from our 2020 Season Ticket holders on options for the coming season.

The closing date to fill this in is Wednesday 10th March, and it can be found at https://forms.gle/Y1xcEpJfLvYN19qt9

Thank you as always for your continued support!

Although it wasn’t the final member of the 2021 squad, the Redcar Bears promotion did manage to make a major signing this weekend. Experienced track curator Jonathan Swales will be the man to take over from ‘Terry the Track’ and will look after the race surface at the Media Prima Arena in 2021.

Ex-rider and 1999 Conference League Riders’ Champion Swales is the brother of Bears’ Promoter Jamie Swales and son of former track curator Tony Swales. He has spent years preparing the track the other side of the A19 for Newcastle; his work there vastly improved the Byker based race surface and earned him a reputation as one of the best track curators in the country.

Bears Boss Jitendra Duffill said, “Jamie, Jade and myself are delighted to have come to an agreement with Jonathan. Terry the Track had done such a fantastic job in is time with us and he left very big boots to fill. Jonathan was always the person that we hoped to replace him with, but there were a few hoops to jump through surrounding his work commitments and I’m very grateful that he and his family were willing to make the changes needed to make this happen.”

Duffill continued, “Jonathan is no stranger to the Media Prima Arena; he and his wife Rachael have helped regularly over the last few years on race nights as well as helping out behind the scenes when they could. He is a local lad and his family probably have the longest history of any when it comes to being associated with speedway on Teesside. We have very high standards when it comes to our track preparation and Jonathan allows us to maintain those standards. He is one of the very best and we couldn’t be any happier with our latest acquisition. I hope people realise just how big a coup this is for the club!”

Supporters are asked to keep an eye out for a club questionnaire which will be circulated online in the next few days. Club bosses are keen to get the opinions of their fans following a survey which was carried out in 2019, as they approach the 2021 season.

Duffill explained, “It’s been a difficult year and I suspect some of our fans may have felt a little distanced from the club in this time. So, I’m really keen to give everyone the chance to speak to us and to offer their thoughts. We also have some queries relating to our season ticket holders, given that we will have fewer fixtures at the MPA this year. The questionnaire will be a simple online form that can be completed on a computer or mobile device and should only take a few minutes to complete.”

Redcar have issued a “don’t panic” call despite failing to lure a former England international to Teesside as part of their team rebuilding for the 2021 season.;

Promoter Jitendra Duffill has been in discussion with Lewis Bridger since the 31-year old hospital security guard announced his comeback after over three years away from the sport.

Bridger is lining with King’s Lynn in the top tier Premiership but Duffill was hopeful he might agree to double up with the Agilia Bears in the Championship as part of a move to replace German star Erik Riss.
The Bears quickly snapped up promising youngster Anders Rowe and Bridger was seen as the perfect compliment to Bridger, when relative novice Joe Lawlor was also released.

Last week Duffill hinted that he had a rider with a fine pedigree lined up, while warning that the 2009 British Under-21 Champion, who is based on the south coast, was “only 50-50” about coming north.
“I think the travelling was a major factor,” continued Duffill.

“But Lewis has a family and a good job and I think he didn’t want to take on too much too soon.
Bridger appeared in six British Finals and three World Under-21 finals but his talent was seen by many as never fully flourishing and the ex-Eastbourne and Lakeside rider retired after a mixed season with Berwick in 2017.
Duffill continued:
“Lewis was great to deal with and always up front – he never made any promises but said he needed time to think things over.
“Being based in Sussex, coming to Redcar would have meant a lot of time from home and his family.
“We have 6.60 points remining for our final rider. A rider on that average or similar would become our 3rd heat leader, but the search for somebody of this ability, who is also willing to commit to racing speedway in the UK in 2021 has proved difficult so far.”

“We would like to bring in a new asset, as this is now looking to be our best option, but riders are understandably nervous about travelling due to Covid restrictions at the moment. So we have decided to sit tight for now and see what developments occur over the next few weeks.”

The promotion are confident their options can only improve, as currently the best option would bring the team in 2 points under the limit. Duffill adds “That would mean a season of struggle and we are too ambitious to settle for that when there are still 3 months until our first scheduled fixture.”

Story credit: GazetteLive

Barry Simpson

Today we received the extremely sad and upsetting news that the Bears long standing Start Marshal Barry Simpson has passed away.
Barry was very well known not only on Teesside, but across the whole of the British Speedway community and was a sponsor, supporter and above all good friend of Redcar Speedway. Barry was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in March 2020 and passed away peacefully in his sleep from the cruel disease on Wednesday 17th February.

Barry had been the club’s Start Marshal since 2006, when speedway first returned to Teesside after a 10 year absence. He had also performed his role at the very highest level, officiating in the Grand Prix series on more than one occasion. Barry was a talented motorcyclist in his own right and had competed on both the shale and grass when he was younger. He had a huge passion for speedway and had sponsored not only the Bears, but many riders over the years through his business Simpson Racing UK. He was the first person to be enrolled onto the ‘Speedway on Teesside Roll of Honour’ in 2020.

Everybody at Redcar Speedway would like to express their deepest condolences to his partner Ali and Barry’s family and friends. He leaves a huge hole in our club and in our hearts, and will be sorely missed. RIP.

The first round of the 2021 KO Cup has been drawn, and the Agilia Bears have been drawn against Birmingham in round1. The tie will be staged over 2 legs, with the first leg being held at the Media Prima Arena.

The winners of that tie will then go on to face the winners of the Edinburgh v Newcastle match in round 2.

Full draw is as follows:

Round 1

Edinburgh v Newcastle
Redcar v Birmingham
Plymouth v Poole
Eastbourne v Kent

Round 2

Edinburgh/Newcastle v Redcar/Birmingham
Plymouth/Poole v Eastbourne/Kent
Berwick v Glasgow
Scunthorpe v Leicester

The Redcar Bears promotion tonight announced Anders Rowe as a member of their 2021 side. The Swindon based 18 year old finished 3rd in last year’s British Under 21 Final at Berwick, a year after taking the silver medal in the British Under 19 Final, which took place in front of the Bears home supporters at the Media Prima Arena.

Rowe was due to start 2021 with Somerset and also had a Premiership place lined up with Swindon, but in a very unfortunate week for the teenager, he lost both places in successive days due to those club’s withdrawing from the 2021 league campaign.
However, Rowe told Bears’ centre green presenter in an exclusive interview today that he was both pleased and relieved to have signed a contract to race in the Championship with Redcar and has also confirmed recently that he has a Premiership place tied up too.
The Redcar promotion have confirmed that Anders is expected to start at reserve on a 4.27 average, alongside their ‘Rising Star’ Jordan Jenkins. After a successful 2020 racing in Poland’s 2nd division for Rawicz, Rowe certainly has the potential to add significantly to his starting average and is expected to give the Bears a very strong reserve.

Promoter Jitendra Duffill added, “We moved very quickly to tie up a deal with Anders as soon as we knew he was available. After losing Erik, we soon realised that a change in strategy was required to our team building and bringing in Anders now gives us one of the strongest reserves in the league. He has 2 years of Championship racing under his belt, plus experience of racing in Poland, so he has a lot of valuable experience for someone so young. He is undoubtedly one of the most talented young riders in Britain and he is a massive coup for us here at Redcar Speedway. We are very excited to secure his signature and I’m confident that our sponsors and supporters will be very pleased with this news.”

Duffill also confirmed that discussions are ongoing with another British rider who is hoped will start as the Bears 3rd heat leader. The promotion are remaining tight lipped about who that is, but believe he would leave the Bears with a very strong side in 2021 if a deal could be concluded.

Anders interview with Roy Clarke can be viewed on the clubs official YouTube channel, ‘Bears TV’, by visiting www.youtube.com/RedcarBearsSpeedway

Following the release of today’s BSP Ltd announcement, it is with sadness and disappointment that the Redcar Speedway promotion have to break the news that Erik Riss and Joe Lawlor will not be a part of the 2021 Bears team. This is a change that has been enforced upon the Redcar Promotion, but not by the new Rising Star system, which ironically would have allowed them to track the same 1-7 they had intended to use.

Promoter Jitendra Duffill explained, “Erik called on the day of the AGM to inform me that he would not be racing in the Championship League in 2021 as he has now signed a contract to race in Sweden. The new ruling from Poland’s governing body that restricts people racing in more than 2 other leagues has forced him to choose between the Championship in the UK and Sweden, as he also has contracts with Wittstock and Kings Lynn. It’s a decision he has thought long and hard about, but his decision was based upon the fact that Sweden will race behind closed doors, whereas Redcar, along with every other club in our league, are not in a position to be able to do that should they have to.”

Duffill continued, “It’s simply a decision based upon his own analysis of the risks due to Covid-19 and although we as a promotion are absolutely gutted by this news, we respect the reason for his decision. He was upset to break the news, as he loves racing for Redcar and was looking forward to coming back – I know Erik well, he’s a really good guy and I know this wasn’t easy for him. His commitment to us last year saw him trapped in the UK whilst waiting for the season to start, so I understand why he is nervous about the situation after his experience in 2020. He told me that his decision is final and giving him time to reconsider wouldn’t change anything, unless I could guarantee beyond all doubt that the British Government will allow Redcar Speedway to come to tapes in May. Unfortunately, no matter how hopeful we are that a May start will happen now that a vaccine is being rolled out, nobody can give him that guarantee.”

Riss leaves a big hole in Redcar’s team and one that is difficult, if not impossible to fill. The promotion wasted no time in contacting several potential signings after receiving the news, but their attempts have been unfruitful. Duffill explained, “Somerset’s decision to sit out 2021 meant that a few riders became available to the Championship, but any rider that could have been a direct replacement for Erik had already signed elsewhere before the AGM. I can’t dress this up – we’re now in a bad situation as rider availability at this point is poor. It’s a huge blow after putting together such a strong side and we will struggle to get near the 39 point limit allowed with a 2 star reserve, which both Joe Lawlor and Jordan Jenkins qualify to be.”

“At this point, we are looking at all of the options available to us, but we are starting to accept the reality that we are going to have to make 2 team changes or face coming in 4-5 points under the limit. There just isn’t anybody available to make a like for like replacement. We have to build a competitive team for our fans and sponsors and we are far too ambitious to come in that far short; it just isn’t feasible for us to do that, so we have had to make the heart-breaking and reluctant decision to release Joe Lawlor. It’s awfully hard on Joe as he is the innocent victim in all of this, but we cannot see any other option but to release one of our reserves and bring in 2 higher averaged riders to get us closer to the points limit. We made the decision to release him now as we hope it gives him a better chance of getting fixed up elsewhere, which we sincerely hope he will as he has done nothing wrong.”

Whilst keeping his cards close to his chest, Duffill reassured fans that the promotion would do everything possible to field a side capable of challenging for silverware. He added, “I’d like to apologise to everyone that was expecting us to name an unchanged side following today’s BSPL announcement. This news has come as a big surprise to the promotion too and I hope you all understand that this change is out of our hands. We are far from the only club to lose a rider as a direct result of Covid and Poland’s new regulations – our situation is simply circumstantial. However, we remain positive and are still very much looking forward to the 2021 season. There will be a big smile on my face when we come to the tapes this year, that’s for sure, and that still remains as our main objective. I think we proved last year that we are not a promotion that is happy to settle for 2nd place, so I can promise our sponsors and supporters that we will look at every option available to us and will field the strongest team possible. Our plans for success have not changed”.

The Bears promotion confirmed that they hope to be in a position to reveal some more team news in the next few days.

Bears bosses Jitendra Duffill and Jamie Swales attended a British Speedway Promoters Ltd (BSPL) meeting today to discuss plans for the 2021 season. The 2020 season was cancelled due to Covid-19, but the roll out of a new vaccine in the UK has left British Speedway Promoters feeling positive that the sport will come to the tapes again this Spring.
BSPL tonight released a statement revealing that plans have been put in place for a May start date, with fixtures to be published next week for both the Premiership and Championship Leagues. They also revealed that both leagues will introduce a new concept, with “a clear pathway for the development of British Speedway and young British riders, not just in 2021 but in the years ahead.”

Bears’ co-promoter Jitendra Duffill added, “British Speedway has faced some pretty major challenges over the last year and they will continue into 2021. The current situation with Covid-19 is fluid and we are very aware that we cannot guarantee anything for the foreseeable future. However, we are committed and determined to staging league racing this year and our meeting today was a step further to making that happen. Everything depends on the constantly changing situation with Covid-19 and the government will decide what is and isn’t possible come May. However, we will be ready to go when we are allowed and started putting changes in place to facilitate that in the safest way possible last year.”

British Speedway was dealt 2 major blows over the last few days with the withdrawal of Premiership Champions Swindon, and Championship side Somerset from the 2021 season. However, it was confirmed today that both clubs intend to return in 2022 and will be welcomed back by the BSPL. BSPL also stated that Somerset’s place may be taken by another club that have expressed an interest in joining the league. Duffill commented, “I was saddened to hear that both Swindon and Somerset had to withdraw this year. They are both great clubs and I really feel for their promotions, riders, sponsors and supporters who will all be heartbroken that this decision had to be made. I’d like to reassure our supporters and sponsors that Redcar Speedway will be running in May if we are able and we will do what we can to make that happen.”

Duffill continued, “I’m very happy to see that British Speedway will be looking to implement a long-term plan to develop it’s young riders as that is something I have been a huge advocate of for some time. With the problems we face due to Brexit, Covid-19 and Poland’s recent ruling, there has never been a more important time to maximise the opportunities we offer to British youth and I hope that our supporters will share this view.”

British Speedway bosses finished by stating that details regarding the 2021 season will be revealed alongside their broadcast partners Eurosport in the coming days. Duffill’s final message to the club’s supporters and sponsors was, “I’d like to thank everybody for their patience and support of the club again over the last year. There is some light at the end of the tunnel with the roll out of the new vaccine and I send our best wishes to everybody who has suffered throughout this pandemic. It’s been a tragic year and we have all faced our own battles, some lifechanging, but I know that the love we all hold for our club and for speedway can give many of us something to look forward to. Redcar Speedway is more than just a sports club, it’s a community and feels like family to a lot of us. That is why the promotion here at Redcar Bears Speedway will do everything we can to bring some normality back into people’s lives and to do what we can to ensure we go racing as soon as it is safe to do so. Stay safe, stay positive and please don’t hesitate to reach out to the club or others if you need to!”

BRITISH Speedway clubs have today agreed a start date of early May for the 2021 season.

Fixtures will be published next week for both the Premiership and Championship.

Plans are in place for a new concept in both leagues with more details to follow. The plans have been made to adapt to the current situation regarding Polish restrictions on the amount of leagues riders can race in, plus the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic.

There is a clear pathway for the development of British Speedway and young British riders, not just in 2021 but in the years ahead.

In addition, whilst there is disappointing news about losing Swindon and Somerset for 2021, these decisions have been made by these clubs to protect their futures from 2022 onwards. They will be welcomed back into the sport next year.

Another club has expressed an interest in joining the Championship and this will be explored in due course.

More details regarding the 2021 season will be revealed alongside our broadcast partners Eurosport in the coming days.

THEY’VE DONE IT

Everyone at Redcar Speedway is extremely proud of Ben, Jamie and Jade, who completed their mammoth task of reaching 780km between them, the equivalent distance from Edinburgh to Plymouth

Jamie and Jade made their last journey from the old Cleveland Park Stadium to our current home at the Media Prima Arena. Ben then joined to complete the final km with a couple of laps of the MPA.

Thank you to everybody who donated and gave their support.

Thanks to you, we have raised £4387.50 so far for the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund through donations and the sales of our face masks this year.

£2600 – JustGiving

£1475 – Bonus Ball

£312.50 – Face Mask profits.

There’s still time to make a final donation via our JustGiving page here http://ow.ly/AX8E30rpQuq