Category: Bears News

This weeks meeting from the past sponsored by ActivClean sees Eastbourne Eagles visit the Media Prima Arena last year. An action packed meeting featuring a freshly crowned British Champion in Charles Wright. Join us this Friday (Good Friday) at 7:45pm live on our Facebook page. Brought to your by our friends at Tapes Up Productions.

Once again, we also have the full programme including racecard from this meeting available to download here.

Over £1100 has been raised to buy Easter Eggs and gifts for the Children’s Ward and NHS staff at James Cook University Hospital (JCUH). For several years the Redcar Agilia Bears staff and riders have visited poorly children in JCUH at Easter to hand out donations of Easter Eggs and toys, made by the clubs supporters who have always given generously towards this great cause. 

Plans to repeat this in 2020 had been scuppered due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, but fans had been asked to donate via a Just Giving page set up by club volunteer, Claire James. The response was amazing, with more than double the target of £500 being raised in just a few days.

Today both Claire and Bear’s Commercial Manager Ian Drinkel were allowed to drop off hundreds of eggs and toys to JCUH, thanks to their hard work and relentless ambition to continue the clubs charity efforts.

Club boss Jitendra Duffill commented, ‘We have so many people to thank for allowing this to happen again this year amidst the Coronavirus crisis; our supporters for their immense generosity and selflessness when times are already hard financially, to Claire and Ian who have found a way to continue our charity and to the staff at JCUH who have gone above and beyond yet again to care for their patients. What I’ve witnessed over the last few days has been touching and humbling. There were so many challenges in our way this year and I really didn’t think it was going to happen at one point, but Claire and Ian simply wouldn’t give up. This is our way of being able to give a little something back to these amazing people and I hope it can bring a little joy during challenging times.”

Special thanks also go to South Tees Hospital Charity for their help, also to Tesco depot Teesport and Tesco Ingleby Barwick for their generous donations. 

Redcar Speedway would also like to express our gratitude every member of NHS Staff and our key workers, who are working incredibly hard and are doing an amazing job of looking after all of us. We are incredibly grateful!

Redcar Speedway in conjunction with Tapes Up Productions will be showing 2019’s British Semi-Final from the Media Prima Arena tomorrow (Friday 3rd April) at 7.45PM via the Redcar Bears Facebook page. This will be the second of a series of re-runs that will be streamed FREE weekly from now until the start of the 2020 British Speedway Season.
We are also making the official programme from this event available here to everybody, which can be downloaded free of charge. An updated scorecard is also available here with the updated rider changes. We hope this helps to pass the time and gives you all your speedway fix whilst we are all in lockdown.

We are looking for sponsors to cover the costs of these screenings, so please get in touch if you can help. Meeting sponsorship is £50, which is used covers our costs. We would like to thank Alex Raby from Tapes Up Productions for his hard work and help in making this happen.
If you have any requests for future screenings, please feel free to send them over via Facebook Messenger and we will look to show the most popular over the next few weeks. We have high-def from footage from 2015 onwards.

As you may be aware, every Easter the Agilia Bears make a visit to James Cook Hospitals Childrens ward to give out Easter Eggs and other gifts donated by our fantastic fans. Due to the current situation with Covid-19, we will now not be accepting any eggs to take to the hospital ourselves for obvious reasons.

We have however spoken to the hospital today, and we are keen to do something for the children in hospital over the Easter period. We have agreed with the hospital charity to collect donations in the form of money instead, which will be used to order Easter Eggs and other gifts to be delivered directly to the hospital – thus preventing the need for anybody to physically go and drop off the donations.

We understand that some Bears fans who work in the hospital have donated gifts on behalf of Redcar Speedway, which is appreciated by both the Bears and hospital staff.

For anyone wishing to donate, a justgiving page has been setup here. We hope you understand the reasons behind this change, and thank you all for your terrific support and generosity.

This morning we received news that the British Speedway Season has been delayed further, with no speedway likely to take place until at least the 15th June. The British Speedway Promoters Ltd (formerly British Speedway Promoters Association) made an announcement this morning via the British Speedway Official Website and their social media platforms, informing everybody of the decision.

In their official statement, they told us “With the latest information from the government stating high risk groups of people should stay at home for 12 weeks, it is unlikely that there will be any British Speedway events taking place before June 15, at least. The board have to consider the public, their members, riders and officials, some of which will be included in the high risk group.”

They added, “It is the wish of the Board that every effort is made to start the season at the first available opportunity and we have members of the association continuing to provide alternative fixture dates as the situation evolves.”

Promoter Jitendra Duffill offers his thoughts on the current situation in view of this mornings update;

“The current situation caused by the Coronavirus crisis is obviously disappointing and upsetting for everybody. The news we received this morning did not come as a surprise as it just isn’t logical, fair or sensible to consider starting our season any time soon. People at high-risk will remain in isolation for some time and the NHS is under immense pressure, which will only worsen. Injuries that could occur because of speedway would only add to those pressures and put the public and our riders at increased risk.

Right now, we all have a duty to act responsibly and adhere strictly to government advice, which includes staying at home and social distancing. I’m still hearing stories of people ignoring this as it baffles me how people can act so selfishly. This is a very serious situation and each and every one of us has a duty to protect the vulnerable people in our society. That’s what this is about now.

I watched a rant from Piers Morgan a couple of days ago urging people to stay at home and how easy it is to do that compared to what our ancestors were asked to do during the war. He made an extremely valid point and if we all do what we are asked to do, fewer people will be devastated by this disease, it will pass quicker and we can all get back to living a normal life again.

In the mean time, I’d like to reiterate that we remain dedicated to getting this season underway as soon as we can and I know our aim is shared by every promoter across the UK. We will obviously see a change to the league structure and fixture schedule, as it will be impossible to run as many fixtures as we had planned now, but I know that this is being reviewed constantly so that we are ready to go as soon as we get the green light.

We completely understand everyone’s frustrations and our thoughts and best wishes are with those who are badly affected by the current situation. We also sympathise with riders who are also finding this situation extremely difficult.

I’d like to apologise again to our supporters and sponsors; we thank you all for your support. I’ve had several messages from fans and sponsors, offering their support, sympathy and understanding and I can’t begin to express how much that means to us. Jade, Jamie and I, the promotion, would love to repay your faith in us at the first opportunity and we feel extremely lucky to be part of such a wonderful club.

Please stay safe and offer help to those who need it. We will keep you all updated and remain confident that we will still come to the tapes in 2020.”

Longstanding supporters of speedway racing on Teesside will be saddened to hear the passing of Jim Burdfield at the age of 62, following a short illness at his home in Australia earlier this week.

Born in Nyngan, New South Wales, in January 1958, Jim came to the UK in 1982 and initially joined Stoke and was a regular in their team for a couple of years until changes were made to strengthen them up and he found himself surplus to requirements. Initially Glasgow signed him in 1984 – he actually rode for them at Middlesbrough scoring 6pts and then was recalled into the Stoke team for one brief appearance – at Glasgow, before his services were disposed one again with. Jim joined Middlesbrough in August 1984 following a serious injury to Mark Crang and in 11 appearances for the Tigers he was one of only three riders in the team that didn’t fail to score that season – the others were Mike Spink and Steve Wilcock. His top scores in those 11 appearances co-incidentally were both against the same two teams home and away: Mildenhall and Weymouth.

Come 1985 Jim was a regular in a team tipped for the league championship promoter Tim Swales a former Teesside rider had taken over and signalled his intent by signing both Mark Fiora and Martin Dixon. Injuries to key riders at crucial times – at one point both Mark Fiora & Gary Havelock spent time on the side lines and missed crucial matches. Jim himself suffered a dislocated shoulder against Ellesmere Port in July 1985 and missed a couple of matches against Berwick & Wimbledon. It would later be a recurring injury that would later force him into retiring at the end of 1986.

Gary Havelock inspired us to the Four Team Championship at Peterborough but it really was no consolation. We seemed fated in the league – 10pts up halfway through at Hackney when an enraged home fan cut the electricity supply off and the meeting was then abandoned. When we went back there the second time we had had both Fiora and Havelock missing and got soundly beaten. One personal highlight for Jim was he improved his average recording figures of 6.74 from 39 league matches and top scored with 13pts against Poole Wildcats in a 45-33pts victory in August. Like most middle order riders Jim was more effective at home than away, highest scores of 8pts at Milton Keynes and 7pts at Long Eaton respectively

The following season his average dipped slightly, though early on down at Eastbourne his shoulder was dislocated again in a frantic 39 all draw. There was pressure on Jim and talk of replacing him early on, which he thought was unfair but he weathered the storm and his scores started to improve again, which was just as well as come August Gary Havelock our Four Team Championship hero from the year before was injured and Jim was called into the team to replace him. A large following of over 200 had expectantly made their way to a sunny East of England Showground to see if history could repeat itself. Without Havvy though nobody really fancied the Tigers. Both Mildenhall and Stoke had scored 144pts in their qualifying rounds and Eastbourne had accrued 126pts. Middlesbrough had the lowest total with 115pts just squeezing out Edinburgh where Jim himself had scored 5pts.

Cometh the hour cometh the man Middlesbrough were in the second semi-final, thanks to a couple of Martin Dixon victories and with 15pts, Hackney joined us whilst Arena Essex 18pts and Mildenhall 12pts qualified from the first group. Arena Essex with their powerful heat leader trio of Martin Goodwin, Andrew Silver and the experienced Neil Middleditch and Stoke with Nigel Crabtree, Tom Owen & Paul Thorp were favourites. Come the final heat it was between Middlesbrough with Jim Burdfield and Arena – Essex with David Smart the destiny of the Four Team Championship bit Jim needed to make sure he finished in front of David Smart. On the final lap he drifted wide coming off the second bend trying to catch the guy in front of him with Smart tailed off at the back. All he had to do was stay in position, which he did. The title was Middlesbrough’s for the second year in a row. As he come round for a lap of honour the main stand erupted as dozens of Tigers fans invaded the track and carried him shoulder high on the home straight. Jim had even top scored with 5pts in the final having beaten Malcolm Simmons & Martin Goodwin in his first ride.

Back on domestic duty at Stoke his shoulder popped out but Tim Swales popped it back and he helped us secure a narrow victory but he was in too much pain at Mildenhall the next day. There was acrimony after local rivals Newcastle defeated us 54-23pts at Brough Park as there had been a social the night before and some of the riders had been accused of not being professional, but little did we know Jim’s time in speedway and at Middlesbrough was coming to an end. In total, Jim represented Middlesbrough on 92 occasions.

My memory of Jim was he was a well-liked member of the team and for his dry sense of humour, not just with his fellow team-mates but the supporters too. He was never a heat leader but could be relied upon in the ‘engine room’ of the team. 34 years later and Jim Burdfield’s triumph at the East of England Showground still resonates with many of us and for that reason alone, he will never be forgotten in the history of speedway racing on Teesside. He leaves behind a widow, Jenny, and three daughters.

Following our announcement earlier today that the 2020 Speedway season has been suspended, we have made the decision to postpone the club’s official Press & Practice, scheduled for this Friday 20th March. Unfortunately, this also means that Stuart Robson’s Farewell cannot go ahead on Saturday and will be rescheduled, with a later date to be confirmed.

Earlier today, the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) and British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA) decided to postpone the British Speedway Season until at least the 15th April in light of advice given by the government regarding the current Coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking about the current situation, promoter Jitendra Duffill explained, “We are experiencing exceptional circumstances caused by the Coronavirus crisis. It is regretful and devastating to all of us that we have had to make the decision to postpone our season. It’s not a decision anyone wanted to make, but it was absolutely the correct decision given the escalating situation and its consequences. The BSPA and SCB have reacted to government advice and have acted in the best interests of everybody, to ensure the safety of our supporters, staff and riders.”

Duffill added, “There is a lot more to this situation than the direct risks faced by the spread of Coronavirus. We currently have riders who are on ‘lockdown’ in their home countries and unable to travel, whereas others have made the decision to return home with the uncertainty surrounding the length of this season’s suspension, which is completely understandable. Jordan Stewart for example, cannot find work elsewhere in the UK as a condition of his Visa and he doesn’t want to rely on us to look after him financially. He is a proud individual and likes to stand on his own two feet. Nobody can tell these riders how long they may have to go without an income and they have to do what is best for them and their families.”

“We also face the issue of having riders and key staff being kept in isolation if they develop or come into contact with somebody who has the virus. Many of our volunteers and supporters, as well as our directors, are over the age of 70 and have been advised to isolate themselves, which is also a big problem for all of us. We face a very desperate situation and developments over the last 2 days meant that starting our season would have been irresponsible.”

Redcar Bears Season Ticket holders have not been forgotten and can be assured that they will be compensated by the Promotion should the number of fixtures end up being reduced. Duffill explained, “We will do everything we can to ensure that Season Ticket holders are given the 19 fixtures that their season ticket promises them. However, if this becomes impossible due to a further suspension of the 2020 season, we will refund holders on a per match basis so that they still end up paying the same price per meeting over the course of the year. If anybody has any questions or concerns, I’d be more than happy to respond to them by email if they contact me at duffill.redcarbears@gmail.com”
Further to that, anybody who has a ticket for last years curtailed Teesside Silver Helmet will receive £5 discount on entry to any Redcar hosted fixture in 2020. Season Ticket holders will be entitled to 2 free programmes to any Redcar team or individual fixture as an alternative.

The promotion would like to apologise further for the delay to the season and thank everybody for their understanding and support. We stress that we are desperate to get this season underway and will do so as soon as it is possible. In the meantime, we offer our thoughts and best wishes to anybody affected by Coronavirus and urge our supporters to continue to listen to government advice.

It is with regret that we have to inform you that the British Speedway season has been postponed for 4 weeks due to the Coronavirus crisis.

The situation will be reviewed on April 15th by both the BSPA and SCB. We will be making a more detailed announcement later tonight via our website and social media channels.

We are very sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience that this will cause.

As usual at this time of year, Redcar Agilia Bears will again be visiting the childrens ward at James Cook hospital in Middlesbrough to hand out Easter Eggs and other gifts to the children.

As the Bears have a meeting on Good Friday this year (away at Scunthorpe), we have arranged the visit for a week before on Friday 3rd April. Bears fans have been incredibly generous with your donations over the past few years, and we ask that if any Bears fans would like to make donations again to bring them along to any of the following:

Press and Practice on the 20th March
Stuart Robson’s Farewell meeting on the 21st March
Wolverhampton Challenge meeting on the 27th March.

Any donations of eggs or any other suitable items for children would as always be much appreciated!

The full lineup has now been announced for the Stuart Robson Farewell meeting, which takes place at Redcar Speedway on Saturday 21st March (5pm start).

The meeting, which will be ran as a pairs competition, has a good mix of the old and the new. With familiar faces such as Craig Cook, Ulrich Ostergaard and Sam Masters being joined by riders completely new to British Speedway such as Marius Hillebrand, Andreas Jensen and Nick Skorja. It’s sure to be a cracking nights entertainment for a very popular rider – make sure you don’t miss it! Full lineup is below, with the pairings to be announced in the next few days!

Lewis Kerr
Kevin Doolan
Aaron Summers
Danny King
Jordan Stewart
Paul Starke
Ellis Perks
Ulrich Ostergaard
Anders Rowe
Sam Masters
Emil Grondal
Craig Cook
Marius Hillebrand
Michael Palm Toft
Nick Skorja
Andreas Jensen