Bears defeat Diamonds in challenge classic!
The Redcar “Agilia” Bears returned to home shale with an impressive 54-36 win over a Diamonds select at the Ecco Arena. Erik Riss top scored with paid 16 whilst the Diamonds select number 1, Steve Worrall hit 14 for our visitors.
Redcar began with a pair of 4-2’s to stamp their mark on proceedings with Adam Roynon taking an impressive win in heat 1 ahead of Steve Worrall. Jordan Jenkins started an impressive evening’s work with a comfortable win and with Jason Edwards passing George Congreve, the Bears had their second heat advantage.
Redcar’s first maximum heat advantage arrived in heat 3 as the energetic Jenkins made it 2 wins from 2 as Riss shepherded his teammate home for the win despite calculated pressure from Ashley Morris. Redcar’s early dominance continued with another Jordan Jenkins win in heat 4 and another Bears 5-1 as Kerr held off a strong challenge from Paul Starke to send the hosts into an 18-6 lead.
The Diamonds hit their first heat advantage in front of a large travelling support in heat 5. Both number 8’s were given the opportunity to impress but a hard charging Kyran Lyden was ultimately too eager and made an untimely passing attempt on Josh Embleton which resulted in the youngsters exclusion. The re-run saw Riss and Worrall battle it out for the win with the Diamond taking the win after an impressive final lap pass whilst Embleton gained valuable experience and a point for his efforts.
Redcar re-asserted their dominance on the meeting with a heat six 5-1. Wright won very comfortably and a 4-2 looked to be on the cards until Paul Starke suffered an engine failure on the final lap to gift Roynon 2nd. Heat 7 saw another Steve Worrall heat win and with Ashley Morris in third, the Diamonds slightly reduced the arrears to 12 points.
The first shared heat of the evening arrived in heat 8 as Jenkins took another impressive win to hold off the experienced James Wright in second. Starke then won heat 9 impressively as he held off a quicker looking Erik Riss who stalked his Premiership teammates’ back wheel for 4 laps and came close to the win on the line.
The Bears increased their lead to 14 points with a heat ten 4-2 as Wright won comfortably to the delight of the home faithful. Worrall, who was looking quick, continued his fine form with another heat win but with Redcar packing the minor placings, the lead of 14 was maintained. Heat 12 saw Riss return to winning ways but Jenkins hopes of a maximum were dashed as he stuttered out of the gate and could not make up the requisite ground to pass the Diamonds pairing despite his best efforts.
The third shared heat in a row followed in heat 13 as Worrall made it 11 points on the night with the win but all of the action was unfolding behind the Brit. Kerr, on a 15m handicap due to a tapes infringement fought his way into contention and threw everything at Starke and passed his fellow countryman on lap 3 to take a well deserved point.
The run of shared heats was emphatically broken in heat 14 as Riss continued his impressive second tier form with another win. The German was joined by Jason Edwards at the front to send the Teessiders into a 51-33 lead.
The final race was one to savour as all 4 riders threw the bikes at each other for the entirety of the race with Riss ending Worrall’s winning run with a solid win to end an emotionally charged evening on Teesside.
Redcar’s Adam Roynon believes tonight’s win was a real team effort, “Everyone worked well as a team tonight. We all rode well and performed as a team to get the win on what was a tough evening for the opposition and their fans.”
The former Diamond was also effusive in his praise for Redcar’s Jordan Jenkins who scored 12 points from a possible 15, “Jordan was terrific tonight, he rode well and got the points he deserved.”
The Redcar promotion gave the Diamonds fans the opportunity to come onto the track for a photograph to remember the occasion. A moment that will live long in the memory followed as “Diamonds are forever” was played over the tannoy alongside huge cheers from the Bears fans. Everyone at Redcar Speedway sincerely hopes The Diamonds can return in 2023 to re-ignite our north-east rivalry.
Redcar Bears = 54
1. Charles Wright = 9
2. Adam Roynon = 6+1
3. Erik Riss = 15+1
4. Kasper Andersen R/R = 7+1
5. Lewis Kerr = 7+2
6. Jason Edwards = 5+3
7. Jordan Jenkins = 12
8. Kyran Lyden = 0
Diamonds Select = 36
1. Steve Worrall = 14
2. Matthew Wethers R/R = 4+1
3. Ashley Morris = 3
4. Max Clegg = 3+1
5. Paul Starke = 7
6. George Congreve = 1
7. James Wright = 7
8. Josh Embleton = 1