Parr: Let’s keep rising to the challenge!
Redcar boss Gavin Parr has urged his in-form “Agilia” Bears side to “keep rising to the challenge” as Redcar go in search of another aggregate point success in their quest for the play-offs tomorrow night against Poole. The Cab Direct Championship clash promises to be a thriller with tapes up at 7:30 at the ECCO Arena.
The former cycle speedway man has urged the side to keep rising to the challenge ahead of the visit of Poole, “ The boys just have to keep rising to the challenge and the next test we have is Poole. Each battling performance breeds more and more confidence which can only be a good thing as the business end of the season approaches.”
The passionate team boss has been extremely pleased with the atmosphere around the side in recent times, “ The atmosphere around the pits since Dan (Gilkes) signed for us has been immense. We are together as a team, they are battling as one and this has shown on track.”
Despite Redcar’s recent good form, Parr is taking things one meeting at a time, “ At the moment, we are just taking things one meeting at a time. We know how well Poole ride the ECCO Arena, especially the Cook brothers, however, we are on a bit of a roll at the moment so we are hoping to keep that good run going.”
Parr is under no illusions that tomorrow’s match is another must win fixture, “ Poole is another must win match but we have said that for the last few matches and we have managed to come out on top. We did brilliantly to come back against Edinburgh and win when we looked dead and buried but the boys are under no illusions that Poole will be a stern test.”
As reported earlier this week, Connor Bailey has decided to take a break from speedway, with Parr wishing “The Tornado” all the best as he fights mental exhaustion, “ I would love to see Connor back in the future. We are 100% behind Connor and we wish him all the very best. We would love to see him back at Redcar spectating before the end of 2024.”
Parr also explained why Redcar must run with guests or rider replacement for the rest of the season, “ As we have completed 75% of our matches, we were informed by the powers that be that we cannot sign a rider so we must use a guest or run with rider replacement for the remainder of 2024.”
The Bears will be again looking towards their two former British Champions in Charles Wright and Danny King to lead from the front. The club have called on a former Bear, Jordan Jenkins to guest in place of Connor Bailey. Jenkins will line up at number 4 alongside Dan Gilkes with Jason Edwards moving into the number 2 berth for tomorrow’s match.
The Pirates track a full strength 1-7 with ex-Bear Richard Lawson sure to prove stern opposition for Redcar. The all-action Vinnie Foord lines up at reserve for the current league leaders after he made a successful return from injury in Poole’s big win over Plymouth last night.
Any supporters who are unable to attend the meeting are reminded that the meeting will be live streamed by our streaming partners Tapes Up Productions at www.redcar-speedway.tv
Redcar Agilia Bears
1 – Charles Wright (C) 8.54
2 – Jason Edwards 6.22
3 – Dan Gilkes 5.38
4 – Jordan Jenkins (G) 5.32
5 – Danny King 7.61
6 – Ben Trigger 2.83
7 – Jake Mulford 4.05
TM Gavin Parr
Poole Pirates
1. Richard Lawson 9.09
2. Tobias Thomsen 5.18
3. Tom Brennan 8.04
4. Zach Cook 6.21
5. Ben Cook 7.72 (C)
6. Sam Hagon 4.94
7. Vinnie Foord 2.00
TM Gary Havelock