Rampant Redcar storm into KO Cup semis!
Redcar stormed into the KO Cup semi-finals after a stunning 48-42 win at Glasgow, (101-79 on aggregate) with the Bears quicker from the gate for most of the night. Charles Wright & Danyon Hume top scored for Redcar with 11 whilst Tom Brennan hit paid 12 for Glasgow.
Redcar gated in the opening race until Chris Harris passed both Bears by lap 2 to secure the win but with Marcin Nowak at the back, Glasgow could not eat into Redcar’s 16 point aggregate advantage.
Heat 2’s initial staging saw Jake Mulford gate with a 3-3 on the cards but Ace Pijper took a tumble on bend 3 of the opening lap with the race stopped. The re-run saw the Bears gate with Mulford looking impressive out front and with Jason Edwards comfortably holding off Lee Complin, Redcar took a 4 point lead on the night with the visitors surging into a 20 aggregate lead.
Heat 3 was won by Claus Vissing but with Sedgmen retiring in the early stages, Glasgow still remained behind as the Bears packed the minor placings. After heat 4 was shared with Tom Brennan winning, Redcar’s Danyon Hume took his tally to 5 points from 2 rides as he gated in heat 5 and looked good at the front, but with both Justin Sedgmen and Claus Vissing passing Richie Worrall, Redcar could not extend their lead.
Heat 6 saw Harris pass King superbly on the 4th bend of the opening lap but it was a familiar tale for the Tigers as they recorded their 5th last place of the meeting which kept the gap at 4 points. The Bears broke the run of shared heats with a heat 7 4-2 as Wright passed Brennan on lap 1 for the win whilst Bailey was comfortable in 3rd.
Hume was out to prove a point against his former side and the young Brit continued his impressive evening with a heat 8 success as he passed Nowak on bend 4 of the opening lap to take the win, and with Mulford securing yet another valuable point ahead of Pijper, the Bears were on the cusp of the aggregate win.
Glasgow hit their first heat advantage of the match with a heat 9 5-1 as their guest Sedgmen combined with Vissing to reduce the arrears to 4 points on the night but the BSN Series finalists still trailed by 20 points on aggregate. Any hopes of a highly improbable aggregate comeback were effectively ended in heat 10 as Wright rode a high line to hold off Harris whilst Bailey passed Nowak on the final lap to give Redcar another 4-2, much to the delight of the partisan travelling support.
The travelling support were treated to another 5-1 in heat 11 as Hume (who had only dropped 1 point after 4 rides) superbly won again whilst Richie Worrall joined the Bears man to extend Redcar’s lead to 10 and a first win in 15 years at Glasgow was firmly in sight at 28-38. Redcar’s 6th heat advantage arrived in heat 12 with a 4-2 as Wright won comfortably but Edwards was cruelly denied 2nd as the Bears reserve suffered a puncture entering the last lap and was subsequently passed by Pijper on the run to the line.
Heat 13’s initial staging saw both Bears gate with Harris initially passing Worrall with Bomber then setting his sights on Danny King but the Glasgow number 1 went too wide and fell on bend 2 of lap 2. The re-run saw a completely different race as Brennan (who was a distant last in the initial staging), gated and won comfortably but with Redcar reaching 45, they had all but wrapped up the win.
Heat 14 saw Vissing win whilst Complin got the better of Mulford for 3rd but with Bailey in 2nd, Redcar inflicted Glasgow’s first home defeat of 2023. Heat 15 saw Redcar select Hume and Bailey as a reward for their fantastic evening’s work but Glasgow’s Harris and Brennan ensured the night ended positively for the hosts with a 5-1 but in truth, it was scant consolation for Glasgow who lost by 22 points on aggregate.
Glasgow Tigers = 42 (79)
1. Chris Harris = 11
2. Marcin Nowak = 2
3. Justin Sedgmen (G) = 5
4. Claus Vissing = 9+2
5. Tom Brennan = 11+1
6. Lee Complin = 2
7. Ace Pijper = 2
Redcar Bears = 48 (101)
1. Richie Worrall (G) = 5+2
2. Danyon Hume = 11
3. Charles Wright = 11
4. Connor Bailey = 6+1
5. Danny King = 6+1
6. Jason Edwards = 4+2
7. Jake Mulford = 5+1
