LATEST NEWS ~ JUNE 2006

STEP UP A GEAR
~ By Martin Neal, Evening Gazette Friday 30th June 2006
Redcar Bears took the derby day honours with a 49-43 Premier League victory over Newcastle Diamonds last night - but boss Brian Havelock was the first to admit that the winning margin should have been greater. The Bears have strung together some impressive results at South Tees Motorsports Park lately and had gone into the match looking to better the 51-44 win they managed against the Diamonds in the Premier Trophy eight weeks earlier.

It looked they would achieve that early on, as the visitors had a spate of mechanical problems and lost Manuel Hauzinger with a twisted knee before he had even completed a lap. With a seven-point lead under their belts after James Grieves had shed a chain and Hauzinger pulled out in agony in heat three, home fans in the large crowd could have been forgiven for expecting a roasting. But the pendulum began to swing the other way as Kevin Little fell in heat five. Then Mat Tresarrieu had bike problems - and suddenly the gap was down to three points.

Thankfully, the Bears managed to keep their visitors at arm's length at the back end of the match. Skipper Gary Havelock led by example and showed no ill effects of his long trip back from Russia, where he scored 16 points from five rides for the MegaLada team on Wednesday night. He dropped just one point all night - to George Stancl in heat six - and produced the ride of the night to battle past James Grieves in race ten.

Havvy was given solid support from Tomas Suchanek, while reserves Jack Hargreaves and Dan Giffard gave the Bears a sting in their tail. Even so there were some nervy moments, none more so than in the rerun penultimate heat, in which tactical double James Grieves and the overworked Chris Mills scored a 7-2 over Hargreaves and Little. Grieves was allowed to take his place in the restart despite clearly taking out team-mate Mills at the first bend and needed no second invitation to grab a second bite of the cherry. That meant Newcastle could even have snatched a draw had they drawn the final race, but Havelock and Suchanek's 4-2 advantage over Stancl and Josef Franc gave the final score a healthier look.

"With the way we have been going lately I was expecting a much bigger winning margin," said team boss Brian Havelock afterwards. But it didn't happen. We even had a 5-0 early on but didn't build on it. The problem was that, with the exception of Gary and probably Tomas, we weren't gating and the reserves had to ride their socks off to get points. I was looking at a win of about 12 or 14 points so getting the bonus point is going to be difficult. But at least we won."

It was a frustrating night for Frenchman Tresarrieu who, after some encouraging displays, managed just one (paid two) points before being pulled out of his final ride. Tresarrieu has made his name racing longtrack on the continent and Brian Havelock said: "There is a big difference between racing 1,000 metre tracks over there and 266 metre speedway tracks over here."

The Bears' next meeting is at Mildenhall on Sunday.

Bears: Gary Havelock 14, Dan Giffard 10, Tomas Suchanek 9+2, Jack Hargreaves 6, Chris Kerr 5, Kevin Little 4+1, Mathieu Tresarrieu 1+1.
Diamonds: George Stancl 12, James Grieves 10, Chris Mills 9+2, Christian Henry 6, Josef Franc 5+1, Adam McKinna 1, Manuel Hauzinger (w/d injured) 0.
 

HAVVY SET FOR BATTLE
~ By Martin Neal, Evening Gazette Thursday 29th June 2006
In-form skipper Gary Havelock was making a 4,000-mile dash from a far-flung corner of Russia to race in tonight's Premier League derby clash between Redcar Bears and Newcastle Diamonds. The Redcar Bears' Gary Havelock The former world champion has signed a deal to race in three matches for the MegaLada team who race in the Samara Region of Russia, some 1,000 miles east of Moscow, and his first fixture was yesterday. Top riders think nothing of taking on regular bookings alongside their British club commitments, and that can take them all over Europe.

Even so, Havvy admits his latest venture is a particularly interesting one. "It's quite daunting," he admitted before setting off to catch his plane from Manchester Airport. "But I've always been the adventurous type. The way I look at it is that these things are there to be experienced. "I had an interesting conversation with Tomasz Piszcz, the Polish rider who rides for Workington. It's well documented that the Poles are a bit mad - but he said even he wouldn't ride out there because it's so wild!"

Havvy was due to land in Manchester at midday today and, having prepared his bikes before heading east, was expecting to be raring to go against the Diamonds. "Because of flying through the time zones we gain quite a bit of time coming back," he explained. We get on the plane in Russia at 9.30 and arrive in England at midday."

Havvy has been in flying form lately and is looking forward to another big score against the Bears' local rivals tonight.
He carded 16 points at Workington last Friday and romped to another paid maximum against Rye House at South Tees Motorsports Park last Thursday. He has been making his mark as a guest in the Elite League too, winning four times as he posted a magnificent 13+1 total for parent club Poole against Arena Essex and paid nine for Reading against Coventry - proof if ever it were needed that he fully deserves his place in Great Britain's World Cup squad.

The Diamonds were beaten 51-44 in front of a bumper crowd when they visited Redcar in May, although they were without the illness-hit Christian Henry and lost reserve Adam McKinna after a first half crash. Matt Tresarrieu returns to the Bears side after missing the trip to Workington because of world long track championship commitments, but the Diamonds again have injury problems. They had planned to field Mildenhall's grade A reserve Jon Armstrong in place of the injured Jamie Robertson but he has been called up by Elite League Peterborough, so King's Lynn's Chris Mills steps in instead. And a late decision will be made on the fitness of Manuel Hauzinger who injured his knee in the first leg of Newcastle's KO Cup defeat by Glasgow on Sunday.

Two memorial awards will be presented tonight. The winner of the final heat will receive the Jake Brudenell Trophy while the Bears man-of-the match will receive the Bill Lloyd Shield and £50. Both awards are in recognition of dedicated former Middlesbrough Bears fans who followed the sport at Cleveland Park but who sadly died before the sport returned to Teesside after a decade's absence. With another big crowd expected, extra car parking arrangements will be in place.

Bears: 1 Gary Havelock, 2 Matt Tresarrieu, 3 Tomas Suchanek, 4 Kevin Little, 5 Chris Kerr, 6 Jack Hargreaves, 7 Daniel Giffard.
Diamonds: 1 Josef Franc, 2 Christian Henry, 3 Manuel Hauzinger (R/R if unfit), 4 James Grieves, 5 George Stancl, 6 Adam McKinna, 7 Chris Mills.
 

STAR INTERVIEW DAN GIFFARD
~ With Keith McGhie of SPEEDWAY STAR magazine
One of the major reasons for the Bears unbeaten start to their Premier League campaign here at the South tees Motorsports Park has been the thrilling form of young reserve Dan Giffard. Despite being hit badly by long-distance commuting from his base near Eastbourne in Sussex during the recent mini-heat wave Dan has put in a string of high scores with some thrilling passes here on South Bank.

But Teesside’s favourite “Suvvenor” isn’t resting on his laurels and insists: I don’t feel I’m riding badly at the moment but it’s up to me to improve things further and get my confidence up. I lost my mechanic four weeks into the season so I’ve had to rely on other help but it’s been a good experience getting other people’s views on things. If you can gate that’s half the job done and that’s something I’ve been working hard on improving. I’ve been able to make up for poor starts and come through from the back at Redcar but it’s more difficult on tracks that you are less familiar with.”

Dan certainly caused concern when he was taken ill and forced to retire (after being paid for two more wins) in the 56-38 victory over Edinburgh. He explains: “It’s about 315 miles or so from home to here and it was very hot that day. I had some tests done at the hospital and my blood pressure was a little high – I’ve got to go back in about a month and we’ll see what they say then? I was OK last week when it was a lot cooler so hopefully I can just put it all behind me and get on with my racing now. The journey up to Redcar is a long way but it’s not dampened my enthusiasm in any way whatsoever. I’ve ridden at other tracks in away matches this season and looked around me and realized how lucky I am to be here at Redcar. I’m enjoying my riding – the team is good and I want to stay here 100%! I’ve already decided that I want to be back here next year and now it’s up to me to keep improving, especially my away performances, and hopefully I’ll be invited back.”

Plans are being made to enter a junior team in the Conference Shield towards the end of the season and Dan is delighted to be pencilled in to lead the side. He adds: “Chris (Van Straaten) it and I’m keen to do as many meetings as I can. I’ve made the step up to the Premier League and that’s where I want to stay but if I can help the club out with its Conference League plans then I’m more than happy to do so. There are a lot of youngsters out there who are in the same position as me and are trying to prove themselves. I’ve stepped back into the Conference League a couple of times in the past and realize that I won’t achieve anything if I do it again on a full-time basis but the chance to lead a Conference side at Redcar in addition to racing for the Bears is too good to miss.”
 

LOOKING AHEAD ~ DIAMONDS DERBY
~ Monday 26th June 2006
Extra car parking arrangements will be in place at the South Tees Motorsport Park on Thursday when the Redcar Bears take on the Newcastle Diamonds in a Premier League match starting at 7.30pm

The Teesside/Tyneside encounter in the Northern group of the Premier trophy in early May saw a bumper crowd plus a match which the Newcastle management felt they should have won in different circumstances. On-form Christian Henry had to withdraw from the previous fixture through illness whilst reserve Adam McKinna had to take a hospital trip after a pile-up in his first outing. The eventual scoreline was Redcar 51 - Newcastle 44.

However, clubs such as Edinburgh and Glasgow have arrived at the Motorpark in South Bank Road, Middlesbrough in recent weeks having been defeated by one point and two points respectively in the regional competition only to be sent packing with heavy defeats by a Bears team which is improving as the League season unfolds. Last Thursday's victory over the reigning Premier Trophy and Premier League Champions the Rye House Rockets will also send the Bears into battle in the right frame of mind.

The Diamonds boast a competitive heat leader trio in the shape of Josef France, skipper James Grieves and George Stancl plus they have booked outstanding A grade reserve Jon Armstrong of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers as a guest cover for the injured Jamie Robertson and this will be a stern test for the Bears.

Two memorial awards will be presented at this meeting. The winner of the final heat will receive the Jake Brudenell Trophy and the Bears man-of-the match will receive the Bill Lloyd Shield and £50. Both in recognition of two dedicated former Middlesbrough Bears fans who followed the sport at Cleveland Park but were taken away before the sport returned after a decade's absence to its new venue. The respective awards have been kindly donated by Jake's friends and Bill's family.
 

BEAR'S BRAVERY IN DEFEAT
~ By Martin Neal, Evening Gazette Monday 26th June 2006
Team manager Brian Havelock was heartened by a solid all-round performance despite Redcar going down 50-43 in their final Premier Trophy Qualifying Group match at table toppers Workington. The Bears were without rising star Mat Tresarrieu - en route to his native France to contest the first of three World Longtrack Grand Prix - but put up stern resistance. They were tackling a Comets side which won by six points at the South Tees Motorsports Park in mid-May and finished the northern section five points clear of fellow semi-final qualifiers Sheffield.

Bears were led by a storming 16-point display from skipper Gary Havelock and served well by his five team-mates, who shared Tresarrieu's scheduled outings between them using the 'rider replacement' rule. Havelock Senior said: "We began well and led 11-7 after three races and managed to stay with them."

Brian's son Gary won four races, including a tactical ride worth double points, and suffered his only defeat in heat five, after missing the start and trailing home behind Workington's Richie Hawkins and Tomasz Piszcz. Havelock gained sweet revenge in the final race, destroying Hawkins' maximum hopes in the process, as the Bears finished on a high. Havelock flew to Copenhagen over the weekend to act as adviser and technical aid for Scott Nicholls in the Danish Grand Prix and then travelled to Togliatti on the Volga River to race in the Russian League. Then he will dash back for the Bears' Tyne Tees derby encounter with Newcastle next Thursday.

Redcar finished the Premier Trophy second from bottom of their group - two points above Berwick.

Workington Comets 50: (R Hawkins 13+1, J Wright 12, G Stead 8+2, P Thorp 7, T Piszcz 6+1, A Collins 4+1, J Branney 0).
Redcar Bears 43: (G Havelock 16, T Suchanek 7+1, C Kerr 6, D Giffard 6, J Hargreaves 5+2, K Little 3+2).
 

WORKINGTON 50 - REDCAR 43 Premier Trophy North
~ Saturday 24th June 2006
Those who thought that the Bears would just turn up at Derwent Park and go through the motions had a rude awakening. Thanks to a 4-2 by Gary and Chris in heat one and a 5-1 by Daniel and Jack in heat two - the visitors were 9-3 up after two heats. Eventually the Comets clawed the match back so the skipper had to take a tactical ride in heat eleven taking six points in the process.

One rider in the wars was Chris Kerr who took the full brunt of Tomas Piszcz failing to turn left on the first bend of heat nine. Chris was down was quite a while but proved his resilience by continuing to ride in the meeting. There was much praise from the Workington camp and fans for the Bears' entertaining efforts.

COMETS: R.Hawkins 13+1, J.Wright 12, G.Stead 8+2, P.Thorp 7, T.Piszcz 6+1, A.Collins 4, J.Branney 0.
BEARS: G.Havelock 16, T.Suchanek 7+1, D.Giffard 6, C.Kerr 6, J.Hargreaves 5+2, K.Little 3+2, rider replacement for Matt Tresarrieu
 

REDCAR 47- RYE HOUSE 43 Premier League
~ Thursday June 22nd
Kevin Little and Jack Hargreaves were the heroes of the hour when their 5-1 heat 14 win over the previously undefeated Steve Boxall allowed the Bears to get their noses in front going into the final heat. The Rockets were six points in the lead after four heats and the heat scores swung like a pendulum thereafter.

Gary Havelock kept his team in the hunt for victory being undefeated and crucially wrapped up the nominated heat over Chris Neath and Edward Kennett to ensure the margin squeezed out by Kevin and Jack was maintained. Avery exciting match - too exciting in many respects!

BEARS: G.Havelock 14+1, T.Suchanek 9+1, M.Tresarrieu 7+2, K.Little 6+2, D.Giffard 6, J.Hargreaves 5+1, C.Kerr 0.
ROCKETS: S.Boxall 16+3, C.Neath 12+1, E.Kennett 8+1, D.Betson 4+1, T.Allen 2, B.Powell 1. rider replacement for Ross Brady.
 

REDCAR v RYE HOUSE
~ By Keith McGhie, Thursday 22nd June 2006
At the end of nights which both would probably previously rather have forgotten Kevin Little and Jack Hargreaves emerged the heroes to help Redcar maintain their unbeaten home league record. Injury-hit champions Rye House arrived on Teesside without long-term casualty Jamie Courtney and broken finger victim Ross Brady but did enough to comfortably secure the bonus point and threaten to head back down south with at least one of the match points.

The Silver Ski Rockets were helped by the Bears’ compulsion to repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot – with a succession of mistakes, falls and engine failures gifting the visitors what looked like becoming decisive points. Prolific scoring reserve Steve Boxall, Chris Neath and, to a lesser extent, Edward Kennett took full advantage of anything that came their way to forge and early lead and hold their hosts at 39-39 going into the penultimate heat.

Enter Little, who had blown his engine to bits five races earlier, and Hargreaves, who had scraped together just three points after sliding off while challenging for the lead in heat two. With Steve Boxall in opposition - unbeaten by a home rider in six races and looking to complete a paid 21-point haul - John Sampford’s men must still have fancied their chances. But a tenacious first lap by Little relegated Boxall to third place as Hargreaves successfully worked the inside line and, despite valiant attempts from the 19-year old Rye reserve, the Bears duo held on for the 5-1 which gave them a four point cushion going into the final heat. Skipper Gary Havelock duly completed an immaculate paid maximum by taking heat 15 and sealing a hard-earned victory.

Early race wins by the impressive Neath (two) and Danny Betson helped give the Rockets an early 15-9 advantage but back to back Bears’ 5-1’s edged the South Bank side ahead before the Boxall-inspired visitors levelled again at halfway.

Havelock and Mat Tresarrieu scored their second 5-1 to put Redcar ahead again only for Chris Kerr’s second fall of the evening to allow Boxall and Kennett to level things once more. Tomas Suchanek gifted Boxall another win when lifting while leading on the second lap of heat 12, but Havelock’s supremacy and the intervention of Little and Hargreaves in the final three races proved enough to see the Bears home.
 

'STAR' INTERVIEW
~ with Keith McGhie of Speedway Star magazine...
“I’m loving the job,” enthuses Yarm-based Havelock - a former Middlesbrough rider who hung up his own racing leathers in the mid-eighties before having a stint as team boss at Newcastle. “I lost track of what was happening – I’ve been to a few meetings with Gary but not many over the last ten years. I never seemed to have time what with work and fishing (Brian’s greatest love beside his family!) but now I’m semi-retired – I sold the business in Stockton in 2000 – the speedway is fitting in perfectly. I was going to pack it in altogether when I sold the business but I now work from home a few days a week and can still fit plenty of fishing in. Redcar Speedway is only six miles down the road from where I live and that means no travelling to my home track.

Rules change every year so it took a while to get back up to speed but now I have everything is going along nicely. I think our prospects for the rest of the season are quite good. I had visions of having to change someone in the middle order a few weeks ago because we are still one heat-leader short, especially away from home, but who would you drop? It wouldn’t be fair to drop anyone! “You can’t touch the reserves – they are reserves for the season under the new rules - and can’t touch Gary…

“Chris being given an eight-point assessed average is absolutely ridiculous but he’s getting there. It’s a big ask for a first year rider in this country – to be honest when Gary dropped down from the Elite League I felt if he finished with an average of over nine he would have done well because there is some good competition in this league. Tomas is beginning to look really good and he’s very fast when he’s in front. Kevin was flying before he got injured and I’m sure he’ll get back to where he was. And Mat is also beginning to score points but he only seems to have one bike…if we could get him another one…?”

Recent comfortable home wins and last weekend’s 14-point loss at the reigning league champions Rye House, suggests that the Bears are not far away from where they want to be on the track now and Havelock snr reckons their impact off of it is also considerable, pointing out: “The interest from the local papers, especially the Evening Gazette, and radio has been great and it’s all helped got the track going. One or two lads in my local fishing club follow what’s happening quite closely and my neighbours and some businesses in the town often make comments like: “Oh, I see you had a good win last night – all down to good team management I suppose??!! “But it’s all in good fun and nice to know that people outside the sport are taking an interest.”
 

'STAR' INTERVIEW
~ with Keith McGhie of Speedway Star magazine...
No-one really knew how Chris Kerr would cope with Premier League racing when he arrived in the UK for the second time before the tapes went up on the 2006 season. Chris had fronted the US Dream Team with some big scores during their tour of Britain last year but that was largely on Conference League tracks against opposition of the same level.

However, while the big scores have thus far eluded him, Bears’ Californian star has proved more than up with the greater pace and also, as was evident by the huge queue of people waiting at the speedway office for his autograph during last week’s interval (a new record I think), he has become immensely popular here on Teesside. Over the last few weeks even the weather has been West Coast of America-like, with warm sunny days becoming the norm.

“It’s real nice, especially up here in Redcar because there always seems to be a breeze so with the warm weather and the breeze, it’s perfect for me,” Chris enthuses. I was based up near Redcar but my girlfriend, Audrie, is currently over here for a month (yes, sorry ladies – I hate to break the bad news) so during that time I’ve been staying with Billy Hamill in the Midlands. She’s here until the 20th June and after that I’ll move back up this way. She flew into Heathrow the night before we went to Hungary for the World Cup Qualifying Round. We drove all the way up here to Redcar and then left straight after the meeting to go to Hungary so it was a pretty hectic, non-stop journey at first but now she’s settled down she likes it in England.”

Chris went to Miskolc as part of the USA squad and, although not being picked for the team which qualified by a clear 18 points for the next round in Malilla, Sweden, he says: “The whole experience in Hungary was great, even though I didn’t get to ride other than in the practice.

“It was between me, Ronnie (Correy) and Brent (Werner) and I think they got in because of their experience, but I enjoyed the trip and hope to go with them to Sweden, where maybe I’ll be lucky and get a ride.”

Being present at the British Grand Prix in Cardiff was another first for Chris and Audrie: “It was awesome – a really cool experience and we had a great time,” he recalls. “We went into the pits before the meeting, then watched from the stands and went back again afterwards. It’s insane the amount of people that turn up to watch the speedway and the noise is unbelievable.”

But for a fall, having just lost the lead, on the second lap of the final it could have been a perfect 36th birthday present for fellow countryman Greg Hancock but that didn’t stop the Californian contingent partying: “I know Greg quite well and we went to Swindon with him the following day and out to dinner with him after the meeting. He took it well – he looked at it that he’d put himself in that situation and these things sometimes happen in speedway. One day I hope to be riding at Cardiff in the Grand Prix – that’s my ambition and hopefully it’s just a matter of time.”

Meanwhile Chris will be able to experience plenty of World Cup, soccer style, on the television here, where I suggest his loyalties will be split between his native USA and newly adopted homeland of England?
 

READY FOR ROCKETS' POWER
~ By Martin Neal, Evening Gazette Thursday 22nd June 2006
Boro Bears are ready for a testing clash when they entertain Premier League champions Rye House Rockets at the South Tees Motorsport Park tonight at 7.30pm.

The Hertfordshire-based Rockets track a young set of riders on the way up in the sport. Last year they achieved the double of winning the league and the Premier Trophy final. They are spearheaded by 19-year-old Edward Kennett, who is the British Under-21 Champion. They have an outstanding reserve in 18-year-old Steve Boxall who was the 2005 Conference League Riders' Champion when riding for the Rye House Raiders in that league. Last Saturday, young Boxall scored 15 paid 16 from seven starts as the Rockets defeated the Bears by 54 points to 40.

So team manager Brian Havelock will set his own set of rising stars the task of not only overcoming the champions but defeating them by more than 14 points to claim the first bonus point for aggregate victory in the new league campaign.

At Rye House, Bears skipper Gary Havelock again led by example with 16 points while there was another encouraging performance from Tomas Suchanek who finished on nine paid ten points.

BEARS: 1 Gary Havelock (c), 2 Mathieu Tresarrieu, 3 Tomas Suchanek, 4 Kevin Little, 5 Chris Kerr, 6 Jack Hargreaves, 7 Daniel Giffard.

ROCKETS: 1 Edward Kennett, 2 Rider replacement for Jamie Courtney, 3 Ross Brady, 4 Tommy Allen, 5 Chris Neath (C), 6 Danny Betson, 7 Steve Boxall.

REDCAR Speedway stage their first training session at the Motorsport Park on Saturday from 11am to 3pm. Further details from and offers of assistance to 07711 159044.
 

BEARS RELISH HAT-TRICK
~ Monday 19th June 2006
Having overcome both Edinburgh Monarchs and Glasgow Tigers by healthy margins in the past two Premier League home fixtures at the South Tees Motorsport Park - the Redcar Bears speedway team now face yet another tough match when the reigning league champions arrive on Teesside on Thursday evening fom 7.30pm.

Hertfordshire-based Rye House Rockets track a young set of riders on the way up in the sport. Last year they achieved the double of winning the Premier League Championship and the Premier Trophy final. They are spearheaded by 19-year-old Edward Kennett who is the British Under-21 Champion and have an oustanding reserve in 18-year-old Steve Boxall who was the 2005 Conference League Riders' Champion when riding for the Rye House Raiders in that league. Last Saturday, at home, young Boxall scored 15 paid 16 from seven starts as the Rockets defeated the Bears by 54 points to 40.

So team manager Brian Havelock will set his own set of rising stars the task of not only overcoming the champions but defeating them by more than 14 points to claim the first bonus point for aggregate victory in the new league campaign.

At Rye House Bears skipper Gary Havelock again led by example with 16 points while there was another encouraging performance from Tomas Suchanek who finished on nine paid ten points.
 

BEAR'S ROAR TAMES SCOTS TIGERS
~ By Martin Neal, Evening Gazette Friday 16th June 2006
Record-breaking results were the order of the day for the second week running, as Redcar Bears took on the Glasgow Tigers last night. The Bears pulled off a superb 59-36 win against the full-strength Scottish side. The fantastic win eclipsed last week's biggest ever victory when the Bears whipped Edinburgh Monarchs 56-38 at South Tees Motorsports Park.

Last night, in a match delayed to avoid England's clash with Trinidad and Tobago in the World Cup, Bears' captain Gary Havelock turned in a solid performance to lead by example as the squad roared to to well deserved victory. Havelock was beaten just once. In his first race of the night the skipper finished second to Danny Bird. But that was the only win any member of the Glasgow squad could pull off over Havelock as he notched up 14 points. In the 13th heat of the night, Havelock was threatened by Tigers' captain Shane Parker, who tried desperately to overtake him on a couple of occasions. But the 37-year-old Teessider held him off to take the three points.

Daniel Giffard, who returned to the Bears' squad after illness last week, also added top points to the score sheet in two of his races. The 21-year-old has been suffering with high blood pressure and had to pull out of last week's match, but this week he saw off tough competition from Parker and James Cockle to finish first in the fourth race. Teammate Chris Kerr finished third in that heat. In the eighth heat Giffard also took the three points after a re-run.

Cockle fell and was taken from the track in an ambulance, but was thought to be suffering a hand injury, which didn't stop him racing for the rest of the fixture. Glasgow's David McAllen made the gate, but excellent team riding from Giffard and Mathieu Tresarrieu saw the duo pass McAllen and keep him at the back.

Bears' Tomas Suchanek looked on fire in heat 12 and completed a fantastic race for the three points. Tigers' Robert Ksiezak made the gate, but both Suchanek and Giffard passed him to take first and second. The Bears again pulled off some superb team racing to win heat nine, with Suchanek and Kevin Little taking the top five points.

The Bears next fixture is away, against Rye House Rockets tomorrow. The Hertfordshire outfit will make the return journey to Teesside next Thursday.
 

REDCAR v GLASGOW
~ By Keith McGhie, Thursday 15th June 2006
Like fellow Scottish outfit the previous week Glasgow must have arrived at the South Tees Motorsports Park confident of a good result after losing by just two points in the Premier Trophy barely a month beforehand.

But the Redcar Bears are a much more solid force these days and any chinks in the visitors’ armour are now being ruthlessly exposed.

Former Midlesbrough favourite Shane Parker was a pale shadow of the rider who had notched 12+1 in that last heat decider back in May and, despite a classy performance by Danny Bird and sporadic resistance from Kauko Nieminen, the Bears roared to their best yet victory.

Bird and David McAllan gave the Premier Travel Inn Tigers a first heat lead with the Tigers’ number one inflicting the only defeat of the night on Gary Havelock but after that had been nullified in the reserves race, it was virtually all Redcar.

Five maximum heat wins in seven races between heats six and 12 destroyed Glasgow, in spite of the points landslide being interspersed by fairly profitable tactical rides from Bird and Nieminen.

Tomas Suchanek looks more the part with every passing week and his fine 12 point-haul included an incisive inside pass of Robert Kziezak, as Dan Giffard simultaneously rounded the Australian, and accounting for Nieminen from the back at the end of the opening lap of heat 15.

Giffard was also in sensational form, being paid for wins in each of his last three races, while Matt Tresarrieu and Chris Kerr both had the home fans in raptures with respective passes of Parker on the final lap of heat six and McAllan on the second lap of heat 11.

Havelock was unstoppable following his opening race reverse although Parker rode side by side with his fellow international heatleader on an absorbing opening lap of heat 13 – Bird’s first defeat of the night.

Glasgow’s cause was not helped by a miserable night for their usually free-scoring reserve James Cockle who fell three times, picked up a hand injury in the final spill and left South Bank without a point from four starts.
 

READY TO RIDE
~ By Martin Neal Evening Gazette Thursday 15th June 2006
Fit, raring to go and looking for a big score in a convincing victory. That's flying reserve Dan Giffard, who is back in the Redcar Bears team for tonight's Premier League clash with Glasgow after being taken ill during last Thursday's match against Edinburgh.

Giffard has looked more and more confident and impressive as the season has progressed and was unbeaten by an opponent after two rides when he had to pull out last week. "I felt really ill," said the 21-year- old former Weymouth star, "and when I went to see my doctor he told me my blood pressure was high. "I had a win and a paid win last week and no-one wants to pull out of a meeting when they've done that - but your health comes first and there was no way I could risk injury to myself or anyone else. I'm not convinced it was down to the heat but, at the end of the day, I fell fit and well again now and I'm looking forward to riding. I'm feeling confident and I know I can beat people because I was unbeaten by an opponent last week."

The Bears needed a last-heat decider to secure a narrow 46-44 win when the Tigers visited South Tees Motorsports Park in the Premier Trophy last month - but Giffard expects the winning margin to be more this evening. Kevin Little was missing with a shoulder injury and an early evening downpour left track conditions tricky. "It was like an away track for both teams because of the conditions," said Giffard. "But we've had some good weather lately and, if Glyn Taylor has been able to put some good track time in, it will suit us. We've gelled together well as a team as the season has progressed and I see no reason why we shouldn't beat them by a convincing margin."

Kauko Nieminen missed Glasgow's last trip to Teesside through injury but has since recovered, so the Tigers arrive at full strength. Nieminen is expected to provide solid back-up to top two Shane Parker and Danny Bird, while reserves James Cockle and Robert Ksiezak showed a liking for the Redcar track last time so the Bears will need to be on their guard throughout the order.

Tonight's match starts at the later time of 8pm, which will allow fans watch the England v Trinidad and Tobago World Cup match on TV before making their way to the track.

BEARS: 1 Gary Havelock, 2 Matt Tresarrieu, 3 Tomas Suchanek, 4 Kevin Little, 5 Chris Kerr, 6 Jack Hargreaves, 7 Daniel Giffard.

TIGERS: 1 Danny Bird, 2 David McAllan, 3 Lee Dicken, 4 Kauko Nieminen, 5 Shane Parker, 6 Robert Ksiezak, 7 James Cockle.

AUTHOR Jeff Scott will be at the track tonight signing copies of his book Showered in Shale. The book, which has been dubbed speedway's version of Fever Pitch, features Jeff's exploits following the sport throughout the 2005 season.
 

CALL FOR HAVVY
~ By Martin Neal Evening Gazette Tuesday 13th June 2006
REDCAR Bears skipper Gary Havelock has been called into the Great Britain squad for this summer’s World Cup. The 37-year-old Teessider was given the nod by national team boss Neil Middleditch despite dropping out of the Elite League to join the newly-formed Bears in the Premier League this season. A former world champion and Great Britain skipper, Marton-based Havvy brings a wealth of experience into Middleditch’s 12-man squad. He has been in sensational form this season and stormed to a paid maximum in last Thursday’s clash with Edinburgh.

“I’m over the moon to be selected,” said Havvy. “One of the greatest things in life is to pull on a Great Britain racejacket. It is a great honour to be selected for your country.” Despite being called into the squad, Havvy believes he won’t be seeing any action. “I don’t expect to be in the team,” he admitted, “but I’m there if need be. I’ve never let the national team down in all the times I’ve ridden and, if anything freakish happens and I’m needed to ride, you can rest assured I’ll give 100 per cent just like I always have done.”

If Havvy does get called into the team, it could cause the Bears something of a problem. For the race-off is scheduled for Thursday July 20, when Redcar entertain Stoke, and the final is on Saturday July 22 when the Bears are due at Berwick. Both World Cup meetings take place at Reading. Prior to that, Great Britain line up alongside Finland, Poland and Australia in the first of two final qualifiers at Rybnik, Poland, on July 16 - when Redcar are due to visit Newcastle. The other qualifier, at Malilla, Sweden, on July 18, features the USA, Sweden, Denmark, and the Czech Republic - and that means the possible inclusion of a second Bears rider in the final stages of the competition. Chris Kerr, who is lodging with Havvy’s parents in Yarm during the Premier League season, was in the American squad for their last qualifying round in Hungary and could well earn another call-up.

The winners of each qualifier go straight into the final with the second and third-placed teams going into the race-off. Havvy’s last World Cup appearance was in 2004 when he scored nine points and finished with a silver medal after Sweden pipped the Brits in a last heat decider.

FANS are reminded that this Thursday’s Premier League clash between Redcar and Glasgow at South Tees Motorsports Park begins at the later time of 8pm. The move is to allow supporters to watch the England football team’s World Cup clash with Trinidad and Tobago on TV before setting off.
 

LOOKING AHEAD ~ TIGERS SEEK REVENGE
~ Monday 12th June 2006
For the second week in succession the Redcar Bears face a Scottish side smarting from a previous narrow victory at the South Tees Motorsport Park. In May the Glasgow Tigers went down by just two points in a 46-44 Premier Trophy North match. The Glasgow management believe that the absence of Kauko Nieminen and falls on the night by Danny Bird favoured the Bears even though Kevin Little was missing through injury too.

The Bears management will be planning to take the battle to their formidable visitors in the manner in which Edinburgh were sent packing by 56 points to 38 having gone down by only one point on their previous visit.

Besides the outstanding leadership of skipper Gary Havelock, who was unbeaten by an opponent last Thursday, there were important and improved contributions from second strings Tomas Suchanek and Matthieu Tresarrieu who returned scores of paid 12 and paid 10 respectively. The latter on machinery borrowed from former Sheffield number one Sean Wilson. There should also be a return to action for reserve Daniel Giffard who had to withdraw from last Thursday's encounter with heat exhaustion.

Glasgow are regarded as having the most potent heat leader trio in the Premier League in the shape of ex-Cleveland Park Bear Shane Parker, Danny Bird and Kauko Nieminen.

The match starts at the later time of 8pm to allow time to watch the England v Trinidad and Tobago World Cup match before finishing a sporting evening with a top class speedway clash.
 

BEAR'S BEST
~ By Martin Neal Evening Gazette Friday 9th June 2006
Jubilant boss Brian Havelock today hailed Redcar Bears' best ever performance after they whipped Edinburgh Monarchs 56-38 at South Tees Motorsports Park. The Scots were beaten by just a single point when they visited Teesside in the Premier Trophy seven weeks earlier - but there was never any danger of it being that close again when they returned in the league last night.

The Bears rattled up four maximum 5-1 heat wins in the opening six races to take an inexorable stranglehold on the match. And even though flying reserve Dan Giffard was taken ill early on and forced to withdraw from the meeting after two rides, the Bears' biggest ever win always looked on the cards. Skipper Gary Havelock led the way with an impressive paid maximum - the first time he had gone unbeaten by an opponent since the opening night of the season He completed his paid maximum in style too, blasting round in the final race.

Matt Tresarrieu looked as spectacular as ever, but also a good deal more smooth and comfortable in his first meeting with a new Sean Wilson-tuned engine and went unbeaten by a rival in his last three heats, recording his best score yet as a Bear.

Tomas Suchanek is starting to look the part now too, while young reserve Jack Hargreaves started and ended with a win - the second of those coming in heat 14 when he battled all the way to keep an eager Matthew Wethers at bay.

In fact Edinburgh must have been glad Kevin Little and Chris Kerr left another good crowd believing there was more to come from them.

"We need to get that middle order right," admitted Havvy snr. "Kevin, I think, feels he needs a couple of meetings to get match fit after his shoulder injury, while Chris should be scoring eight or nine at home because he's not going to get it away. But on the whole I'm pleased because, overall, that was our best performance yet. The wow factor is there." Havelock also revealed that Giffard - who carded a paid win and a victory in his only rides - would be back in the saddle for next Thursday's clash with Glasgow. The stylish young gun, who commutes to meetings from his home in Sussex, was sick in the pits and diagnosed with heat exhaustion. "He was ill last week as well but rode through it," explained Havelock. "This time, as soon as the medics saw him, they told him he had to pull out - he was disappointed because he wanted to carry on riding. It takes him seven-and-a-half to eight hours to get here and that's no fun when the temperature is 25 degrees. He'll be back in the side next week, though. I've told him he can stay at my house on Wednesday night if he wants."

BEARS: Gary Havelock 14+1, Tomas Suchanek 11+1, Matt Tresarrieu 9+1, Jack Hargreaves 7, Chris Kerr 6+1, Dan Giffard 5+1, Kevin Little 4+1.

MONARCHS: Henrik Moller 12, Theo Pijper 8+1, Matthew Wethers 8, Rusty Harrison 5, Derek Neddon 2+2, Adam Roynon (No 8) 2, Sean Stoddart 1, William Lawson R/R.

CLEVELAND Bays recovered from a 5-0 defeat in the opening heat - when Ashley Johnson and Karl Langley both fell - to beat Scunthorpe Scorpions 15-14 in a second half junior development min-match.
 

SO SOLID CREW
~ By Martin Neal Evening Gazette Thursday 8th June 2006
Bears boss Brian Havelock has demanded another solid all-round performance when his Redcar side entertain Edinburgh Monarchs tonight (7.30pm start). The Scottish side were squeezed out by just a single point following a nail-biting last heat decider when they last visited South Tees Motorsports Park in the Premier Trophy seven weeks ago.

The Bears were eight points down at one stage too, so Havelock is eager to avoid any similar scares in tonight's Premier League clash. "Our young reserves, Dan Giffard and Jack Hargreaves, have been riding really well in recent matches but second strings Tomas Suchanek and Matthieu Tresarrieu have been running hot and cold," said Havelock. "With a team as strong as Edinburgh out for revenge, we have got to get that sorted."

Czech star Suchanek has certainly shown a lot of improvement since the early stages of the season as he has got to grips with British speedway and will be expected to contribute more than the three (paid five) he recorded last time out against Edinburgh. And Tresarrieu, who missed that match with a shoulder injury, is certainly capable of scoring more than the two (paid three) carded by Richard Juul who took his place in the team early on. He returns to the team after missing last week's 48-43 win over Stoke because he was on international duty.

So, with the team back up to full strength, the Bears will be aiming to avoid a repeat of last week's situation where they needed a last heat decider to make sure of victory after being 11 points up at one stage.

Meanwhile the Monarchs, too, will be hoping for an improvement on their performance here last time. Heat leader Rusty Harrison was taken ill during that narrow defeat in April and his single-point return was dramatically down on what he can be realistically expected to score tonight. However they will be without William Lawson who broke his elbow in two places in a crash at Glasgow last month. They will use rider replacement to cover for him.

TEAMS
BEARS: 1 Gary Havelock, 2. Matt Tresarireu, 3 Tomas Suchanek, 4 Kevin Little, 5 Chris Kerr, 6 Jack Hargreaves, 7. Dan Giffard.

MONARCHS: 1 Henrik Moller, 2 Theo Pijper, 3 Matthew Wethers, 4 William Lawson R/R, 5 Rusty Harrison, 6 Sean Stoddart, 7 Derek Sneddon.

TONIGHT'S main event will be followed by a second half mini-match between the Cleveland Bays and Scunthorpe Scorpions. There is plenty of local interest in the Scunthorpe team, with Coulby Newham-based South African Byron Bekker riding at No 1 and Kenny Smith from Yarm in the team manager's jacket.
 

BEARS FACE TOUGH ‘MONARCHS’ TEST
~ Tuesday 6th June 2006
Redcar Bears team manager Brian Havelock has stressed to his team that they must all be on top form when the Edinburgh Monarchs visit the South Tees Motorsport Park on Thursday evening at 7.30pm in Premier League action.

The Bears squeezed home by the narrowest of margins in April scoring a 45-44 victory in a Premier Trophy North encounter. However, their top man Rusty Harrison was taken ill during the speedway match and he failed to return anything like his usual double figure tally. Said Brian: 'The young reserves Daniel Giffard and Jack Hargreaves have been riding really well in recent matches but the second strings Tomas Suchanek and Matthieu Tresarrieu have been running hot and cold. We have got to get that sorted with such a strong team as Edinburgh out for revenge.'

Matthieu returns to the septet after bouyed by his qualification for the World Longtrack Championship series.

Edinburgh will operate rider replacement for the injured William Lawson but the debut performances of Henrik Moller and Derek Sneddon at the Redcar base will inspire them. Moller took the track record in his first ride whilst lively reserve Sneddon scored three heat wins.
 

FIGHTING BACK
~ By Martin Neal Evening Gazette Friday 2nd June 2006
Quite satisfied - that was team boss Brian Havelock's verdict after Redcar Bears survived a late fightback to beat Stoke Potters 48-43 at South Tees Motorsports Park last night. Having gone down by just six points at Loomer Road earlier in the season, hopes were high that the Bears would win their return clash by a big enough margin to clinch the Premier Trophy bonus point which is awarded for aggregate victory.

And with ten heats gone they were 11 points up on the night - but that's when the visitors clicked into gear. Former Middlesbrough star Mark Lemon came out as a tactical double in the next race and sparked a run of four successive Stoke heat advantages to blow it wide open again.

That left Gary Havelock and Chris Kerr needing a 5-1 from the final race to clinch the bonus point, while a maximum heat win the other way would have earned the Potters victory on the night. Gary Havelock, whose only defeat of the night came at the hands of Lemon, gained his revenge on the former Cleveland Park favourite.

But although Robbie Kessler retired just after the start, the gutsy Kerr couldn't find a way past Lemon no matter how hard he tried. You would have thought his life depended upon it as he sought to find a way past the experienced Aussie, but he admitted: "I didn't know we needed a 5-1 to get the bonus point until after the meeting! We can't qualify for the knockout stages anyway so the bonus point wouldn't have been any real benefit. But a win is a win and it's important to approach every race the same."

With Matt Tresarrieu away on World Championship duty, Redcar managed only three points from the rider replacement facility. That might have been more, however, had Kevin Little not been controversially excluded after Stoke's Trent Leverington crashed to the ground as the batting Scot dived inside him to take the lead. Little protested his innocence to referee Stuart Wilson and director of operations Gareth Rogers and was later fined £50 for his comments about the incident over the tannoy - but the decision stood.

Dan Giffard gave a sensational performance in the rerun to pass both visiting riders - the highlight of another impressive night by the former Weymouth star. "The reserves went well and Dan really impressed me," said team chief Havelock snr. "He's enjoying the benefit of Sean Wilson doing his bikes and he's showing a lot of confidence which is good because 85 per cent of this game is about confidence. I thought we were well away until the tactical double ride and Stoke got it together after that. But all in all I'm quite satisfied with that. It's coming together."

BEARS: Gary Havelock 14, Dan Giffard 8, Jack Hargreaves 7+1, Chris Kerr 7, Kevin Little 6+2, Tomas Suchanek 6, Matt Tresarrieu R/R, Ashley Johnson (No 8) DNR.

POTTERS: Mark Lemon 14, Robbie Kessler 9+1, Luke Priest 7, Barrie Evans 5+1, Alan Mogridge 4+1, Paul Clews 3, Trent Leverington 1+1.

THE Bears' postponed Premier Trophy group clash at Workington has been rearranged for Friday, June 23.
 

DAN'S THE MAN
~ By Evening Gazette Thursday 1st June 2006
The form of reserves Jack Hargreaves and Dan Giffard is the key to Redcar Bears having a successful season. That is the message from skipper Gary Havelock as his side prepare to take on Stoke Potters at South Tees Motorsports Park tonight (7.30pm start). Premier League rules were changed this year so each team must track a pair of young Conference League riders at their tail end. Hargreaves - who is on loan from tonight's opponents - and Giffard have looked a potent force in recent home meetings and amassed a combined total of paid 18 in last Thursday's win over the Isle of Wight.

Now Havvy believes it's vital they keep up their fine form. "The reserves are the key," said the 1992 world champion. "If the rest of the team are scoring pretty much according to their average, matches are won and lost on the form of the reserves. Our first season in the league was always going to be tough and, especially with my average being so high, it is important to have strength in depth. It's good to see our lads do well and now hopefully they will keep it up."

Tonight's match is the Bears' last at home in the Premier Trophy. They are unable to qualify for the knockout stages but, having lost by just six points at Loomer Road in the reverse fixture, will be fired up to win the bonus point for aggregate victory - especially as Stoke arrive on the back of heavy defeats at Glasgow and Workington.

French second string Matt Tresarrieu - who has now qualified for next year's World Long Track Championship grand prix series, will be missing tonight. He is on speedway World Championship duty in Italy, so the Bears will operate the rider replacement facility to cover for him. Rider replacement proved something of a disaster during Kevin Little's injury-enforced absence, but it could be a different matter this time. Tresarrieu's average is actually higher than the free-scoring Little's, so his place in each race can be taken by anyone except Havelock.

Along with German Robbie Kessler, the Stoke team are spearheaded by former Middlesbrough Bears riders Mark Lemon and Alan Mogridge. Lemon is one of the most consistent No 1s in the Premier League while 42-year-old Mogridge is in his 25th season as a rider and shows no sign of time catching up with him. Michael Coles has been dropped since the sides met in April and Australian Trent Leverington has taken his place.

TEAMS.
BEARS: 1 Gary Havelock, 2 Matt Tresarrieu R/R, 3 Tomas Suchanek, 4 Kevin Little, 5 Chris Kerr, 6 Jack Hargreaves, 7 Dan Giffard.

POTTERS: 1 Mark Lemon, 2 Trent Leverington, 3 Paul Clews, 4 Robbie Kessler, 5 Alan Mogridge, 6 Barrie Evans, 7 Luke Priest.