Redcar Bears v Poole Pirates

Report

POOLE moved clear at the top of the Cab Direct Championship with a spectacular finish to collect a 49-41 away win at Redcar.

The Pirates trailed by six points with four races remaining but remarkably they ended the meeting with three 5-1s and a 4-2 to collect maximum points on Teesside.

Captain Ben Cook piled up 15+2 from six rides for the Pirates, with Richard Lawson also dropping just one point to an opponent with 13+1.

The visitors lost reserve Vinnie Foord after two early crashes – one, most unusually, coming on the parade lap due to a stuck throttle.

Danny King top-scored for the Bears with nine, winning his first two outings, but the home defeat was a major blow to their play-off hopes.

Cook said: “It was a good night and obviously it didn’t start too well losing Vinnie, but we had to dig deep for sure and try and do it without him.

“We kind of struggled at the start but once we got dialled in it was really good and we showed what we can do and got the win, which is what we wanted.

“Me and Rich had a couple of good races tonight and that is what it is all about. You’ve got to be able to do some good team riding like that and that is what wins meetings, so it is all nice when it works out.”

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP
REDCAR 41: Danny King 9, Charles Wright 8, Jordan Jenkins 8, Dan Gilkes 6+1, Jason Edwards 5+1, Jake Mulford 3, Ben Trigger 2+1
POOLE 49: Ben Cook 15+2, Richard Lawson 13+1, Tom Brennan 9, Sam Hagon 5+2, Zach Cook 4+1, Tobias Thomsen 3, Vinnie Foord 0
Poole win aggregate point

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Photo credit: COLIN POOLE