REDCAR look to compound Poole’s northern misery when the teams meet in front of the BSN cameras tonight.
Not much has gone wrong in the Pirates’ Cab Direct Championship defence and they currently hold an 11-point advantage over second placed Glasgow, partly due to a win at Ashfield in June.
But their only defeats have come at Berwick and Workington, a run that the Bears – unbeaten at the Ecco Arena this season – are keen to extend.
And Poole’s preparations have not been helped by the fact that in-form Anders Rowe has been called to Poland where his club Ostrow face Lodz in a rearranged fixture.
The Pirates will operate rider-replacement for Rowe – who dropped just one point guesting at Redcar in May – and Poole promoter Dan Ford is far from happy with the situation, although he attaches no blame to the rider.
"He finds himself between a rock and a hard place, I know he feels bad about having to miss the trip but I feel that we owe it to British fans for the authorities to stand face up to these unacceptable pressures applied by Polish clubs.
“We have been told we need to release him. This, in my view, contravenes the agreement our governing body has with the Polish Federation and it is extremely frustrating.
“This clash of dates should have fallen in our favour as he is a British rider and it is not his club's regular race night. I am so annoyed that we have not had the support from our association in this matter.”
Redcar are also missing Jake Mulford who is making his way to the European Under-24 team final in France and Erik Riss who has been forced to take a step back from racing following a recurrence of the illness which led him to miss a great deal of the 2023 campaign.
Workington duo Jacob Hook and Antti Vuolas guest for the Bears who will be tested to the full by former Bears Richard Lawson and Lewis Kerr.
Jason Edwards’ return from a shoulder was a welcome boost to the Bears, one welcomed by Danny King.
King said: “It’s good to see Jason back and it’s great to see him back in fine form. I think he’s performing better now than he was before his injury which is a huge bonus.
The meeting is part of BSN’s Total Season and Championship Season passes or can be purchased on a pay-for-view basis here.
Redcar: Charles Wright, Jacob Hook, Jason Edwards, Antti Vuolas, Danny King, Jody Scott, Ace Pijper.
Poole: Richard Lawson, Tobias Thomsen, Lewis Kerr, Zach Cook, Anders Rowe R/R, Paul Starke, Will Cairns.
Words by George Dodds.
Images by Taylor Lanning.