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Redcar Bears v Edinburgh Monarchs
Premier League, 08 June 2006
South Tees Motorsports Park, Redcar

Redcar 56
1Gary Havelock332*33 ..141
2Mathieu Tresarrieu12*33. ..91
3Tomas Suchanek2*3231 ..111
4Kevin Little301*0. ..41
5Chris Kerr2*211. ..61
6Jack Hargreaves30103 ..70
7Daniel Giffard2*3... ..51
Edinburgh 38
1Henrik Moller24^2*22 ..121
2Theo Pijper0R1*4^3 0.81
3Matthew Wethers13022 ..80
5Rusty Harrison1130. ..50
6Sean Stoddart1001*. ..21
7Derek SneddonFxR01*. ..11
8(g)Adam Roynon11... ..20

* = BP. ^ = TR . ! = TS (15m Handicap). # = TR (Points Not Doubled). & = TS (Points Not Doubled, 15m Handicap).

Redcar were at full strength for this match but.. Edinburgh were missing William Lawson and used Rider Replacement at number 4. They nominated Adam Roynon as their number 8.

After scraping home by a single point in the Premier Trophy match against Edinburgh, Redcar must have expected a hard match but in truth this was every bit as comfortable for the Bears as the score suggest as Edinburgh were simply woeful producing only three race winners all match.

In the opening race Gary Havelock got the better of Henrik Moller on the first turn then down the back straight Mathieu Tresarrieu cruised past Theo Pijper into third place with the heat ending as a 4-2 for the home side. Edinburgh’s real problems started in heat 2 when Derek Sneddon fell heavily on the third bend landing on the leg he broke three years ago. There was some concern as he was removed from the track by ambulance but, fortunately, no serious damage was done and he was able to take his place in later races. In the rerun Jack Hargreaves and Daniel Giffard saw off the early challenge of Sean Stoddart for the first of four 5-1s the Bears registered in a five heat spell. Kevin Little and Tomas Suchanek gated well in heat 3 to head Matthew Wethers home with R/R Theo Pijper tailed off at the back for another 5-1. Then the impressive Daniel Giffard and Chris Kerr gated from Rusty Harrison for a third successive 5-1 which had the Bears 19-5 ahead after only four races. It was subsequently announced that Daniel Giffard had withdrawn from the meeting suffering from dizziness and nausea. This was a shock since he had looked in sensational form in both of his races.

Henrik Moller took a TR in heat 5 but it was a tall order for him to come from gate 4 to challenge the fast starting Tomas Suchanek so he finished second as Theo Pijper picked up a point by beating Kevin Little. This provided some relief for the beleaguered visitors as they scored a 3-5 to cut the gap to 12 points. It was increased to 16 though after heat 6 when Gary Havelock and Mathieu Tressarieu worked to the front ahead of Rusty Harrison for another 5-1. In heat 7 Matthew Wethers became Edinburgh’s first race winner when he made the start from Chris Kerr and held off the American’s challenge for all four laps. The Monarchs’ number eight Adam Roynon was given the R/R ride and almost joined Wethers up front but had to settle for an excellent third place ahead of Jack Hargreaves. This gave Edinburgh a 2-4 and, in an effort to claw more points back, they gave Theo Pijper a TR in heat 8. Mathieu Tressarieu was never challenged in winning the heat and Theo Pijper scored four points by beating Hargreaves and Sneddon for a 4-4 which took the score after eight races to 33-19.

Rusty Harrison produced an excellent ride in heat 9 to come round both Kevin Little and then Tomas Suchanek to win the race for a share of the points but Redcar scored another 5-1 in heat 10. Mathieu Tresarrieu produced another excellent ride to win the race as Gary Havelock slotted in behind him to head home Adam Roynon increasing the home side’s lead to 18 points. In heat 11 though Edinburgh retaliated with their own 5-1 in what was the race of the match. Theo Pijper made the gate with Henrik Moller behind him. Chris Kerr challenged Moller hard and each time dived under the young Dane on the first bend to move into second. Moller however kept his nerve and rode the wider dirt line to keep retaking the lead on the back straight through the narrowest of gaps. This continued until Moller finally pulled clear on the last lap to clinch the 1-5. In heat 12 there was a nasty accident on the first turn when Matthew Wethers was shunted into the fence as Sneddon and Suchanek fought it out for the lead. He twisted his knee which was trapped under the fence and it took some time to get him clear. After limping and hobbling into the ambulance for the lift back to the pits it was a surprise to see him take his place in the ‘all three back’ rerun. There had been only three starters in the race because of Daniel Giffard’s absence and the need to satisfy the minimum three-ride rule. Suchanek won the rerun for a shared heat and the score after twelve races was 45-31.

Gary Havelock made the gate in heat 13 to head home Henrik Moller and Chris Kerr for a 4-2 then heat 14 was shared. Jack Hargreaves made a blistering start and, try as he did, Matthew Wethers could not catch him. Behind Kevin Little was passed by Sean Stoddart for third place and a 3-3. In the last heat Henrik Moller made the start from Gary Havelock and led the former World Champion for a couple of laps before Havelock swooped round the outside to complete his paid maximum. Moller finished second ahead of Tomas Suchanek with Theo Pijper trailing home last. The 4-2 increased the Bears’ lead to 18 points and they will consider themselves well placed for the bonus point in the return match next month.

Match Report by Merlin