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Redcar Bears v Rye House Rockets
Premier League, 22 June 2006
South Tees Motorsports Park, Redcar

Redcar 47
1Gary Havelock32*333 ..141
2Mathieu Tresarrieu131*2*. ..72
3Tomas Suchanek2331*0 ..91
4Kevin Little1*2*R3. ..62
5Chris Kerr0Fx00. ..00
6Jack HargreavesFx2122* ..71
7Daniel Giffard112.. ..40
Rye House 43
1Edward Kennett20321* ..81
2(g)Ben Powell0100. ..10
4Tommy Allen011R. ..20
5Chris Neath33121* 2.121
6(g)Danny Betson301*0. ..41
7Steve Boxall2*2*332* 31163

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

Redcar were at full strength but Rye House juggled their resources once again to cope with their injury-stricken absentees. They moved Ben Powell to number 2, used R/R for Ross Brady at number 3 and had Danny Betson at number 6 in place of Luke Bowen.

After excellent back to back wins home wins against the two Scottish sides, Redcar might have been excused for thinking that a depleted Rye House side would have been easy pickings but they got a shock as they soon found themselves playing catch-up. The scores were tied until a heat 14 maximum gave the Bears a crucial four point lead going into the last heat.

The Bears opened with a 4-2 as Gary Havelock won from Edward Kennett but they lost a 1-5 in the reserves race when Danny Betson won the race from Steve Boxall with Daniel Giffard third after Jack Hargreaves had fallen. Chris Neath (R/R) won heat 3 for a 3-3 but the Bears lost another 1-5 in heat 4. Chris Neath made it two wins on the trot and Steve Boxall followed him home ahead of Daniel Giffard and Chris Kerr to put the Rockets six points up with the score at 9-15.

Redcar hit back quickly with consecutive 5-1s in heats 5 and 6. Ben Powell led from the gate in heat 5 but was passed by both Tomas Suchanek and Kevin Little then, in heat 6, Mathieu Tresarrieu and Gary Havelock, who passed Chris Neath on the second lap, added another maximum which put the Bears two points in front. Chris Kerr fell in heat 7 and was excluded from the rerun which was won by that man Boxall again. Hargreaves finished second ahead of Tommy Allen but the 2-4 meant that the scores were tied again after seven races. Steve Boxall, out for the fourth time, kept his unbeaten run going for a shared heat which meant that the score after eight races was 24-24.

Tomas Suchanek won heat 9 but Kevin Little didn’t make it to the first bend before his bike packed up so this race was shared too but in heat 10 Redcar took the lead again as the Rockets began to run out of options to cover adequately for their missing riders. Gary Havelock and Mathieu Tresarrieu scored a 5-1 ahead of Tommy Allen. Back came the Rockets again with Edward Kennett winning heat 11 with Steve Boxall second for a 1-5 which tied the scores again. They remained level when Steve Boxall, taking his sixth ride, remained unbeaten after a great early tussle with Tomas Suchanek by winning from Hargreaves and Suchanek to keep the scores level at 36-36 after twelve races.

It stayed level after heat 13 as Rye House kept the pressure on the home side. Gary Havelock won the race but Edward Kennett and Chris Neath followed him home for a shared race. Out came Steve Boxall again in heat 14 for his seventh ride partnered by Danny Betson who replaced Tommy Allen. This time there was no happy ending for Boxall. Kevin Little and Jack Hargreaves got out in front and team rode brilliantly to deny the Rye House man any passing line. This gave Redcar a 5-1 and some breathing space going into the last heat with a four point lead. Rye House needed a 1-5 to force a draw but Gary Havelock was fast away to win the race. Neath and Kennett followed him home to share the race and the Bears were relieved to take a four point win from the match. Rye House had the consolation of taking the bonus point though.

Match Report by Merlin