PIRATES IN SEARCH OF FOURTEENTH FINAL QUALIFICATION

Redcar stand obstructively in the way of Poole Speedway qualifying for a staggering 14th final since a return to Championship racing commenced at the start of the 2021 season, including the non-staging of the 2022 Jubilee Final in which they had been due to race Leicester and Glasgow, prior to Glasgow's withdrawal.

The Bears trail the Pirates by six points with the two sides battling for a potential treble this term. The Pirates are already in to the BSN Series Final where they await the winners of Redcar v Glasgow (due to be staged on Sunday 12th October) as well as the MaxiCab Knockout Cup final against the Bears (which will be contested on the dates of Wednesday 8th and Friday 10th October at Wimborne Road and the Ecco Arena respectively).

Poole travel to Teesside on Sunday (October 5th) looking to keep that impressive record going and Poole promoter Dan Ford is urging his side to see the difficult job through. "Without a doubt Redcar are a formidable team this season and ideally I would have preferred to have been going there with a few more race points in hand, but they did a good holding job on us at Wimborne Road and it is now down to us to ride to our potential and make sure it is us who will be meeting Glasgow in the SGB Cab Direct Championship Grand Final."

Poole have been forced into a change for the trip with Adam Ellis coming in for Richard Lawson who misses the trip on compassionate grounds, but Lewis Kerr who was forced to withdraw from the recent Knockout Cup semi final at Glasgow after a first ride hip injury, is declared fit.  Redcar continue to be without long-term absentee Erik Riss, for whom Jake Allen - no slouch around the Ecco Arena - will guest, whilst reserve Jody Scott is ruled out through a concussion stand down period and Jack Smith steps in to fill the void.

Ford also admitted the absence of Richard Lawson, who misses the meeting on compassionate grounds, is a significant blow:
“Richard is our talisman, one of, if not the best riders in the league and of course he’s a huge miss, especially on a night like this. But Adam understands the importance of the occasion and he is absolutely up for the task.”

Teams
Redcar (TM Gavin Parr) 1 Charles Wright 2 Jake Mulford 3 Jason Edwards 4 Jake Allen (Guest) 5 Danny King 6 Jack Smith (Guest) 7 Ace Pijper
Poole (TM Gary Havelock) 1 Adam Ellis (Guest) 2 Tobias Thomsen 3 Lewis Kerr  4 Zach Cook 5 Anders Rowe 6 Paul Starke 7 William Cairns

Photo credit: Tony Hartmann