motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
team who compete in the
SGB Championship
The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). ...
(second tier of the British speedway leagues). The club was founded in 2006 and their major team honour to date is the
SGB Championship Knockout Cup
The SGB Championship Knockout Cup is a speedway second tier Knockout Cup competition in the United Kingdom. It was renamed in 2017 after previously being called the Premier League Knockout Cup.
Past winners
See also
Knockout Cup (speed ...
win in 2019. The team have also run a junior side called the Middlesbrough Tigers (which is not to be confused with the former
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
club).
History
Origins and 2000s
Speedway in Middlesbrough began at the
Cleveland Park Stadium
Cleveland Park Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. It was built in 1928 and demolished in 1996.
Origins
The idea of constructing a greyhound track in Middlesbrough came from Jack French who ...
and with a Middlesbrough team (later the Bears) that first competed in the
1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League
The 1929 English Dirt Track League was the inaugural season of speedway in the United Kingdom, featuring from Northern England. In the same year, the 1929 Speedway Southern League also commenced, catering to teams from Southern England The spor ...
. The racing took place from 1929 until 1996, when the Cleveland Park Stadium was demolished.
It was not until 2006 that speedway returned to Middlesbrough, with a new team name by the name of Redcar Bears, racing at the purpose built South Tees Motorsports Park (a former quad bike practice area). The team were promoted by Chris Van Straaten and Gareth Rogers, managed by Brian Havelock and captained by his son Gary Havelock (the 1992 world champion) and entered the
2006 Premier League speedway season
The 2006 Premier League speedway season was the second division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA).
Season summary
The ...
, the
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
was division 2 at the time. The Bears raced their first home fixture on 13 April 2006 against
Sheffield Tigers
The Sheffield Tigers (sponsored by Tru Plant) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. They were founded in 1929 an ...
and finished the season in a solid sixth place.
In 2007, the Bears won the Premier League consolation tournament known as the Young Shield, beating the
Birmingham Brummies
Birmingham Brummies are a British Motorcycle speedway, speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League (1929–31), Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of Britis ...
.
2010s
From 2010 to 2016, the team continued to compete in the Premier League but experienced season of mediocrity. In 2017, the team joined the
SGB Championship
The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). ...
(the new name for division 2) and finished in 5th place. The Bears were awarded the 2017 Championship Track of the Year by the Speedway Control Board, an award voted for throughout the season based on referee's match reports.
In 2019, Jitendra Duffill became co-promoter replacing Kevin Keay, with Jade Mudgway continuing as the team manager and co-promoter. Gary Havelock also re-joined the club as the rider's coach.http://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/966103820?-17473:2778:most_read_top#out Race nights switched to Friday from Thursday and the club were branded as the Redcar Agilia Bears after London based company Agilia Infrastructure Partners Limited became the club's main sponsor. During the 2019 season, the Bears long-awaited search for major silverware ended when they beat
Newcastle Diamonds
Newcastle Diamonds were a motorcycle speedway team that raced in the British speedway leagues from 1929 to 2022. They were based at Newcastle Stadium on the Fossway, Byker. The Stadium was previously known as Brough Park.
History Origins and ...
National Speedway Stadium
The National Speedway Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on Kirkmanshulme Lane, in Gorton, Manchester, England, and is the home of the Belle Vue Aces and Belle Vue Colts Motorcycle speedway, speedway teams and the Manchester Titans American fo ...
in Manchester and
Erik Riss
Erik Riss (born 13 September 1995) is a German speedway, longtrack and grasstrack rider, who won the World Longtrack Championship in 2014 and 2016, and was German speedway champion in 2016.COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
.
The
2021 season
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
saw the Bears lose their reign as Knockout Cup holders in preliminary round defeat to the Birmingham Brummies and despite qualifying for the end of season play-offs, were beaten in the quarter-finals by the
Edinburgh Monarchs
The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish speedway team based in Armadale. They compete in the SGB Championship, racing on Friday nights during the speedway season. The club is run by a board of directors, chaired by Alex Harkess and also runs a ...
. In 2022, the South Tees Motorsports Park became the ECCO Arena, after long-time sponsor ECCO Finishing Supplies took up the opportunity to take over the stadium naming rights.
The first silverware of the
SGB Championship 2022
The 2022 SGB Championship season is the 75th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Championship.
Summary
Eleven clubs competed in the Championship in 2022, with Oxford returning to the sport after a 15-yea ...
went to the Redcar pairing of Charles Wright and
Lewis Kerr
Lewis James Kerr (born 25 March 1990) is a British speedway rider from Snettisham in England.
Speedway career
Kerr took up speedway in late 2009, and made his competitive debut in June the following year for King's Lynn Young Stars' in the Nat ...
, who lifted the
SGB Championship 2022
The 2022 SGB Championship season is the 75th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Championship.
Summary
Eleven clubs competed in the Championship in 2022, with Oxford returning to the sport after a 15-yea ...
Pairs Championship held at Oxford on 12 August. Also in August, Katie Gordon who rode for the Redcar Cubs, won the inaugural NORA Women's British Championship. The following year in 2023, Charles Wright won the Riders' Championship at the Ecco Arena.
In 2024, the Bears won the Pairs Championship with Charles Wright and Danny King and the following season repeated the success, with Wright and Erik Riss.
Season summary
Season summary (junior team)
Notable riders
Previous seasons
2006 Team
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*2007 Team
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Also Rode:
*
*
2008 Team
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Also Rode:
*
2009 Team
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
2010 Team=
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
2011 Team
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
2012 Team
*
*
** - No.3 was previously Gary Havelock but Wilkinson signed due to Havelock's injury.
*
*
*
* - Replaced Robert Branford
2013 Team
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
2014 Team
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Also Rode:
*
*
2015 Team
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Also Rode:
*
*
*
2016 Team
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Also Rode:
*
*
2017 Team
*
Jason Garrity
Jason David Garrity (born 9 November 1993) was an English motorcycle speedway rider who won the British Under-19 Championship and the National League Riders Championship in 2011.
Biography
Born in Longsight but now living in Droylsden, Great ...
Danny Ayres
Daniel Stuart Ayres (16 August 1986 – 1 February 2020) was a speedway rider who rode in Great Britain.
Career
Ayres began his career in motocross and converted to speedway relatively late, in 2014. He rode for various teams, including Kent K ...
*
Ellis Perks
Ellis George Perks (born 18 March 1997) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. In 2019, he became the first ever rider to win all three tiers of the British Speedway leagues in the same season; the Premiership, Championship and Nati ...
Thomas Jørgensen Thomas Jørgensen may refer to:
* Thomas Jørgensen (speedway rider)
* Thomas Jørgensen (footballer)
{{hndis, Jørgensen, Thomas ...
*
Dimitri Bergé
Dimitri Bergé (born 5 February 1996) is a motorcycle speedway rider from France.
Career
Bergés' major honours include the 2009 125cc Grasstrack and the World 250cc Longtrack Champion 2012. He was a World Under-21 finalist in 2016 and 20 ...
* Jonas B Andersen
* Mikkel B Andersen
* Jordan Stewart
* Nike Lunna
Also rode:
* - Replaced 31 May 2018 by Thomas Jørgensen
* - Replaced 3 June 2018 by Dimitri Bergé
* - On a 28-day contract replacing Tobias Busch 3 June 2018 – 5 July 2018
* - Replaced 9 August 2018 by Nike Lunna
Jade Mudgway deputised for Team Manager Jitendra Duffill.
2018 Competitions & Results
2019 Team
*
Nathan Greaves
Nathan Robert Greaves (born 24 February 1998, Sheffield) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.
Career
Greaves started his British speedway career for the Cradley Heathens in 2013. He raced with Swindon Robins as a fast track rese ...
Erik Riss
Erik Riss (born 13 September 1995) is a German speedway, longtrack and grasstrack rider, who won the World Longtrack Championship in 2014 and 2016, and was German speedway champion in 2016.Michael Palm Toft
* Jordan Stewart
* Kasper Andersen
* Joe Lawlor
*
Jordan Jenkins
Jordan Montae Jenkins (born July 1, 1994) is an American former professional football defensive end. He played college football at Georgia, and was selected by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Early life
Jenkins att ...
Jordan Jenkins
Jordan Montae Jenkins (born July 1, 1994) is an American former professional football defensive end. He played college football at Georgia, and was selected by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Early life
Jenkins att ...
Erik Riss
Erik Riss (born 13 September 1995) is a German speedway, longtrack and grasstrack rider, who won the World Longtrack Championship in 2014 and 2016, and was German speedway champion in 2016.Lewis Kerr
Lewis James Kerr (born 25 March 1990) is a British speedway rider from Snettisham in England.
Speedway career
Kerr took up speedway in late 2009, and made his competitive debut in June the following year for King's Lynn Young Stars' in the Nat ...
Jordan Jenkins
Jordan Montae Jenkins (born July 1, 1994) is an American former professional football defensive end. He played college football at Georgia, and was selected by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Early life
Jenkins att ...
Kyle Newman
Kyle Newman (born March 16, 1976) is an American filmmaker, actor and author. He is best known for directing '' Fanboys'' (2009), and has since directed '' Barely Lethal'' (2015), and '' 1Up'' (2022).
Early life and education
Newman was born i ...
Also Rode:
* Adam Roynon
Replaced by Kyle Bickley 4/7/22.
* Kyle Bickley
Replaced by Kyle Newman 11/8/22.