Scorpions take big stride towards cup final

SCORPIONS TAKE BIG STRIDE TOWARDS CUP FINAL
SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 54 REDCAR BEARS 36 (Knockout Cup, semi-final, first leg)

ATTIS INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions are on the verge of reaching the final of the Knockout Cup for the first time since 2018, after a hard-fought 54-36 victory over Redcar Bears in the first leg of the semi-final at the Eddie Wright Raceway last night (Friday).

Scorpions have never won the competition at second-tier level, with their best result as beaten finalists in 2018, when it was Workington Comets who triumphed by 98-82 on aggregate.

But after last night’s result, Scunthorpe require 37 points from the second leg at Redcar next Friday (October 6) to reach the 2023 final, where they would face the Poole Pirates, the team who defeated Scorpions in the Cab Direct Championship play-offs. Scorpions have scored 41 and 42 from two previous visits to Redcar in 2023.

Scorpions were made to work hard last night. After eight races, the margin stood at a slender two points at 25-23 to Scorpions. But the home side upped their game in the remaining seven races and ended with a decent margin to take to the second leg.

In particular, there was a grandstand finish from Scorpions, with two 5-1 from Ryan Douglas and Michael Palm Toft in Heats 13 and 15 – the latter after Danish pocket rocket Palm Toft flew straight through the middle of Danny King and Leon Flint on the back straight – either side of a 4-2 from Jake Allen and the ever-battling Nathan Ablitt in Heat 14.

Australian Douglas finished the night on 14 points, dropping his only point to King in Heat 1, while Palm Toft was unbeaten following an exclusion for two minutes in Heat 7 – after mechanical problems – and scored 9+2.

Allen (9+1) and skipper Simon Lambert (8+2) were a very solid middle pairing for Scorpions. Lambert was involved in some fine action in his closing two rides, racing from last to first around the outside in Heat 9, before a ding-dong battle with Connor Bailey in Heat 12, after Drew Kemp was excluded for a fall in the first staging of the race.

Lambert thrust under Bailey on the third bend of the final lap, his momentum took him wide, but Lambert took the photo finish on the line. What happened next was slightly bizarre as the two continued racing. While there have been five lap races in the past, this one actually continued until the back straight of the sixth lap when Bailey fell. It was unusual in that the referee did not put on the red stop lights to stop them before that. It mattered not, since the race was declared after the end of the official four laps.

Connor Mountain (7+2) made the inside line work well. He passed both Jason Edwards and Erik Riss to join Douglas for a 5-1 in Heat 6 and then overtook Edwards to win Heat 8.

Scunthorpe reserves Kemp (4+1) and Ablitt (3) took a 4-2 from Heat 2 and found themselves again out together in a blockbuster Heat 7, after the exclusion of Palm Toft. They held a 5-1 in the early stages, but both Flint and Bailey battled through in a race with passing and re-passing. Eventually Bailey rounded Ablitt on the final bend to join Bailey for a 5-1 that cut the deficit to two points at that stage.

Ablitt deserved more than his three-point tally. He pushed Redcar No 1 King all the way in Heat 11 and twice had the audacity to poke his bike ahead of the former British Champion, before King just held onto third place on the line.

Scunthorpe skipper Simon Lambert, who scored 8+2 and won his concluding two races, said: “It was nip and tuck in the first half of the meeting, but we ran away with it in the second half.

“The track was good, the racing was good, it was good night for us and we’ve got a decent lead to take to Redcar. But it means nothing if we don’t finish the job at Redcar next Friday. It’s only half time – we know they’re going to want to come back at us and push us all the way.

“But we won’t go there next Friday trying to defend a lead. We’re go there to try to win the meeting, because that’s the way you always have to approach it. Also it would put out a statement to Poole – we owe them one, for sure.

“I started my night okay – there’s no disgrace in getting beat by the likes of Danny King. I won my third race off gate 4 after getting the run around the outside.

“For my final race [in Heat 12], I was off gate 1, but confident I could pass him [Connor Bailey]. I threw him a bit of a dummy and when he looked over his right shoulder, I moved straight up the inside on the third bend. I guess it was a bit of a Bartosz [Zmarzlik] move, but it hard but fair, I don’t seek to knock riders off, I’m a racer. I ran a bit wide after that but got the drive off the final corner and pipped to the line.

“After that I did my usual post-race celebration on the first bend and he also kept on going, and I thought ‘okay, we’re still racing’ and kept going. We were still passing and re-passing and the crowd got a couple of extra laps for their entertainment!”

SCUNTHORPE 54: Ryan Douglas 14, Michael Palm Toft 9+2, Jake Allen 9+1, Simon Lambert 8+2, Connor Mountain 7+2, Drew Kemp 4+1, Nathan Ablitt 3.
REDCAR 36: Danny King 9+1, Jason Edwards 8+1, Leon Flint 8, Connor Bailey 4+1, Erik Riss 4, Danyon Hume 3+1, Luke Harrison 0.

* ATTIS INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions head to Redcar next Friday (October 6) for the second leg, needing 37 points or more to progress to the cup final.

* More reaction to follow from skipper Simon Lambert – on the season so far and his hopes for the future.