Scunthorpe Scorpions vs Redcar Bears preview

RETURN OF TOMMY THE GUN ADDS EXTRA SPICE

THE RETURN of former Scorpion Thomas Jorgensen will add extra spice to this Friday’s clash at the Eddie Wright Raceway (7.30pm), as the FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance, take on the Redcar Bears in League Cup action.

The Dane, who rode for the Scorpions for four seasons between 2011 and 2014, will guest for the Bears in place of the unavailable Stuart Robson.

The Scorpions lost 40-53 at Redcar last Thursday, at the beginning of a sequence of four meetings in four days. But following a convincing 53-37 against Newcastle last Friday, the Scorpions are looking to start making their own Eddie Wright Raceway something of a fortress.

“The return of Thomas Jorgensen certainly adds another dimension to Friday’s meeting”, says promoter Rob Godfrey.

“He is a great guy, and was a popular Scunthorpe Scorpion. But speedway riders are competitive creatures, and once that helmet is on, Thomas will be looking to get one over his old team on Friday, just as our riders will be out to beat him. It’s all part of the make-up of being a professional sportsman.

“He did have a good meeting against us on Saturday, when we put in a highly competitive performance at Berwick, and only went down by two points, with Thomas gaining a vital third place for the Bandits in Heat 15. The clashes between Tommy The Gun and our top five on Friday are bound to be mouth-watering.”

Godfrey is looking for the Scorpions to maintain the momentum of their home form on Friday.

He reflects: “It was an extremely good team performance against Newcastle last Friday. Our top five were rock solid, with every single one of them scoring well. And our two young reserves, Nike (Lunna) and Ellis (Perks), also did their job, taking points off the opposition.

“Nike is already a real fans’ favourite at the Eddie Wright Raceway. He really doesn’t know when he’s beaten, and his last bend swoop in Heat 2 last week had the whole crowd on their feet.

“One reason I think we’re set for a good year, is that we’re only going to get better and better. Not only the two reserves, but the likes of Alex Davies as well. After his visa problems last season, Alex more-or-less took a whole year out of the sport.

“That rustiness showed itself in our first home meeting, but Alex worked hard on it, and last week he was a different rider. He’s been gradually looking more-and-more the part in our away meetings as well. I see him in the mould of another Sam Masters, or closer to home, Ryan Douglas. He’s got that cool Aussie determination.

“I don’t think Redcar will make it easy for us on Friday. Lasse Bjerre has got his season off to an absolute flyer; he scored 17 points against us last week at Redcar, and only Theo Pijper was able to stop him recording a full house. We saw Lasse score good points for Peterborough around the Eddie Wright Raceway last season. Matej Kus has also been a tall scorer around here in the past, while we’ve often used Hugh Skidmore as a guest at the EWR, and Jan Graversen is a former Scorpion.

“I think we’re in for another cracker of a meeting. But if we ride like we did against Newcastle, I see no reason why we shouldn’t come out of the meeting with another victory”, Godfrey concludes.

Admission prices for Friday:

Adult: £15.00
Student/OAP: £13.00
Child (10 – 17): £5.00
Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult)
Family Ticket £35 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-17)
Match Programme: £1.00

Expected teams for Friday:

FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions, supported by Henderson Insurance: 1. David Howe, 2. Theo Pijper, 3. Alex Davies, 4. Carl Wilkinson, 5. Josh Auty, 6. Ellis Perks, 7. Nike Lunna.

Redcar Bears: 1. Lasse Bjerre, 2. Jan Graversen, 3. Thomas Jorgensen (guest), 4. Hugh Skidmore, 5. Matej Kus, 6. Rafal Konopka, 7. Ben Morley.

Redcar Bears at EWR

Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Performance
Lasse Bjerre PL 7 35 57 2 6.51 6.74 13 from 6 rides (2014)
Jan Graversen PL 23 104 117 29 4.50 5.62 9 + 4 from 7 rides (2012)
Rafal Konopka PL 2 6 3 1 2.00 2.67 2 from 3 rides (2014)
Matej Kus PL 4 19 33 0 6.95 6.95 17 from 5 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (2012))
Ben Morley PL 2 8 3 2 1.50 2.50 2 + 1 from 4 rides (2011)
Hugh Skidmore PL 20 93 149 11 6.41 6.88 11 + 1 from 5 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (2012))

Other Notes

Lasse Bjerre
2011 Danish Under-21 Champion.
Member of Denmark’s World Under-21 Team Cup Championship Winning Team in 2010.
Member of Ipswich’s Premier League Fours Championship Winning Team in 2011.

Jan Graversen
Former Scunthorpe Scorpion.
Member of King’s Lynn’s Premier League Championship, Premier Trophy and KO Cup Winning Teams in 2009.

Rafal Konopka
Made his Premier League debut for Redcar in April 2014.

Matej Kus
Has ridden in 4 Speedway Grand Prix and 6 World Cup Events.
2010 Czech Republic Champion.
Twice Czech Republic Under-21 Champion (2008 and 2009).
2008 Czech Republic Under-19 Champion.

Ben Morley
Rides for Kent in the 2015 National League.
Made his British League debut for Rye House in the National League in 2009.

Hugh Skidmore
2009 New South Wales Under-21 Champion.

Redcar Bears’ Results at EWR

30 March 2008 PT D Scunthorpe 45 Redcar 45
06 June 2008 PL L Scunthorpe 52 Redcar 41
19 June 2009 PL L Scunthorpe 49 Redcar 44
31 July 2009 KOC L Scunthorpe 50 Redcar 39
02 October 2009 YS L Scunthorpe 56 Redcar 34
05 April 2010 PT L Scunthorpe 50 Redcar 42
02 May 2010 PL L Scunthorpe 57 Redcar 34
09 September 2011 PL L Scunthorpe 52 Redcar 41
07 October 2011 PL Ph 2 L Scunthorpe 65 Redcar 25
27 April 2012 LC L Scunthorpe 54 Redcar 36
14 September 2012 PL L Scunthorpe 55 Redcar 38
14 June 2013 KOC W Scunthorpe 41 Redcar 49
12 July 2013 PL L Scunthorpe 45 Redcar 44
06 April 2014 LC W Scunthorpe 37 Redcar 50
25 July 2014 PL L Scunthorpe 54 Redcar 39
27 August 2014 PL L Scunthorpe 46 Redcar 43