Redcar TLS are still searching for their first win of the season, after drawing 45 all at home with Newcastle on Thursday and following that up with a 45 all draw against the odds at Scunthorpe on Sunday. Their injury jinx has struck again though, losing James Grieves to a chest infection during the Newcastle meeting and then losing Chris Kerr to a broken leg at Scunthorpe.

The meeting against Newcastle at South Tees Motorsports Park had absolutely everything. A large crowd, some great racing and a very exciting debut from young Aussie Ty Proctor. The Bears started off well, with Havelock and Proctor racing to a 5-1 in the opening heat and Arlo Bugeja then recording his first heat win in British Speedway in heat 2. The Bears at one stage led by 8 points, but the withdrawal of James Grieves half way through the meeting was the turning point. Grieves had scored 7+1 from his three races, including two heat wins but was suffering from a chest infection and could not continue. This meant that his last ride had to be taken by Arlo Bugeja, and although he had a very decent night indeed he was no match for the Diamonds pair. The Diamonds got stronger as the night wore on, with impressive performances from Franc and Stancl in particular scoring 13 and 10+1 respectively.
The meeting went to a last heat decider, with the Bears pair of Havelock and Kerr leading this from Stancl and Franc. Disaster struck though as Havelocks chain snapped causing him to fall and be excluded from the race. This left Kerr on his own against the Diamonds pair, but a rocket propelled start gave him the lead and he never looked like surrendering it to cap a fine night from him with 10 points.
Arguably the star of the show though was Ty Proctor. He notched 8+1 on his first meeting at his new home, and it could have been more after a fantastic race with George Stancl in which Stancl pipped him to the line.

The Bears then visited newly promoted Scunthorpe on Sunday afternoon. Scunthorpe were highly fancied at the start of the season, but have so far struggled to click into gear yet and suffered a home defeat by Sheffield in their first meeting at home. The Bears were rocked pre-meeting with the news that James Grieves was unable to ride, which meant his rides would be spread amongst the rest of the side. Again the Bears started this meeting well, with both Havelock and the impressive Kerr winning both of their opening rides. Proctor and Auty (at his old club) were also among the points and the Bears had a slender lead going into heat 9. Then the Bears injury jinx struck again! Chris Kerr and Scunthorpe rider Viktor Bergstrom both reached bend one at the same time and touched, causing Chris and Viktor to fall awkwardly. Chris was swiftly taken to hospital with what turned out to be a fracture of the tibula and fibula on his right leg. This will be a huge blow for the Bears, as Chris had been on fantastic form at the start of the season and will be almost impossible to replace. He is likely to be out for around 6-8 weeks, although he is reported to be in good spirits. Bergstrom was also injured and had to be withdrawn from the meeting with ligament damage.

The Bears were now up against it, with only 5 riders and Arlo Bugeja finding the going tough. However the remaining riders battled very hard, with Auty, Proctor and Giffard all scoring important points which again forced the meeting into a last heat decider. Proctor and Havelock lined up for the Bears against two riders who spent last season in the Elite League, Richard Hall and Magnus Karlsson. Hall and Karlsson got away from the tapes in a 5-1 and it looked like defeat for the Bears. However, by the end of lap 1 Proctor had flew past Hall and set about catching Karlsson. He stalked him for two laps before getting past on the third lap to send the Bears fans and riders crazy! He duly held on to take the win which gave the Bears an unlikely draw in the circumstances, and was mobbed by his teammates on the track. A star is born!

Redcar : Havelock 9+2, Proctor 8+1, Grieves 7+1, Auty 3, Kerr 10, Bugeja 5, Giffard 3+1
Newcastle : Henry 6, Powell 3+1, Franc 13, King 4, Stancl 10+1, Robertson 4+3, Stoddart 5+1

Scunthope : Moore 7+1, Wilkinson 6+1, Karlsson 13, Bergstrom 0, Hall 10+1, Bekker 5+2, Compton 4+1
Redcar: Havelock 11+1, Proctor 10+4, Auty 11, Kerr 6, Bugeja 0, Giffard 7+2

The Bears are next in action away at Sheffield on Thursday April 3rd, with the return held at the South Tees Motorsports Park on Friday April 4th.