As Chris Kerr begins his recuperation after the successful operation on his leg, Redcar Bears promoter Glyn Taylor has moved quickly to bring in a temporary replacement.

Taking Chris’ place on Thursday at Sheffield will be ex-Sheffield rider James Birkinshaw, whilst on Friday at the South Tees Motorsports Park ex-Bear Tomas Suchanek will fill in.

Glyn has certainly wasted no time in bringing a replacement in, confirming he has approached three riders. It appears however, that Aussie Greg Bartlett is top of the list to replace Kerr for the next few months. The move for Bartlett is a bit of a surprise for a few reasons. He is now 39 years of age, and he has not ridden in British Speedway since 1996! In 96, he was riding for Sheffield and was very highly regarded indeed. He regularly beat some of the best riders in the world and great things were expected of him in the future. However, he did not return to ride in England after that season, and concentrated on motorsport back in his native Australia. If Bartlett is the man to come in, he will most likely come in a 5.00 average. It would certainly represent a gamble for the Bears, but Glyn Taylor has not let any of the Bears fans down yet thus far and if Glyn is confident he can do a job then he should do well.

The Bears were dealt a further blow for this weeks fixtures, with the news that James Grieves is still not yet fit enough to ride on Thursday or Friday. He does hope, however, to be fit for the Bears trip to Glasgow on Sunday. Rider replacement will be operated in James absence, with any of the Bears riders eligible to take his rides.