Redcar Bears

The Redcar Bears are a British motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Championship (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 win in 2019. The team have also run a junior side called the Middlesbrough Tigers.

Origins and 2000s
Speedway in Middlesbrough began at the Cleveland Park Stadium and with a Middlesbrough team (later the Bears) that first competed in the 1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League. 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 Premier League was division 2 at the time. The Bears raced their first home fixture on 13 april 2006 against Sheffield Tigers 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.

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 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. 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 in the Championship Knockout Cup final. Additionally Bears' rider Charles Wright became the 2019 British Speedway Champion after winning the final at the National Speedway Stadium in Manchester and Erik Riss won his first Championship Riders title at Sheffield.

2020s
For the 2020 season the Bears retained five of the previous years team but the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19.

The 2021 season 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. 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 went to the Redcar pairing of Charles Wright and Lewis Kerr, who lifted the SGB Championship 2022 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.

Notable riders
• 🇫🇷 Dimitri Bergé

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gary Havelock

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Lewis Kerr

• 🇩🇪 Erik Riss

• 🇫🇷 Mathieu Trésarrieu

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Charles Wright

Previous seasons
2006 Team
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gary Havelock
 * Kevin Little
 * 🇫🇷 Mathieu Trésarrieu
 * 🇺🇸 Chris Kerr
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Daniel Giffard
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jack Hargreaves
 * Richard Juul
 * 🇨🇿 Tomáš Suchánek2007 Team


 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gary Havelock
 * James Grieves
 * 🇫🇷 Mathieu Trésarrieu
 * 🇺🇸 Chris Kerr
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Daniel Giffard
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jamie Courtney
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Rusty Hodgson
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Josh Auty

Also Rode:
 * 🇩🇪 Robbie Kessler
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jack Hargreaves

2008 Team


 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gary Havelock
 * James Grieves
 * 🇦🇺 Ty Proctor
 * 🇺🇸 Chris Kerr
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Daniel Giffard
 * 🇦🇺 Arlo Bugeja
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Josh Auty

Also Rode:
 * 🇫🇮 Joni Keskinen

2009 Team


 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gary Havelock
 * 🇦🇺 Ty Proctor
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Carl Stonehewer
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ben Wilson
 * 🇩🇪 Robbie Kessler
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Benji Compton
 * 🇦🇺 Arlo Bugeja

2010 Team=


 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gary Havelock
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Joe Haines
 * James Grieves
 * 🇦🇷 Emiliano Sanchez
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Charles Wright
 * Peter Juul Larsen
 * 🇨🇿 Tomas Suchanek

2011 Team


 * 🇦🇺 Jason Lyons
 * Peter Juul
 * 🇨🇿 Matěj Kůs
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gary Havelock
 * 🇦🇺 Aaron Summers
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Adam Roynon
 * 🇦🇺 Robert Branford

2012 Team


 * Ulrich Ostergaard
 * 🇨🇿 Matěj Kůs
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Carl Wilkinson - No.3 was previously Gary Havelock but Wilkinson signed due to Havelock's injury.
 * 🇦🇺 Justin Sedgmen
 * 🇦🇺 Aaron Summers
 * 🇩🇪 Max Dilger
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Mark Jones - Replaced Robert Branford

2013 Team


 * Ulrich Ostergaard
 * 🇨🇿 Matěj Kůs
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Carl Wilkinson
 * 🇦🇺 Hugh Skidmore
 * 🇦🇺 Aaron Summers
 * 🇩🇪 Max Dilger
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Mickey Dyer

2014 Team


 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Richard Lawson
 * 🇦🇺 Mark Lemon
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Carl Wilkinson
 * 🇦🇺 Hugh Skidmore
 * 🇦🇺 Aaron Summers
 * Jan Graversen
 * 🇵🇱 Rafal Konopka

Also Rode:
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luke Crang
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Richard Hall

2015 Team


 * Lasse Bjerre
 * 🇨🇿 Matěj Kůs
 * 🇦🇺 Hugh Skidmore
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Stuart Robson
 * Jonas B Andersen
 * 🇫🇷 Dimitri Bergé
 * Jan Graversen

Also Rode:
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Adam Roynon
 * 🇵🇱 Rafal Konopka
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ben Morley

2016 Team


 * Lasse Bjerre
 * 🇩🇪 Tobias Busch
 * 🇦🇺 Hugh Skidmore
 * 🇫🇷 David Bellego
 * Jonas B Andersen
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Lee Payne
 * 🇦🇺 Jye Etheridge

Also Rode:
 * Jacob Bukhave
 * Simon Nielsen

2017 Team


 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Jason Garrity
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Ben Barker
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Charles Wright
 * undefined Jonas B Andersen
 * 🇩🇪 undefined Tobias Busch
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Danny Ayres
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Ellis Perks

Also Rode: Replaced Tobias Busch on a 28-day loan period. Replaced by Danny Ayres 17 May 2017.
 * 🇦🇷 undefinedCoty Garcia
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Richard Hall

2017 Competitions & Results

2018 Team


 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Ben Barker
 * undefined Thomas Jørgensen
 * 🇫🇷 undefined Dimitri Bergé
 * undefined Jonas B Andersen
 * undefined Mikkel B Andersen
 * 🇦🇺 undefined Jordan Stewart
 * 🇫🇮 undefined Nike Lunna

Also rode:
 * Theo Pijper - Replaced 31 May 2018 by Thomas Jørgensen
 * 🇨🇿 Matěj Kůs - Replaced 3 June 2018 by Dimitri Bergé
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Nathan Greaves  - On a 28-day contract replacing Tobias Busch 3 June 2018 – 5 July 2018
 * 🇩🇪 Tobias Busch  - Replaced 9 August 2018 by Nike Lunna

Jade Mudgway deputised for Team Manager Jitendra Duffill.

2018 Competitions & Results

2019 Team


 * 🇩🇪 undefined Erik Riss (2019 Championship Riders Champion)
 * undefined Kasper Andersen
 * 🇦🇺 undefined Jordan Stewart
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Charles Wright (2019 British Speedway Champion)
 * undefined Michael Palm Toft
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Nathan Greaves
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Tom Woolley

Also Rode:
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Ben Barker replaced 4/6/19 by Ulrich Ostergaard
 * undefined Ulrich Ostergaard replaced by Erik Riss 3/7/19
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Tom Bacon replaced by Kasper Andersen 3/7/19
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Jack Smith replaced by Tom Woolley 3/7/19

3 July 2019 changes

2019 Competitions & Results

2020 Team


 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Charles Wright
 * 🇩🇪 undefined Erik Riss
 * undefined Michael Palm Toft
 * 🇦🇺 undefined Jordan Stewart
 * undefined Kasper Andersen
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Joe Lawlor
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Jordan Jenkins

2021 Team


 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Charles Wright
 * undefined Michael Palm Toft
 * 🇦🇺 undefined Jake Allen
 * 🇦🇺 undefined Jordan Stewart
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Anders Rowe
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined James Sarjeant
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Jordan Jenkins

2022 Team
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Charles Wright
 * 🇩🇪 undefined Erik Riss
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Lewis Kerr
 * undefined Kasper Andersen
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Jordan Jenkins
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Jason Edwards
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefined Kyle Newman

Also Rode: Replaced by Kyle Bickley 4/7/22. Replaced by Kyle Newman 11/8/22.
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefinedAdam Roynon
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 undefinedKyle Bickley