Can we please race against you every week?

Panthers probably wish they could race against Redcar in every meeting.

Home or away, SGB Championship or KO Cup, it seems the city men have the edge of their North-East rivals.

A fourth successive victory of 2017 against the Bears was gained at the East of England Arena last Sunday.

It was probably a bit more comfortable than the final scoreline suggested as well.

The first five races ended in deadlock – a run which involved an unfortunate Bradley Wilson-Dean spill out of a 5-1 situation in the opener and a smart ride from Simon Lambert in heat two as he made a triumphant return from wrist surgery – before Panthers eased ahead.

There was no mistake from Wilson-Dean as he led in number one Jack Holder for a 5-1 in heat six and topscorer Chris Harris then inspired a 4-2 in the next race when Lambert held third.

Further 4-2s followed in heats nine (when Paul Starke excelled to take victory) and heat 11 (when Redcar man Jonas B. Andersen slowed suspiciously to surrender third place to Lambert) to open up a 10-point cushion.

Redcar halved that deficit when Ben Barker cashed in a tactical ride to great effect to earn a 7-2 in heat 12, but any thoughts of a fightback were soon quashed.

Holder and Harris roared to a 5-1 in the next race to clinch victory before skipper Ulrich Ostergaard’s exciting triumph in a shared penultimate contest ensured Redcar would leave empty-handed.

Presumably, no-one mentioned that to the four men involved in the finale as they served up one of the finest races of the season.

Barker, the subject of premeeting boos from the home faithful after his controversial pull-out from a recent guest booking for the club, powered clear of Harris with Charles Wright taking third.

Holder brought up the rear as his hopes of another paid maximum ended, but that was only a minor source of irritation as Panthers picked up vital league points.

“We’ve got a very good record against Redcar, “Panthers manager Carl Johnson said. “But it was a tough meeting as usual.”