Hume helps Bandits to Bears double

Berwick Bandits ................................. 47 Redcar Bears ...................................... 43

DANYON Hume steered Berwick to a quickfire double over his old club Redcar at Shielfield Park.

Along with super-guest Richard Lawson, he inflicted three 5-1s on the dogged Bears as the Bandits took maximum points from the home and away North East derbies.

Charles Wright and guest Dan Thompson gave the travelling support plenty to shout as Berwick, as they had the previous night, won with an ease that wasn’t really reflected in the final scoreline.

Luckiest – indeed bravest – man of the night was Jason Edwards, who hit the polyfoam fence with such force after being given a first-bend shove by Rory Schlein that the bag came off its mounting. After treatment Edwards emerged bloodied but unbowed, donned a replacement helmet, mounted his second machine and managed to win the rerun, an act of bravery and sheer bloody-mindedness that summed up Redcar on the day.

Again the Bandits failed to fire on all seven cylinders. On this occasion it was the turn of Bastian Borke to find, for the first time this season, points at a premium, not helped by a spectacular crash while lining up one of his trademark stalk-and-passes.

Instead Hume led from the front, beginning with a rare defeat of Wright around Shielfield Park.

Redcar hit straight back through reserves Ben Trigger and Jake Mulford only for Friday night heroes Jye Etheridge and Drew Kemp to add another 5-1 to their tally for the season.

Borke’s spectacular fall as he attempted to pass Trigger and join Schlein at the front of five was followed by a maximum from Wright and Thompson which levelled the scores.

Again the Bandits responded, Hume producing another stunning start while Lawson rounded Ben Barker.

Edwards, bloodied but unbowed, sparked a 4-2 in heat seven but Berwick never surrendered their lead, and extended it in style in nine.

Etheridge produced a sublime second bend to pass Barker, but the Bears’ guest did manage to force his way past Kemp to limit the damage.

Hume and Lawson made it three 5-1s out of three against Edwards and Bailey. Redcar made a tactical substitution in 12, Wright rewarding his team manager Gavin Parr with a trademark swoop off the fourth bend which caught Etheridge on the line after a tremendous battle between the two, Bailey getting the better of Borke to cut the gap.

The Bears were at it again in heat 13, Wright beating Lawson while Barker kept Schlein at bay.

Edwards won the penultimate heat to give his side an outside chance of forcing a Superheat decider.

Those hopes were extinguished when Lawson muscled his way into the lead in heat 15 and held that spot until the chequered flag.

BANDITS: Richard Lawson 12+2. Danyon Hume 10+1, Jye Etheridge 8, Drew Kemp 6+1, Rory Schlein 8, Freddy Hodder 0, Bastian Borke 3+2.

BEARS: Charles Wright 12+2, Dan Thompson 9+1, Connor Bailey 3, Jason Edwards 7, Ben Barker 5, Jake Mulford 3+1, Ben Trigger 4+1.