REPORT: Cheetahs pick up a precious point at Redcar

MONARCH Oxford Cheetahs gained a valuable league point at Redcar on Friday, but it could have been even more, writes Rob Peasley.

High-flying Redcar Bears won 47-43, but only after Cheetahs had taken them all the way to a last-heat decider in an enthralling encounter.

Cheetahs used rider replacement for the unfortunate Jack Thomas, who suffered two broken wrists in a crash at King’s Lynn on Thursday.

Oxford edged ahead with a 4-2 from Dillon Ruml and Josh Macdonald in an action-packed Heat 2. In Heat 3, Kyle Newman was put back 15 metres for touching the tapes, which puzzled the away support, since Jason Edwards had escaped penalty for a similar offence in the previous race. Bears took the lead with a 5-1 in the re-run.

A dramatic opening turn in Heat 6 saw Redcar skipper Charles Wright lose control and veer into the path of Macdonald, and both came down heavily. Macdonald – recently returned from injury – continued in the meeting, despite not looking comfortable. With Wright excluded, Cheetahs levelled the scores with a 4-2 in the re-run.

Newman and Cameron Heeps then took a superb 5-1 in Heat 7, with Heeps repassing Lewis Kerr in a great battle for second place. Ruml was flying and he flew around the Redcar riders to win Heat 8 and maintain Oxford’s four-point lead.

Ruml was straight back out in Heat 9 and charged from fourth to second after a lap and team partner Troy Batchelor then team-rode with the American to ensure a 3-3 behind the flying Erik Riss.

Redcar started to edge back into the meeting and tied the scores at 36-36 with three races remaining, after Oxford Charger Jordan Jenkins, who also rides for Redcar in the Championship, passed Newman for third place in Heat 12.

Cheetahs were one lap away from re-taking the lead in Heat 13, but Wright produced a superb move to push inside Scott Nicholls on the final lap.

Ruml used the outside line early on to take the lead in Heat 14, but he went wide on the second bend of the final lap and Kasper Andersen came through to steal the race win as Redcar moved ahead with a 4-2.

The final race saw Wright and Riss soon take charge at the front, but Nicholls refused to go down without a fight and passed Riss on the third lap to deny the German a paid maximum. Nevertheless, Bears clinched victory with a 4-2, while Cheetahs took a league point for an away defeat by less than seven points.

Cheetahs’ top scorer Dillon Ruml (who scored 12) said: “When we were here in the cup, I scored just one point. It’s difficult to understand how there can be such a difference, although a big change this time was winning my first ride. After that, I just felt comfortable, so we didn’t really make a lot of changes to the bike and the evening just went well for me. I just happy to let the track come to me and I had a good night.

“I threw away a point in my final ride. It was just a silly mistake, but it meant we had one less point going into Heat 15. Scott (Nicholls) and Troy (Batchelor) gave it their all in a tough final race and that’s all you can ask for. We were a little bit unlucky tonight, but we know where we messed up and where we need to improve. At least, we got a league point to show for our efforts.

“I love riding for Oxford. I enjoy working with the other boys, while the management is super cool. It’s great racing around Oxford and the boys all get on well. We try to stay pretty positive and there’s a fair amount of banter in the pits and that keeps everyone’s heads up. From the start of the year to now, I think we’ve improved quite a bit – I know that I have. We’re building something with this team.

“The next meeting for us is away to Glasgow, which I’m looking forward to, because I think I’ve ridden there as nearly many times as at Oxford this year. I’m looking forward to the rest of our meetings this season and hoping we can finish on a good note.”

Team manager Peter Schroeck said: “We showed a lot of spirit and certainly played our part in the meeting.

“When you lose by two or four points, especially when you’ve made a long journey to an away meeting, it’s a bit gutting, although one positive of a narrow defeat away from home is that we get a league point for our efforts and that point could be very important come the end of the season. I’m chuffed we didn’t come away completely empty handed – it would have been cruel had we done so.

“The boys couldn’t have put in any more than they did. It showed how good we were, in that we pushed Redcar this close, despite not even needing to use a tactical substitute. In fact, we were ahead for much of the match. We did lose just the odd point towards the end that cost us, but that’s racing for you.

“We had a trump card with Dillon (Ruml) at reserve, which gave us options and the ability to swap things around a bit. It was another good away performance for us that again showed what we’re capable of.”

Redcar Bears 47: Charles Wright 12, Adam Roynon 5, Erik Riss 13, Kasper Andersen 5+1, Lewis Kerr 6, Jason Edwards 3, Jordan Jenkins 3+2.

Oxford Cheetahs 43: Scott Nicholls 10, Jack Thomas R/R, Kyle Newman 4+1, Cameron Heeps 6+2, Troy Batchelor 9+3, Dillon Ruml 12, Josh Macdonald 2, Luke Crang (No 8) DNR.