REPORT: All to race for at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium on Sunday, after Cheetahs fight back at Redcar

SD TIMMO CAR SALES Oxford Cheetahs powered by County Plumbing Supplies showed great resilience to battle back from 14 points behind to close the gap to just six points in the closing five races in the first leg of their MAXiCab Knockout Cup semi-final at Redcar last night (Friday). Redcar Bears eventually won the first leg by 48-42, with the second leg at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium on Sunday (September 28) at 5pm – it’s the biggest meeting of the season at Cowley. The aggregate winners will face Poole Pirates in the final.

Redcar were much in the ascendancy in the early stages at the ECCO Arena and powered into a 24-12 lead, despite a 5-1 from Cheetahs reserves’ Cameron Heeps and Jonas Knudsen in Heat 2.

Oxford must have felt things were not going their way when Knudsen pulled up with a fuel problem in Heat 8, while on a 5-1 with skipper Sam Masters.

Luke Killeen was on fine form for Cheetahs, defeating Bears’ top guns Danny King in Heat 7 and Charles Wright in Heat 10, with the 20-year-old using the outside line in great fashion.

Bears led 37-23 after ten races, but Masters and Knudsen took a 4-2 in Heat 11, and Knudsen and Killeen posted the same scoreline in Heat 12. Francis Gusts had experienced a tough evening in his opening three outings, but then flew from the outside gate and won Heat 13, with Wright fighting past Masters for second place, as Cheetahs took a third successive 4-2.

Mitch McDiarmid and Heeps battled to the minor placings in Heat 14, before Gusts repeated his Heat 13 heroics in the concluding nominated race in Heat 15, again using the outside line to fantastic effect. Wright was again left to pick up the pieces for Bears by overhauling Masters for second place, but Cheetahs finished the evening with their fourth 4-2 in five races.

While Redcar finished the night with a six-point advantage, Oxford finished the evening with the momentum very much behind them. Masters top-scored on 12 points, while Cheetahs produced nine heat winners out of 15.

Oxford manager Peter Schroeck said: “I’m really chuffed with the way we came back into it. It feels like a win tonight and it’s now in our hands in the second leg at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium on Sunday.

“It hurt Redcar the way we came back at them. We could have stayed at 14 points down – or it could have been even more. But six points is an amount we came turn around at our home track, especially with the way the boys finished the meeting tonight. We could have been even closer, because Heat 8 would have been a 5-1 had Jonas (Knudsen) not suffered an engine failure. But he battled back and won his final outing tonight [Heat 12].

“We made some changes to set-ups as the meeting progressed, but it was more about making the boys believe in themselves. Francis (Gusts) was on a bit of a downer with himself, but I knew gate four would put him on his line around here and he took a great win in Heat 13 and then he also won Heat 15. I kept my faith in him and told him he could do the job and he did it.

“I kept faith in Francis in Heat 13 and Mitch in Heat 14 and they responded did the job. It has to be a whole team performance and that’s what we produced in the final five races.

“Luke Killeen put in a couple of unbelievable races – he was so brave on the outside and Charles Wright couldn’t catch him.

“But our whole team deserve credit for their performances. Redcar have been flying high this season, so we did a really great job today. I feel Redcar have a lot of home track advantage, so I’m really chuffed and really proud of our boys.

“We’ve put ourselves in a great position and we don’t want our season to finish on Sunday. I hope our fans turn up in numbers to cheer on the boys. We want to reach that final against Poole. The boys could have rolled over at 14 points down tonight. They didn’t and they fought back. They showed passion for the club and with that same passion from our fans on Sunday, we can complete the job and make sure our season continues into October with the Cup Final.”

The concluding leg sees SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs powered by AW Mobbs host Redcar Bears at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium on Sunday (September 28). Please note the start-time of 5pm. Tickets are on sale on the Oxford Speedway website at: https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

In the meantime, the Real Mini Company Oxford Chargers powered by AW Mobbs can clinch the WSRA National League at Redcar on this afternoon (Saturday) at 3pm. Victory against the Middlesbrough Tigers would secure the second NL title in three seasons for Chargers.

Redcar Bears 48: Charles Wright 10+2, Jake Mulford 9+1, Jason Edwards 7+1, Jake Allen 10+1, Danny King 7, Jody Scott 2+1, Ace Pijper 3+2.

SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs powered by County Plumbing Supplies 42: Sam Masters 12, Jordan Jenkins R/R, Luke Killeen 8, Mitch McDiarmid 2, Francis Gusts 8, Jonas Knudsen 6+1, Cameron Heeps 6+1.

PHOTO by Steve Edmunds