Bears chase Cheetahs in big weekend

THE busiest weekend of the year so far brings a trio of meetings in less than 48 hours, with both Teesside-based sides in action and Oxford involved in all three encounters.

- By KEITH MCGHIE

Redcar Bears take on the Cheetahs, home and away, in a bid to qualify for the Championship Knockout Cup final, either side of their feeder team Middlesbrough Tigers taking on their Oxford counterparts - the Chargers - in the National Development League.

The Agilia Bears, cup winners in 2019, will start favourites to overcome the Cheetahs, especially with the visi tors' former Redcar racer Jordan Jenkins out injured for the rest of the sea son. Bears boss Gavin Parr insists that staging both legs with just a day in between builds excitement for both the fans and riders.

“Yes, I think having that continuity is ideal for the lads and the crowd,” said Parr, who gives another guest outing to Scunthorpe's Australian Jake Allen in tonight's opening leg at the ECCO Arena.