Workington Comets finally got their season underway this weekend with a Friday night away clash at Redcar and hugely exciting home opener against Scunthorpe which saw the GT Tyres Comets victorious.
The season finally kicked off on Friday night as the GT Tyres Comets were way at Redcar, but the Bears made it two home wins out of two in the BSN Series despite seeing both their reserves crash out of the 51-39 victory over the Comets.
Tom Spencer and Ace Pijper were involved in a Heat 2 incident and were withdrawn with ankle and shoulder injuries respectively.
But the remaining Bears did enough to maintain a comfortable advantage throughout the evening. Bears Skipper Charles Wright dropped a point to GT Tyres Comets skipper Troy Batchelor in Heat 1 but was then unbeaten as he ended on 14, while guest Anders Rowe impressed with 11 from four – beaten to a maximum by Comets debutant Fraser Bowes who grabbed his first heat win on British soil in impressive style.
The GT Tyres Comets looked to be a mounting a small fight back in Heat 11 after a well-orchestrated 5-1 from Batchelor and Zischke over Danny King closed the gap to 12 points but the Bears ultimately held strong to maintain their lead in the end.
Batchelor top-scored for the Comets with 10 from five rides and Tate Zischke added 9+2 from six.
Saturday finally saw the GT Tyres Comets return to Northside for the first time in 229 days, delivering an action-packed and thrilling meeting against the Scunthorpe Scorpions. The Comets clinched a dramatic 47-43 victory in a last-heat decider in the BSN Series at the GT Tyres Arena.
The meeting started with three successive back and fourth 5-1s, before the Comets established themselves back from a four-point deficit to go six up, with strong showings from home debutants Jye Etheridge (8+1) and Vinnie Foord (7+2).
A meeting that was packed with excitement came down to the last three heats with GT Tyres Comets skipper Batchelor and Vuolas clinching a 5-1 in heat 13 over Steve Worrall and Jake Allen, but a 5-1 tactical substitute saw Steve Worrall and Connor Mountain in Heat 14 narrow the gap back to two, and set up a tense finale.
However, home duo Antti Vuolas and Troy Batchelor collected a 4-2 in Heat 15, split by Worrall to give them the win in their first home match of 2025.
Vuolas top scored with 11 for the GT Tyres Comets despite a last place in his opening ride, whilst Worrall totalled 11+1 for the Scorpions and reserve Declan Kennedy won three races as he finished on 10.
Comets stand-in team boss James Wilson said he saw plenty of positives from the opening weekend.
He said: “Friday night was tough and we didn’t expect it any other way.
“Redcar have had three or four meetings already with quite of few of their riders doubling up to the Premiership as well, whether as Jacob (Hook) for example, said that this was probably his first start at the tapes in over three months.
“But I definitely saw good signs of things to come: Fraser (Bowes) grabbing an impressive race win in Heat 14 and also Tate (Zischke) seemed to getting back to his best.
“Saturday was fantastic, we left it late which is not good on the nerves but we saw some excellent racing from both teams.
“It was a solid effort from one to seven, Antti (Vuolas) and Troy (Batchelor) were both outstanding in the later stages of the meeting – getting that 5-1 in Heat 13 probably sealed the deal for us on the day and that’s why they were in Heat 15.
“Also it was great to see Vinnie (Foord) and Jye (Etheridge) flying as well. Jye was determined to rectify a bad night on Friday and he did that superbly, going unbeaten in his last three rides.”
“We have got another back-to-back clash next weekend and James Denham will be back at the helm, but the boys are already looking forward to that – the most important thing this weekend was them getting up to speed in our opening meetings.”
Reserve Vinnie Foord, who picked up 7+2 from four rides on his impressive home debut said: “The lads were all coming together and we were all riding well.
“On my behalf I thought I was riding good and making good starts, I slipped up a bit in the last one but I know to give it a bit more next time.
“We have got a really good bunch of lads, and if I need any advice I can talk to any one of them.
“Going forward I just want to keep consistent in this league and scoring points, maybe put myself in the shop window for a Premiership place or guest booking in the future.”
