Berwick Jewson Bandits look to make it four wins from four on Saturday
Victory would put Berwick very much in the driving seat to qualify for the BSN Series knockout stages following their 48-42 victory over league champions Glasgow last weekend.
Number one Lewis Kerr was the hero as, roared on by another big crowd, he beat former GP winner and Bandits’ number one Chris Harris three times on his way to a 13-point haul.
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Hide AdDespite Kerr’s treble, Harris still top-scored with 15 points, but his only real support came from another former Bandit, Leon Flint.
In contrast, Kerr had solid support from the other six Bandits with Jye Etheridge, Rory Schlein, Drew Kemp, Bastian Borke and Danyon Hume all coming up with vital points.
Glasgow suffered a pre-meeting blow when reserve Lee Complin was withdrawn after providing a non-negative result following a random drug and alcohol screening test.
The Shielfield Park surface again produced some superb racing.
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Hide AdTwice Berwick found their lead pegged back only for Kerr to all but seal victory with a barnstorming heat 13 win, backing it up in the last race of the night.
Borke added to his growing cult status with Berwick fans, the 20-year-old Dane scoring six points, but being half a wheel away from more as he was pipped on the line by Paul Starke following four laps which saw him scraping the fence and cutting over the inside line in an effort to get by.
He epitomises the battling spirit of a Berwick side whose fans are beginning to feel there is something special in the air.
That feeling will grow if they can see off an Edinburgh side which has a good record in the Borders recently.
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Hide AdThey have a three-pronged Australian spearhead in Josh Pickering, Justin Sedgmen and Kye Thomson, Italian showman Paco Castagna and 2023 Berwick rider of the year Connor Coles, who returns to Shielfield for the first time since breaking his arm last August.
Kerr said: “Obviously that’s the sort of performance expected from me as number one, but it still felt good to get the points under my belt.
“I had good back-up from the rest of the team and if we keep performing like that then we are capable of beating any team.”