It all began way back in 1929 when the Bears and the Diamonds competed in the English Northern Dirt Track League. This was the second season of the sport of speedway being introduced into the UK.

It continues on Thursday evening at the South Tees Motorsport Park at 7.30pm when the first leg of the eagerly awaited Tyne Tees Trophy between the Redcar Bears and the Newcastle Diamonds takes place.

Over the decades the Tyneside club has been dominant on the balance of aggregate results but there was delight on Teesside in 2006 when the Bears of the new era were triumphant at last.

This season in other fixtures it was the Diamonds who had the upper hand at the beginning but the Bears to the fore in the Premier League including their biggest away win at Brough Park in August by 58 points to 38. However to be fair to the Diamonds management they had Jonas Raun away on international duty and Paul Clews riding his first match since October 2006. So much pride is at stake for Newcastle's Geordie Manager George English as he faces his rival Brian Havelock who is a genuine Teessider. No imports here - just two genuine local boys locking horns!

With injury problems in both camps - Rye House's rising rocket Adam Roynon replaces home rider Mathieu Tresarrieu who broke a fibula and fractured a knee socket in practice for the European Grasstrack Championship last Sunday while former Diamond and Motorpark specialist Stancl coming in for Diamonds club skipper Christian Henry and Glasgow's Robert Ksiezak replacing Jonas Raun. There will be late fitness tests on both sides too. James Grieves was withdrawn by the medical staff after a major pile-up at Glasgow Speedway on Sunday afternoon and is awaiting reports on his back problems while Sam Dore suffered an ankle injury in a fall - also on Sunday - at Brough Park. Both, however, are expected to make the line-up on Thursday evening.

Manager Brian Havelock also reshuffles the Bears' riding order to accomodate Mathieu's absence.

Fans are reminded to arrive early as Bears- Diamonds fixtures inevitable attract bumper crowds and ensuring facvourite viewing positions will be at a premium.

REDCAR BEARS:
1. Gary Havelock (C)
2. Adam Roynon
3. James Grieves
4. Josh Auty
5. Chris Kerr
6. Daniel Giffard
7. Jack Hargreaves
NEWCASTLE DIAMONDS:
1. George Stancl
2. Robert Ksiezak
3. Josef Franc (C)
4. Sean Stoddart
5. Carl Wilkinson
6. Sam Dore
7. Paul Clews

With the Bears having qualified for the end-of-season Young Shield competition and the cut-off date for qualification being Wednesday at Midnight - the opponents in the first round will be announced at the Tyne Tees Trophy fixture on Thursday evening.

It has been confirmed that British Grand Prix winner and British Speedway Champion Chris Harris will be among the star attractions at the South Tees Silver Helmet Individual Championship at the Motorpark on Thursday October 18th. This will be the second visit of the season to the Motorpark for this world-class Englshman as he represented the Bears in Kevin Little's farewell meeting in April.