Workington Comets 57 Redcar Bears 35: Workington Comets kick-started their League Cup campaign as they cruised to a comfortable 57-35 home win over Redcar Bears.

The hosts secured heat advantages in nine of the 15 heats, with Claus Vissing notching a paid maximum and Rasmus Jensen impressing on his debut.

Comets made the best possible start to the meeting, with Ricky Wells and Jensen hitting the front from the gate. Lasse Bjerre immediately set about catching the duo but an impressive ride from Jensen on his debut kept the Bears No1 at bay.

The visitors quickly hit back with a 5-1 of their own as Simon Nielsen won comfortably on his old track with Lee Payne right behind him. Comets pair Adam Roynon and Matt Williamson struggled to get near to the Bears and the youngster failed to finish the race, crashing out on the penultimate bend.

Payne was out again in heat three and his teammate Hugh Skidmore blasted to the front as they looked to take the lead. Kenneth Hansen and Mason Campton, who was back in the side after recovering from a fractured collarbone, slotted in behind the Redcar No3 before the Dane began to pile on the pressure. An ice-cool pass around the outside on the third lap set up a Comets 4-2.

Claus Vissing made a rocket of a start with Williamson at his heel in heat four, but David Bellego quickly passed the reserve and tried to close on the leader, who never looked at much risk of conceding the win.

Bjerre burst ahead of Hansen and Campton in heat five and while Hansen tried everything to reach the front, the Bear held him off to share the points.

Wells and Jensen showed signs of a promising partnership as they again muscled their way into the lead in heat six and controlled the race with ease as Bellego was forced to settle for third.

Vissing again bolted from the gate in the next race, while Roynon was initially beaten by Skidmore but passed him before the second bend and held on for another Comets 5-1 as the hosts turned on the style.

They strengthened their grip on proceedings with another dominant maximum heat advantage in the next race, Jensen continuing his fine form with a confident win alongside Williamson.

All four riders were elbow-to-elbow into the first bend of heat nine, with Bellego eventually emerging at the front and while Hansen and Campton looked comfortable behind him, they never really challenged for the lead.

Jensen made the gate in heat 10 while Wells wound up at the back. The Comets No1 made an unsuccessful charge through the middle of the pack, while Skidmore rounded Jensen to take the win for an away 4-2.

A hectic start to heat 11 saw Vissing again reach the front and open up a gap to Bjerre, who was on a tactical ride, while Roynon settled into third place some distance ahead of Jacob Bukhave for a 4-4.

Simon Nielsen beat Hansen from the gate and an audacious sweep around the outside from the Comets No3 was swatted away by the leader. Williamson dropped further behind Skidmore for a Bears 4-2.

Wells and Vissing put in a terrific 5-1 display in heat 13 to extend Comets’ lead to 16 points, before a thrilling battle between Roynon and Nielsen behind Campton in the penultimate heat resulted in a 4-2.

Vissing closed out his spectacular night with a fourth win to go unbeaten by an opposition rider, while Hansen turned on the flair to eventually make a pass stick on Bellego to seal a final 5-1 and a 22-point win for Comets.

WORKINGTON COMETS 57: Claus Vissing 14+1, Kenneth Hansen 11+1, Rasmus Jensen 9+2, Ricky Wells 9, Mason Campton 6+2, Adam Roynon 5+1, Matt Williamson 3+1

REDCAR BEARS 35: Lasse Bjerre 9, David Bellego 8, Simon Nielsen 8, Hugh Skidmore 7, Lee Payne 3+1, Jakub Bukhave 0, Jonas B Andersen r/r