Workington Comets staged a stunning comeback from 13 points down to earn a consolation league point at Redcar and only just miss out on the win in a last-heat decider.

Comets were immediately on the back foot as the home side recorded a 4-2 in the opening heat, with Rasmus Jensen muscling his way between Ben Barker and Nike Lunna but Nicolai Klindt's engine going on the second lap while he was last.

Heat two was even worse as Kyle Bickley fell at the back and could not clear the track, with the race awarded as a home 5-1 as Rene Bach trailed Jordan Stewart and Mikkel B Andersen.

Dan Bewley earned second in his first ride on his return to the Comets side behind Dimitri Berge but with Mason Campton at the back Redcar managed a 4-2 to stretch their early lead.

There was some let up for Workington in heat four as Ty Proctor dominated on his old track, although Bach continued to struggle with a last place to ensure the points were shared.

The visitors came to the party with a 5-1 from Jensen and Klindt in the rerun of heat five after Berge put himself in the fence before Proctor secured another 3-3 with a win in heat six as Bickley pushed Lunna but couldn't snatch third.

Heat seven brought another Workington heat advantage as Bewley romped to a win ahead of former Comet Thomas Jorgensen while Campton pipped Mikkel B Andersen in a 4-2.

But a controversial eighth heat saw the visitors lose the services of Rene Bach and a potential away 5-1 turn into a home 5-0.

Stewart was excluded for his start and replaced by Mikkel B Andersen and Comets gated on a 5-1 in the rerun, only for Bach to be excluded after he lost it and slammed into the fence, aggravating an old injury which forced him to withdraw from the meeting.

That left Jensen on his own against Lunna and Andersen but, when Lunna clipped Jensen, referee Michael Breckon decided to exclude the Workington rider and leave Redcar to cruise around for a 5-0 in another rerun.

Without their trump card at reserve Comets were really up against it to get anything out of the meeting but team manager Tony Jackson acted quickly to bring in Bewley as a tactical substitute for Bickley in heat nine.

The move didn't quite pay off as Bewley could only split Jonas B Andersen and Berge, then the home side hit a 5-1 in heat 10 to move 13 points clear and leave their visitors looking out of it.

But the team spirit which has served Comets so well this season showed again with a 5-1 through Klindt and Jensen then a 4-2 courtesy of Bewley and Bickley.

They followed that with another huge 5-1 in heat 13 as Proctor and Klindt saw off Barker and Jorgensen to leave Comets somehow in which a big chance of winning a meeting which had looked lost.

Things got even better in the penultimate heat as Campton and Bickley combined for a 4-2 to move Workington within one point of their hosts with one heat to go.

But despite the remarkable comeback to secure a league point, another two points eluded Comets as Bewley gated and got away but Lunna and Barker shut out Proctor for a 3-3 to preserve Redcar's one-point lead in a 45-44 defeat for Workington.