POOLE Pirates cruised into the BSN Series final with a thumping 52-38 win at Redcar Bears.

Taking a six-point lead into the second leg, Poole rarely looked like squandering their advantage, powering to a 100-80 victory on aggregate.

Ben Cook led the scoring with 15 points from six rides, on a thoroughly impressive night across the board on Teesside.

Pirates progress to a two-legged meeting with Glasgow Tigers, who booked their spot in the final with a win over Scunthorpe Scorpions.

Poole again were a man light, operating rider replacement for the unavailable Anders Rowe at ECCO Arena.

Redcar reduced the overall gap to four points with an advantage in the opening heat, led home by guest Lewis Kerr, who was drafted in for the injured Erik Riss.

A big 5-1 in the reserves heat from Adam Roynon and Kyle Newman set the tone for what was to come, although it took three attempts to get the heat done with three riders warned for moving at the start.

Redcar boasted the next two race winners, in Charles Wright and Danny King, the scores level at 12-12 on the night.

Steve Worrall’s win over Wright, combined with Zach Cook taking the minor placings saw Poole begin to pull clear again, a lead they would never give up.

Back-to-back Ben Cook victorious made the advantage almost unassailable for the hosts.

In heat seven, Zach Cook made the start around the outside, before brother Ben joined him by getting ahead of former Pirates captain King, before going on to claim victory in a 5-1.

Team boss Gary Havelock then threw Ben Cook straight back out in heat eight, as rider replacement for Rowe, the Aussie getting around the outside of Danyon Hume to take to the front as the aggregate score moved to 76-62.

The Poole charge continued as Lawson won a good battle with Wright, before Ben and Zach Cook combined again for another 5-1, the lead on the night extending to 14 points.

With Redcar needing four consecutive maximums to keep the tie alive, controversy ended their slim hopes in heat 11. King and Jason Edwards were on course, only for the latter to go flying into the fence, after being cut off by Worrall. Referee Seth Perkin judged Edwards to be at fault of the stoppage, excluding him from the re-run, which ended level.

Bears then recorded their first heat advantage since the third race of the night with a fortunate 4-2 in heat 12. With Wright clear in front, Poole looked set for a share of the spoils, until Newman suffered a puncture. That allowed Jake Mulford to come from half a lap back to snatch a point.

But normal order quickly resumed. Worrall took to the front in the power-packed heat 13, where he was eventually joined by Lawson for the club’s fourth maximum of the night, after the latter battled hard to get ahead of King.

Zach Cook then won from the gate, before Redcar were denied a maximum in the finale as Ben Cook pipped King to second place on the line.

Redcar 38: Kerr 7, Hume 3, Wright 13, Bailey 3, King 9, Edwards 1+1, Mulford 2.

Pirates 52: Worrall 10, B Cook 15, Z Cook 8+2, Lawson 9+1, Newman 4+2, Roynon 6+2.