Hammers season ends in defeat
Despite keeping the scores tight up to the interval, an eventual 52-38 defeat at the hands of Play off contenders, the Coventry Bees, saw the Vortex Lakeside Hammers pick up the wooden spoon for the 2015 season.
Andreas Jonsson and Edward Kennett took a 2-4 heat advantage in the opening heat, with the Hammers skipper passing Kyle Howarth on the third lap. The Bees, who finished 2nd in the Elite league table, then took the advantage themselves, opening a six point lead after three heats, with two maximum 5-1s.
Richard Lawson took the chequered flag in heat four, with Adam Ellis picking up a point. Edward Kennett then produced a great ride to take victory in the fifth, for a shared heat, with Hammers guest reserve Josh Bates at the rear.
The Hammers Swedish pairing of Jonsson and Kim Nilsson brought the scores level in the 6th, teaming up for a 5-1 of their own, before the Bees countered with two successive 4-2s, to edge the Bees back in front.
Howarth saw the exclusion lights after a fall in the first running of heat 9, the re-run of which saw Bates take victory despite the best efforts of Garrity, with Lawson third. Kennett tried all avenues to pass King in the 10th, but with Jonsson way behind, the Bees edged back into a four point lead.
The Hammers were then hit hard with two successive maximum heat victories, first the 11th, when Harris produced a last lap blast around Nilsson, with Ben Barker, in as a late replacement for Hammers guest Josh Grajczonek, at the back. Garrity and Sargent then teamed up to take the maximum in the second reserves race.
Jonsson and Nilsson helped stem the flow in a shared thirteenth, as Harris took an impressive victory, before Lawson and Barker pulled two further points back in the penultimate heat, leaving the Hammers needing a 5-1 in the nominated, to pick up a point and push Wolverhampton to the bottom of the table.
Although Jonsson took the intial lead, a mistake allowed both Bees through. The Hammers skipper fought back past Chris Harris, before the British rider produced a quality last bend swoop to take second, but with Lawson at the back, the Hammers final position in the table had already been confirmed.
Our thanks to both @lakesidelive and the @speedwayupdates teams for their excellent update services this season.
#RICO.
Scores and heat results
Coventry Bees = 52
1. Chris Harris – 0,2*,1,2*,3,2* = 10+3
2. Kyle Howarth – 2,2,F/EX,3,0 = 7
3. Danny King – 3,0,3,3,2,3 = 14
4. Jacob Thorssell (Guest) – 2,1,3,1,0 = 7
5. Joonas Kylmakorpi R/R – ( CH-2*, DK-3, JT-1, KH-0 = 6+1 )
6. Jason Garrity – 2*,1*,2,3 = 8+2
7. James Sarjeant – 3,0,1,2* = 6+1
Lakeside Hammers = 38
1. Andreas Jonsson – 3,3,0,2,1 = 9
2. Edward Kennett – 1,3,2,2 = 8
3. Ben Barker (Guest) – 1,0,0,1 = 2
4. Richard Lawson – 3,2,1,3,0 = 9
5. Kim Nilsson – 0,2*,1,1* = 4+2
6. Josh Bates (Guest) – 1,0,3,1 = 5
7. Adam Ellis – 0,1,0,0 = 2
Heat Results
Heat 01: Jonsson,Howarth,Kennett,Harris…2-4
Heat 02:(Re-Run): Sarjeant,Garrity,Bates(15m),Ellis…(5-1) 7-5
Heat 03: King,Harris,Barker,Nilsson…(5-1) 12-6
Heat 04: Lawson,Thorssell,Ellis,Sarjeant…(2-4) 14-10
Heat 05: Kennett,Howarth,Garrity,Bates…(3-3) 17-13
Heat 06: Jonsson,Nilsson,Thorssell,King…(1-5) 18-18
Heat 07: King,Lawson,Harris,Barker…(4-2) 22-20
Heat 08: Thorssell,Kennett,Sarjeant,Ellis…(4-2) 26-22
Heat 09:(Re-Run): Bates,Garrity,Lawson,Howarth(Fell/Excluded)…(2-4) 28-26
Heat 10: King,Kennett,Thorssell,Jonsson…(4-2) 32-28
Heat 11: Howarth,Harris,Nilsson,Barker…(5-1) 37-29
Heat 12: Garrity,Sarjeant,Bates,Ellis…(5-1) 42-30
Heat 13:(Re-Run): Harris,Jonsson,Nilsson,Howarth…(3-3) 45-33
Heat 14: Lawson,King,Barker,Thorssell…(2-4) 47-37
Heat 15: King,Harris,Jonsson,Lawson…(5-1) 52-38
Updates courtesy of @lakesidelive and @speedwayupdates