A good Friday for Hammers
The Hammers shrugged off the stubborn determination of their near neighbours Eastbourne to eventually post a nineteen points victory and duly make amends for their slip-up in the corresponding fixture last season.
It was an afternoon with plenty of thrills and spills and this was none more evident than in the opening race when the exhuberant Robert Mear was excluded for unfair riding after sending Lukas Dryml clattering to the ground on the opening lap.
It was to prove to be the start of an turbulent meeting for the Hammers youngster, who was involved in a similar incident when Cameron Woodward tried to lean across him in heat five before hitting the deck himself in a heat nine tumble. Mear’s determination, however, emphasised the mood in the home camp who were once again well served by their new heat leader trio of Lee Richardson, Davey Watt and Peter Karlsson.
Watt powered his way to a brace of early opening victories as the Hammers moved into a fifteen point lead at the halfway stage of the meeting. This included an early defeat of Eagles’ top performer Simon Gustafsson after Woodward had fallen although the young Swede gained revenge to thwart Watt’s maximum hopes in heat twelve.
Kim Nilsson again packed a punch from the reserve berth, notching up a paid fifteen points haul and earning several points the hard way. The highlights of a bust afternoon’s work were a carefully executed pass on Timo Lahti in heat eight and a clever first corner in the penultimate race to join Mear for the first of two closing 5-1’s.
Lewis Bridger’s tactical ride brought the Eagles a small advantage in heat nine although this was after Mear had fallen and when they failed to stick the black and white cap on a winning ride from Simon Gustafsson one heat later their slim chances were pretty much over.
The final word belonged with Karlsson and Richardson, who lept from the start in heat fifteen to ensure the Hammers finished on a high and set themselves up well for the return match at Arlington later in the evening.
Lakeside Hammers = 55
1. Peter Karlsson 2, 3, 2, 2, 3 = 12 2. Rider Replacement 3. Davey Watt 3, 3, 3, 3, 2 = 14 4. Robert Mear X, 1, R, X, 3 = 4 5. Lee Richardson 2',3, 3, 1',2' = 11+3 6. Kyle Howarth (G) 2',0, 0 = 2+1 7. Kim Nilsson 3, 3, 1, 2',0, 1',2' = 12+3
Eastbourne Eagles = 36
1. Rider Replacement 2. Lukas Dryml 1, X, X = 1 3. Simon Gustafsson 3, 2, 2, 3, 3, 0 = 13 4. Cameron Woodward F, 2, 0, 1, 1 = 4 5. Lewis Bridger 1, 2, 4, 2, 0, 1 = 10 6. Denis Gizatullin 1, 1',1',0 = 3+2 7. Timo Lahti X, 0, 1, 1',3, 0 = 5+1
Heat Results
Heat 01: Gustafsson, Karlsson, Dryml, Mear (exc) 2-4 (2-4) 57.2 Heat 02: Nilsson, Howarth, Gizatullin, Lahti (fell exc) 5-1 (7-5) 57.9 Heat 03: Watt, Gustafsson, Mear, Woodward (fell) 4-2 (11-7) 58.2 Heat 04: Nilsson, Richardson, Bridger, Lahti 5-1 (16-8) 58.0 Heat 05: Watt, Woodward, Mear (R), Dryml (fell exc) 3-2 (19-10) 58.8 Heat 06: Karlsson, Bridger, Gizatullin, Howarth 3-3 (22-13) 58.6 Heat 07: Richardson, Gustafsson, Nilsson, Woodward 4-2 (26-15) 58.4 Heat 08: Watt, Nilsson, Lahti, Dryml (fell exc) 5-1 (31-16) 58.4 Heat 09: Watt, Bridger (tactical ride), Gizatullin, Mear (fell exc) 3-5 (34-21) 58.3 Heat 10: Gustafsson, Karlsson, Woodward, Nilsson 2-4 (36-25) 58.2 Heat 11: Richardson, Bridger, Lahti, Howarth 3-3 (39-28) 58.9 Heat 12: Gustafsson, Watt, Nilsson, Gizatullin 3-3 (42-31) 58.2 Heat 13: Lahti, Karlsson, Richardson, Bridger 3-3 (45-34) 58.9 Heat 14: Mear, Nilsson, Woodward, Lahti 5-1 (50-35) 59.5 Heat 15: Karlsson, Richardson, Bridger, Gustafsson 5-1 (55-36) 59.2
Picture: Heat 7: Lee Richardson (red) ahead of Simon Gustafsson (white) and Kim Nilsson – Lakeside Hammers vs Eastbourne Eagles – Sky Sports Elite League Speedway at Arena Essex Raceway, Purfleet – 06/04/12 – (Gavin Ellis/TGSPHOTO)