Bees take emphatic victory

Coventry Bees claimed an emphatic 39-56 victory over the Lakeside Hammers in Essex on Saturday evening, leaving the home side needing to get all important points from their remaining Elite League meetings to stand a chance of qualifying for the end of season play-offs.

The Bees were by far the dominant force in this meeting, taking the lead with a maximum 5-1 in the first heat and repeating the feat in the next two races also. Their 15-3 lead set the tone for the meeting in which they won ten of the fifteen races and withstood two tactical attempts from the home side.

Contrast the Hammers, who unfortunately endured their worst home meeting for many a year as they repeatedly struggled to contest the first and second turns on even terms such was Coventry’s superiority from the starting gate.

The home side found themselves using their first tactical ride as early as heat five to much success thanks to an 8-1 from Davey Watt and race winner, guest Rory Schlein. This reduced the deficit to just five points but the respite was short lived as the Bees quickly hit back with consecutive maximums of their own.

The meeting was all but sewed up by heat ten with another Coventry 5-1 from Chris Harris and Michael Jepsen Jensen, leaving a run of shared heats before the home side gained small consolation with a last heat 5-1 of their own.

Lakeside Hammers = 39

1. Davey Watt 1 2′ 1 R = 4+1
2. Richard Lawson F 1 0 2 = 3
3. Lewis Bridger 1 R 0 2 = 3
4. Kim Nilsson 3 1 4^ 3 3 = 14
5. Rory Schlein (G) 0 6^ 1′ 3 2′ = 12+2
6. Ben Morley F F 1 1′ = 2+1
7. Adam Ellis 1 0 F 0 = 1

Coventry Bees = 56

1. Hans Andersen 2′ 2′ 3 2 = 9+2
2. Kyle Howarth 3 2 1 3 =9
3. Michael Jepsen Jensen 2′ 1 3 3 R = 9+1
4. Kenneth Hansen 0 2′ 0 1′ = 3+2
5. Chris Harris 3 3 2′ 1′ 1 = 10+2
6. Jason Garrity 3 3 3 2 = 11
7. James Sarjeant 2′ 1′ 2′ 0 = 5+3

Heat Results

Heat 01: Howarth, Andersen, Watt, Lawson (fell) 61.3 1-5 (1-5)
Heat 02: Garrity, Sarjeant, Ellis, Morley (fell) awarded, no time 1-5 (2-10)
Heat 03: Harris, Jensen, Bridger, Schlein 60.0 1-5 (3-15)
Heat 04: Nilsson, Howarth, Sarjeant, Morley (fell) awarded, no time 3-3 (6-18)
Heat 05: SCHLEIN, Watt, Jensen, Hansen 60.1 8-1 (14-19)
Heat 06: Harris, Andersen, Nilsson, Bridger (ret) 59.8 1-5 (15-24)
Heat 07: Garrity, Hansen, Lawson, Ellis 60.1 1-5 (16-29)
Heat 08: Jepsen Jensen, NILSSON, Howarth, Bridger 59.8 4-4 (20-33)
Heat 09: Garrity, Sarjeant, Morley, Ellis (fell) 61.4 1-5 (21-38)
Heat 10: Jensen, Harris, Watt, Lawson 60.0 1-5 (22-43)
Heat 11: Andersen, Bridger, Schlein, Hansen 60.0 3-3 (25-46)
Heat 12: Howarth, Lawson, Morley, Sarjeant 60.5 3-3 (28-49)
Heat 13: Schlein, Andersen, Harris, Watt (ret) 59.6 3-3 (31-52)
Heat 14: Nilsson, Garrity, Hansen, Ellis 59.9 3-3 (34-55)
Heat 15: Nilsson, Schlein, Harris, Jensen (ret) 58.9 5-1 (39-56)