Hammers hit by Pirates

The Vortex Lakeside Hammers left Dorset empty handed after losing 53-37 against the Poole Pirates, despite a spirited performance which saw the Essex team only 2 points adrift after heat 11.

Richard Lawson won the opening heat from the gate for the Hammers, before Adam Ellis and Ben Morley edged the away team ahead with a 4-2 in the first reserves race. A shared heat 3 was followed by a further 3-3 in the 4th after Vaclav Milik eventually hunted down and passed Lawson on the third bend of the last lap.

The Pirates then hit the Hammers with a maximum heat advantage, with Ward and Janowski both eventually passing Bridger on the last corner of the last lap. Hammers guest Rory Schlein and Captain Davey Watt returned the favour immediately however, with a 5-1 of their own in heat 6.

The Dorset team then levelled the scores again in the 7th, before opening a four point lead following a further 5-1. Ellis and Schlein both won their respective races in the 9th and 10th for further shared heats,before the Hammers edged themselves back into contention with Nilsson and Watt delivering a 2-4 over Janowski and Pawlicki.

With 11 heats completed and only two points down, The Hammers would have fancied their chances of picking up a league point, but the Pirates moved up a gear to dominate the remaining four races.  Lawson suffered an engine failure at the gate in heat 12, before Aussie Darcy Ward pulled off a stunning ride in the 13th, joining Janowski for a 5-1 after missing the gate.

With the Hammers unable to use the tactical rule at this stage of the meeting, Milik and Newman teamed up to complete the Hammers misery in the penultimate race with a further maximum 5-1, before Bridger followed Janowski home in the nominated heat 15.

Poole = 53

1. Darcy Ward 2, 3, 2, 2′ = 9+1
2. Josh Grajczonek 1′, 3, 1′, 2′ = 7+3
3. Przemyslaw Pawlicki 1′, 0, 3, 0 = 4+1
4. Vaclav Milik 3, 1, 2′, 3, 1 = 10+1
5. Maciej Janowski 2, 2′, 2, 3, 3 = 12+1
6. Benji Compton 0, R, 1′ = 1+1
7. Kyle Newman 2, 1, 2, 3, 2′ = 10+1

Lakeside = 37

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

Poole win toss take 1 and 3

Heat Results

Heat 01: Lawson, Ward, Grajczonek, Watt 3-3
Heat 02: Ellis, Newman, Morley, Compton 2-4 5-7
Heat 03: Bridger, Janowski, Pawlicki, Schlein 3-3 8-10
Heat 04: Milik, Lawson, Morley, Compton ret 3-3 11-13
Heat 05: Ward, Janowski, Bridger, Nilsson 5-1 16-14
Heat 06: Schlein, Watt, Milik, Pawlicki 1-5 17-19
Heat 07: Grajczonek, Nilsson, Newman, Ellis 4-2 21-21
Heat 08: Pawlicki, Milik, Bridger, Lawson 5-1 26-22
Heat 09: Ellis, Newman, Compton, Morley retired 3-3 29-25
Heat 10: Schlein, Ward, Grajczonek, Bridger ret 3-3 32-28
Heat 11: Nilsson, Janowski, Watt, Pawlicki 2-4 34-32
Heat 12: Newman, Grajczonek, Ellis, Lawson ret 5-1 39-33
Heat 13: Janowski, Ward, Schlein, Watt 5-1 44-34
Heat 14: Milik, Newman, Nilsson, Ellis 5-1 49-35
Heat 15: Janowski, Bridger, Milik, Schlein ret 4-2 53-37

Courtesy of @speedwayupdates and @lakesidelive

Image: Lewis Bridger of Lakeside Hammers – Lakeside Hammers vs King’s Lynn Stars, CREDIT: Rob Newell/TGSPHOTO